Relationships August 13, 2018
It starts with improving cliteracy.
Understanding women and their sexuality can be challenging. The vagina in particular has a long, arduous, mysterious past, which is why it can be so difficult to untangle sexual myths from truths.
Luckily, Dr. Wednesday Martin, bestseller of “Stepmonster” and “Primates of Park Avenue,” elucidates the topic. In her e-Book “The Button,” Martin explains the history of the clitoris, a project inspired by her study of female spider monkeys and their hanging clitorides. She explores the depths of the female sexual system, bringing to light just how expansive and awesome these organs are.
So, here are some new things that I learned about sexuality after listening to Martin’s “The Button.”
Female sex organs extend beyond the vagina.
There’s way more to the clitoris than what we can actually see. In fact, the body hides the majority of this organ. We can only see the tip of the clitoral shaft—known as the glans clitoris— externally. The rest of the shaft (and another part called the vestibular bulbs) lie underneath the skin, and they have as much erectile tissue as a penis has.
So, when it comes to sex, we should give the clitoris a lot more credit, since…
Martin explains that the clitoris has 8,000 nerve endings. That’s double that of the glans of the penis. In fact, vaginas can have more continuous orgasms than penises can.
Many women with female sex organs need their clitoris touched in order to orgasm. And that’s because the clitoris has only one purpose: to provide sexual pleasure.
That’s right. Unlike the penis, the clitoris doesn’t serve any reproductive or urinary purpose. In the past, society unjustly accused some of witchcraft when their clitoris had a sexual response to stimulation. But that’s exactly why the clitoris exists—for sexual response. This practice doomed most “witches” to a certain death.
Martin discusses this and other undue treatment of the clitoris, leading us to wonder why this sex organ hasn’t been studied more.
Interest in the scientific study of the clitoris increased by the end of the 18th century. However, as women were generally not allowed to partake in the scientific reasoning that came with the Enlightenment, the study of most women’s intimate parts was also thrown out the window.
Think about this— the full anatomy of the clitoris wasn’t discovered until 1998. By that time, countries had established and destroyed new systems of government. A man was put on the moon far before the complete discovery of the clitoris, and sliced bread was invented 70 years before this organ’s anatomy was fully studied.
This goes to show how little attention the clitoris had received from the scientific community. This not-so-little organ has long been dismissed and deleted. Whether it was “Malleus Maleficarum” calling the clit “the devil’s teat” in 1486, or Dr. Charles Mayo Goss literally erasing it from the 1947 “Grey’s Anatomy,” this center of pleasure has constantly faced erasure.
But luckily, awareness is spreading. Dr. Wednesday Martin’s “The Button” is only one of many works out there that aims to educate the public on the female sexual system. Martin refers to Sophia Wallace’s “cliteracy,” Penelopi Jones’ “clitorings” and Laura Kingsley’s “clitorosity” campaigns as important steps forward in this education.
So all in all, what did I learn from “The Button?” Understanding women starts with education. There’s always more under the surface, and those with female sex organs should know their clitoris—inside and out.
