Oh the clitoris, that wonderful button, bean, pearl, woman in a boat or whatever you want to call it. So many names for something many of us don\u2019t really understand. Ask a woman to draw the clitoris and she will probably draw a bit of a squiggle at the top of a pair of lips. While this is a good attempt considering what most people know, it doesn\u2019t actually represent the clit in any way.<\/p>\n
In 1998, Urologist Helen O\u2019Connell published her groundbreaking study on the clitoris which revealed its true scope and size; namely that less than \u00bc of the clitoris is visible. With the other \u00be of it is tucked away internally, she proved that there was way more to the clitoris than meets the eye.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s less than 20 years ago (which is bonkers), so no wonder most of us still think it\u2019s just a little button at the top of our vulva. So let\u2019s discuss the clitoris in all its glory and find out what\u2019s really happening when we turn it on.<\/p>\n
Okay, so let\u2019s start with the obvious bit, the bit we can see. That\u2019s your glans clitoris (glans not glands). There are more than double the nerve endings in the glans than there are in the entire head of a penis, over 8,000! That\u2019s a whole lot of nerve endings which explains why most people shiver at the first touch of their clitoris.<\/p>\n
Next up is the clitoral bulbs, this thicker part of the internal clitoris stems from your clitoral glans and reach down and out in a teardrop shape. At their fullest point they lie just underneath your outer lips. When they are rubbed or massaged, they become engorged and wrap around your vagina giving it a great big hug.<\/p>\n
During vaginal penetration this is the part of your clitoris that is stimulated, meaning that vaginal orgasms are just a different type of clitoral orgasm. New research shows that when your vagina contracts after orgasms it is actually your clitoral bulbs contracting, cool right?<\/p>\n
And here you were thinking erections were just for men! Woman actually have erections too, clitoral ones and we don\u2019t mean the little lady in her boat stands up, but a totally legit internal erection. Introducing the wishbone of clitorises! That is the wishbone-shaped part of the clit that hangs down either side of the clitoral bulbs. The corpus cavernosum (the top of the wishbone) wraps around the vagina as it becomes erect, which helps you to feel internal stimulation.<\/p>\n
Then there are the two legs, called the crus clitoris located at the bottom of the wishbone, which are around 9cm long (crazy, right?). They point towards your thighs when you\u2019re relaxed and when you become aroused they move and point backwards towards the spine. So next time you hear a guy boasting about his erection you can boast about yours right back!<\/p>\n
So you may be wondering, \u2018why the hell don\u2019t I know this stuff?! Why have I not been massaging my clitoral vestibules for years?\u2019 Well, don\u2019t start beating yourself up (unless it\u2019s in the fun way), remember it\u2019s news to all of us! It wasn\u2019t until 2009 that French researchers Dr. Odile Buisson and Dr. Pierre Fold\u00e8s first presented 3D images of the aroused clitoris. How were we meant to understand what we can\u2019t see? After all, an internal erection is a lot harder to spot than an external one!<\/p>\n
So now you know all about it, it’s the perfect excuse (not that you need one) to have a good explore. You can try stimulating your clitoris internally and externally, either with your hands or using sex toys.<\/p>\n