8 Fascinating Things You Didn't Know About the Clitoris
The clitoris is one of the more amazing, and too often under-appreciated, parts of the human body. After spending far too many years being the punch-line in a series of bad jokes about bad sex, the clitoris finally getting its proper due, and it’s totally worth all the conversation. As one of the most sensitive areas on a person’s body, it’s got way more going on than meets the eye, but that’s no reason to not give it the attention it deserves.
Still, knowledge about the clitoris can be a little hit or miss. A serious lack of sexual education in schools has left far too many people to their own devices when it comes to real information about basic sexual functions, and the clitoris is just that: basic. That is, not a cherry on top that might or might not be involved in your life. If you have a clitoris, it’s going to be impossible to ignore, and not understanding it can lead to some serious lost time. Start your reintroduction to this seriously amazing body part with these eight amazing facts.
1/8Only 1/4 of the clitoris is outside the body
What most people refer to as the clitoris is generally only the small hooded part of it that protrudes above the opening of the clitoral glans, which are attached to the Labia minora. The rest of the clitoris — usually about three-fourths of the whole thing — are inside your body.
2/8It’s so, so, so sensitive
The clitoris has about 8,000 sensitive nerve endings, double the amount of a penis. But it doesn’t stop there: Sensations started in the clitoris can spread across the pelvic area, affecting about 15,000 other nerve endings. It’s OK if you need a moment to take that all in.
3/8It’s not a button
The tired joke about how hard it is to find the clitoris always seems to live in a world where simply locating it releases instant orgasm. In reality, it’s much bigger than most people think — about a quarter of it is visible, the rest is concealed. As artist Sophia Wallace put it in her 2015 piece CLITERACY, “it’s not a button, it’s an iceberg.”
4/8It functions a lot like a penis
It’s not really shaped like one, but the clitoris actually has a pretty similar anatomy to a penis, with glans, a foreskin, also known as the clitoral hood, and a shaft. It also swells when aroused.
5/8It grows throughout your lifetime
When puberty begins, the clitoris starts to increase in size, usually getting 1.8 times larger by the time puberty ends. But it can grow even more after menopause, as much as seven times the size it was at birth. These changes are relatively unnoticeable, since it’s so small to begin with.
6/850 to 75% of women need clitoral stimulation to achieve orgasm
Most women need something more than vaginal intercourse to reach an orgasm, and the clitoris plays a large role in that.
7/8Its only function is pleasure
The clitoris has absolutely zero reproductive functions, and is seriously only exists to make you feel good. In fact, it’s such a one-note organ that it should usually be left alone after an orgasm – with nothing left to do, stimulation on a now exhausted clitoris can lead to pain(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pamela-madsen/12-crazy-amazing-facts-about-the-clitoris_b_7501188.html).
8/8They’re not all the same
Like basically every single thing about bodies, every clitoris is different. They can be large, small, more hidden, less hidden — there are all sorts of shapes and sizes. Beyond physical appearance, the needs of one clitoris isn’t guaranteed to be the needs of another. Some are extra sensitive and may require very little stimulation, but it’s just as likely that the one you know might need extra time and specific orientation or action. Don’t be afraid to explore what works and find out what doesn’t; it’s always worth it to get to know your body, and the clitoris is absolutely no exception.
