4 Clitoris Facts to Change your Sex Life
BY SARA TANG, SEX COACH
The clitoris is an amazing organ that for a long time hasn’t been given the attention it warrants. Responsible for female orgasms, it makes you better in bed when you understand how it works and explore it accordingly!
Knowledge is power, particularly in the case of sexual experiences. One key characteristic of confident lovers is the ability to learn and study how each person experiences sexual pleasure differently.
The clitoris has been misunderstood and the full scope of its pleasure potential hasn’t been given enough study, so let’s dive in and debunk these myths!
MYTHS & MISPERCEPTIONS AROUND THE CLITORIS
We all grew up with a certain set of perceptions about a woman’s body, which were probably way off-base given our lack of sex education.
When you believe things should be a certain way or that you should fall in line with some kind of “norm” of sexual behaviour, these unclear or incorrect ideas can really warp your perspective about sex.
Some misperceptions floating around that you may have heard or you may hold yourself:
the clitoris is just a tiny button
all clitorises respond the same way to stimulation
vaginal orgasms are superior and you should be able to easily have them
it’s normal to have an orgasm with penetrative intercourse.
It’s being discovered that there is a lot of variety among women’s bodies and how they prefer to be stimulated, which is why there’s a massive benefit of communication and being open. In fact, that’s how we become more confident lovers.
Given that the clitoris is a woman’s sexual powerhouse, it’s surprising that in the past, very few people have actively pursued the concept of mastering the art and science of it.
I believe the secret to getting better in bed is challenging our misperceptions around sex with better knowledge, and redefining our beliefs around what is actually possible around female sexual pleasure.
SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY OF THE 3D CLITORIS
The fact is, there wasn’t solid funded research on the clitoris (otherwise known as the clit) until the 1990’s. Say whaaaaat?
Researchers began using MRI’s for the first time to study the internal structure of the clitoris in the 1990’s. In 2009, French researchers completed a 3-D sonography of this important part of a woman’s anatomy.
So while some of us may have felt embarrassed by our lack of knowledge on the subject, we needn’t have been. Traditionally, female pleasure has not been a high priority in the world of science.
But let’s go ahead and make it one, shall we? Because in this case, ignorance is definitely not the pathway to bliss.
Let’s dive into some facts about the clitoris you may not have learned yet.
A life-sized, 3D printed model of the clitoris (Image: Marie Docher)
1. The sole known purpose of the clitoris is pleasure
This is unlike the penis, which has other functions besides pleasure. It contains 8000 nerve endings as opposed to the 4000 found in the head of the penis.
Sensitivity varies widely with each woman. Some women prefer to stimulate near or around the clitoris, others like touching their clitoris through the hood, while many also enjoy pulling back the clitoral hood to enjoy more direct stimulation.
Strength, intensity and pressure are a matter of personal taste. But the rule of thumb is always to start slow and gentle. Sensitivity can even change over a woman’s lifetime, with things like childbirth and menopause.
2. The clitoris is bigger than you think
Two-thirds of the clitoris is actually inside a woman’s body. This is the part you can’t see or what we call the internal clitoris. The glans of the clitoris, or the part you can actually see outside of the body is just the tip of the iceberg.
The entire structure of the clitoris is connected to two bulbs (corpora cavernosa) and two legs (crura). The bulbs are filled with erectile tissue and can become engorged with blood when a woman is aroused.
So yes, women can get boners too! Often this can feel like a sensation of fullness and wetness.
3. Vaginal and G-spot orgasms are related to the clitoris
With these recent discoveries, we are coming around to the understanding that vaginal orgasms and clitoral orgasms are both different versions of the same thing - as its the internal clitoris that gets stimulated during intercourse.
In fact, the famous G-Spot could be located in the internal area where the two bulbs of the clitoris join.
4. Most women need direct clitoral stimulation to experience orgasm
That means rubbing, touching, stroking and licking the clitoris. Or even using a sex toy. Only 25% of women are consistently orgasmic during penetrative vaginal intercourse, because it only provides indirect stimulation for the clitoris.
Vaginal orgasm is often misconstrued as the “best” way for women to orgasm, and that it somehow means you’re a failure if you can’t have one that way. However that’s really because sex is often being defined by a male-dominated view in our culture.
In truth, women’s anatomy just doesn’t support that thinking and there is no hierarchy to orgasms. It’s just about celebrating what feels good in your body.
THE NEW EMERGING “CLITERACY”
Some people are taking a stand to stop the ignorance around woman’s bodies and female sexual pleasure.
Artist Sophia Wallace talks about “cliteracy” as a movement designed to increase understanding of the clitoris, women’s bodies and sexual pleasure in general.
Her work involves street art about the clitoris as well as a “clit rodeo” with an interactive giant golden clitoris. She says, “It illuminates this idea of total illiteracy and incompetence when it comes to the female body.”
Another contributor to the cliteracy movement is Dr. Laurie Mintz with her book Becoming Cliterate. It’s so helpful that a member of the medical community is on board with this idea. She talks about the lack of cliteracy as a “broader cultural problem” and talks about why “orgasm equality matters, and how to get it.”
An amazing resource for learning and enhancing your own pleasure is the website OMGYes.com. The information on this platform is based on a study conducted by Indiana University and The Kinsey Institute. They’ve conducted a few thousand in-depth interviews of women across the United States, asking them about techniques or strategies around pleasure and what the a-ha moments were in their sexual journeys.
This kind of information is unprecedented, as prior large-scale studies around sex were either biological (the physiology of what happens in the body during sex) or behavioral (general activities like the percentage of women who have orgasms or use vibrators).
But at long last, what we know about female sexual pleasure is moving out of the shadow and into the light.
Knowing one’s body is a building block for sexual confidence, so take the quiz above to find this out for yourself. I encourage you to increase your own cliteracy by getting to know your (or your partner’s) body through masturbation, experimentation and open communication.
If you liked this article and are curious to learn more about the sexual body, 4 Penis Facts to Change Your Sex Life is a great article to read next. Looking for a little extra support in gaining more sexual confidence or exploring your sexuality? I’d love to be your sex coach. I help singles and couples become better in bed, have better sex, and gain the sex education we simply didn’t get at school.
Did anything in this article surprise you? Leave a comment below to let me know.