Relationships August 13, 2018
Now you see it, now you don't.
Image via Instagram / @clitorosityThe clitoris is probably the most misunderstood piece of human anatomy in existence. Many people, clitoris-owners included, don’t really understand the clit’s biology, nor how it functions in terms of pleasure.
However, there’s no need to feel ashamed for a lack of clitoral knowledge. Turns out, there are centuries of mystery and obscurity surrounding the clitoris. Historical sexism and fear of female pleasure played a huge role in this. In her new book “The Button,” writer and social researcher Dr. Wednesday Martin delves into the medical and social history of the clitoris.
Here’s a brief history of how the clitoris has been discovered, covered up and rediscovered throughout history, as taken from “The Button.”
Claudius Galen was one of the great physicians of antiquity. However, he got several things wrong when it came to human anatomy, especially where our nether regions are concerned.
In “On the Usefulness of the Parts of the Body,” Galen explained that women have all the parts that men have. The only difference— they’re on the inside. Galen hypothesized that female anatomy is basically an inferior or unfinished version of men’s. The reason for this: men have enough body heat to grow their parts on the outside.
Basically, the Greeks thought that the clitoris was like a bootleg penis.
The “Malleus Maleficarum” is a treatise on witchcraft and how to detect witches. According to the text, witchcraft comes from women and their uncontrollable lust. The source of this lust is, of course, the clitoris. The clit also gained a catchy new nickname around this time: “the devil’s teat.”
One way to test for witchcraft was to examine the clitoris. If it became engorged upon stimulation, the woman was declared a witch.
In 1546, Charles Estienne took a stab at vaginal anatomy in “La dissection des parties du corps humain.” Estienne wrongly stated that the clitoris has a urinary function. He also gave the clit his own charming nickname, “the shameful member.”
Italian professor Matteo Realdo Colombo firmly rejected this claim in 1559. He boldly stated that he, in fact, “discovered” the clitoris first. He called this part “the seat of a woman’s delight” and “the sweetness of Venus.” (Much more generous than Estienne.) Colombo was also the first to assert that the clitoris is made out of erectile tissue, like the penis.
In an effort to start more scientific drama, in 1560 Gabriello Fallopio also claimed that he was the first to know about the clitoris. In “Observationes Anatomicae,” Fallopio explained that it wasn’t about pleasure at all.
Andreas Vesalius also chimed in with a much firmer rejection. According to Vesalius, the clitoris was “a useless part.”
Jane Sharp was an English midwife. She shed some light on the situation with “The Midwife’s Companion.” Here, Sharp asserted that the clitoris was very real and “it will stand and fall as the [penis] doth.”
De Graaf was a Dutch physician and anatomist. He rejected all the nonsense of his peers and declared that the clitoris was quite perceptible on the cadavers he studied. His detailed these observations in his diagrams.
De Graaf also took it a step further and wrote, “If these parts of the pudendum had not been endowed with such an exquisite sensitivity to pleasure and passion, no woman would be willing to take upon herself the irksome and nine-months long business of gestation, the painful and often fatal process of expelling the fetus, and the worrisome and care-ridden task of raising children.”
In short: childbirth was a nasty business back in the day. If the sex wasn’t good, women wouldn’t have gone through with it.
Sigmund Freud, everybody’s favorite psychologist, changed the game in the early 20th century. In “Three Essays on Theory of Sexuality,” Freud declared that vaginal orgasms were the mature, womanly orgasms. Orgasms achieved through clitoral stimulation were objectively inferior.
According to Freud, although pleasure did start with the clitoris, it was somehow supposed to relinquish its power to the vagina. The clitoris would essentially transfer excitement to the vagina to achieve the superior orgasm. Okay, Freud.
Marie Bonaparte was a student of Freud’s and the granddaughter of Napoleon Bonaparte. From the beginnings of her marriage, Bonaparte suffered from issues in the bedroom. Ultimately, she came to the conclusion that the issue was distance. If the clitoris was too far from the vagina, women couldn’t effectively achieve orgasm.
Bonaparte was so firm in her conviction that she actually had her clitoris surgically moved. Try not to think about that too much.
This one is a real head scratcher. In 1948, the 25th anniversary edition of “Gray’s Anatomy” was published. However, one of the diagrams was had one glaring absence.
Dr. Charles Mayo Goss, one of the editors, erased the clitoris from an illustration. Even more perplexing, apparently not a single person called out the error.
Australian neurologist Helen O’Connell taught urology and practiced surgery at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. She took many MRIs of the clitoris to get a better understanding of its anatomy and avoid messing with any important neural endings.
In 2005, O’Connell published an article in Journal of Urology. She called into question the fact that surgeons weren’t being trained on the neural anatomy of the clitoris. Turns out, the clitoris is actually huge and has 8,000 nerve endings, making it 14 times more sensitive than the penis.
French gynecologists Pierre Foldes and Odile Buisson are reconstructive surgeons, specializing in women’s reproductive surgery.
Buisson and Foldes created detailed 3D images of excited clitorides. Finally, in 2009, the world had the first complete sonography of the excited internal clitoris.
We now know that the clitoris plays a crucial role in sexual enjoyment. Understanding what it is and how it works can lead to better sex and more intense pleasure. Most importantly, clitoral knowledge helps people with vaginas everywhere become more comfortable with their bodies.
By looking at the history of the clitoris, we can see how sexism and stigma have influenced global scientific endeavors. Science isn’t always as straightforward or objective as we might think.
Thank Wednesday Martin for the clit enlightenment, and check out “The Button” for more cliteracy knowledge!
