Everything you really need to know about your clitoris

Your clitoris plays on important role in your sexual pleasure, but how much do you really know about it? In contrast to a penis, the clitoris is mostly hidden inside the body. But of course that doesn’t mean that you can’t explore it further.

The clitoris is 10 centimeters long

The largest clitoris ever measured is a whopping 30.5 centimeters long, but chances are that yours is about 20 centimeters smaller than that. That average clitoris is about 10 centimers long. That’s much more than that little ‘ball’you see on the outside. A large part of your clitoris is hidden inside your body, behind your labia and around the opening of your vagina.

The glans clitoris: the external part

The external part of the clitoris is about 3 to 8 milimeters in diameter. This part is called the glans clitoris and you can find it between your inner and outer labia. It’s located exactly where your inner labia meet. If you want, you can use a mirror to look at it. The glans clitoris is protected with a kind of foreskin, similar to the foreskin of a penis and is called the clitoral hood. This protection is necessary because the glans clitoris is extremely sensitive. It contains no less than 8,000 nerve endings, which is twice as much as the nerve endings in the glans of a penis.

The clitoris wasn’t important to male scientists

For a long time, the clitoris generally wasn’t part of any scientific research and if it was mentioned somewhere, the language used was often derogatory or the subject was considered unimportant. In the sixteenth century, women discovered that they could stimulate their clitoris and that they didn’t need a man for that. This was apparently so problematic to the (male) scientific world that the clitoris and female pleasure were largely ignored in scientific studies. Freud took every opportunity he could find to point out how small the clitoris was and that stimulation of it was only useful as preparation for what really mattered: penetration with a penis. “It wasn’t until 2009 that the first sonogram of a clitoris was made,” says sexologist Déborah Linz, who specialises in the clitoris. The sonogram was made by Pierre Foldès, who reconstructed thousands of clitorises of victims of genital mutilation. He discovered that some victims were still able to experience internal sexual pleasure. This means that we only know that the clitoris is much larger than just the external part for a little over 10 years.

The internal part looks like a wishbone

The shape of the internal part of your clitoris can best be described as a wishbone: it splits into two parts. The ‘wings’ of the clitoris, which are called the clitoral legs or crura, envelop the vagina opening. If you want to feel them, let your finger slide along your inner labia when you’re aroused and gently push down a little. The crura feel like swollen veins. Maybe you can feel them, maybe not, but it’s fun to try. Perhaps it’s even an arousing experience for you.

Your G-spot is the other end of the clitoris

“Although for years people thought that the G-spot was a separate pleasure spot, it actually turns out to be part of the clitoris,” according to Linz. In fact, it’s the other end of your clitoris. It can even raise up, like some sort of micro penis. This is because circulation in the clitoris increases when you’re aroused, just like with a penis. Both are made of the same spongy tissue. Elisa Brune, author of  ‘Les Secret des Femmes’ writes that the penis is essentially a gigantic external clitoris. They belong to the same family.

Most women can’t have an orgasm without clitoral stimulation

If the clitoris isn’t being stimulated, it’s difficult for most women to reach an orgasm. This is because there are a lot less nerve endings in the vaginal wall than there are in the clitoris, so the vagina itself is not as sensitive. “Although many women feel guilty and ashamed that they can’t have an orgasm without clitoral stimulation, it’s actually very normal and nothing to be ashamed of,” says professor Mary Jane Minkin at Yale School of Medicine.

Also read: Say yes! Give in to your orgasm with these tips

You can easily get multiple orgasms

The clitoris is able to give you multiple orgasms. The improved circulation stays present for a while during arousal, in contrast to the penis. Perhaps the area is a little too sensitive right after an orgasm, but you can still build up to a new climax very soon after that. This is because the extra blood is still present in your clitoris and your body is still in a heightened state.

Female circumcision

Every year three million girls between the ages of five and fifteen are in danger of being circumcised. This almost always has to do with cultural beliefs in the area of beauty, sexuality, femininity, and child marriage. The WHO calls it Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). There are four different forms of FGM, including the removal of the external part of the clitoris without sedation. This doesn’t have any health benefits and often even causes complications. Sometimes the inner or outer labia are removed or both the inner and outer labia are removed and the remaining parts are stitched together to narrow the vaginal opening. FGM mainly happens in the west, east, and north-east of Africa, but also in the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America. In Somalia, no less than 98% of all girls and women are circumcised. Various international organisations, like Plan International, Terre des Hommes, and Amref Flying Doctors, fight against female circumcision.