What you should know about the clitoris

5 things to know about the clitoris

This is the clitoris. It is a part of the female anatomy and it is the only part of the male and the female body that exists solely for the purpose of pleasure. So, it has no other functions. There is nothing else that it does other than just feel good.

An organ only made for pleasure

“Most people when you think of the clitoris, we only think of the little nub of skin that's visible to the human eye. And we tend to think that's it. But there's this whole entire structure that we really didn't discover until the 1990s. And it wasn't even until about 2009 that we figured out the 3D shape of it, that it's really what it really looks like internally. The clitoris can be about 2 to 3 inches in length and can get even bigger when a person is aroused, and it gets engorged and it swells up with blood. So, one of the coolest things about the clitoris is that in this entire structure there are 8,000 to 9,000 nerve endings. And we can compare that to the penis, which only has about 2,000 to 3,000 nerve endings”, Vanessa Marin, sex therapist tells Brut.

It has similarities with the penis

When we are fetuses in the womb, we start off basically having the same genitals. And it's not until about 8 to 11 weeks of development that those exact same tissues start turning into a clitoris for someone who is going to be female-bodied or a penis or somebody who's going to be male-bodied. And so, the clitoris and the penis really operate very similarly to each other. So when a person is erect, the clitoris or the penis can engorge, it gets swelled with blood. It actually increases in size and it can move around a little bit.

It's the key to vaginal orgasms

There's also a really big misconception about different types of orgasms. This is something that there's a lot of debate about. Are there different kinds of orgasms or not? But I really believe that All orgasms are clitoral orgasms. And again, it really comes down to the structure of the clitoris. You can have an orgasm from external stimulation of the clitoris of that little part of the glands where you're either touching it directly, maybe you're touching it indirectly, like over the hood or through the labia, or you can have an orgasm from internal stimulation inside of the vagina. The thing is, these parts of the clitoris actually wrap around the vagina. So when you're doing internal stimulation, you're still stimulating the clitoris. It's a different part of the clitoris, but it's still the exact same clitoris. [

It has health benefits

We tend to think masturbation is just something that we do for pleasure. But there are actually a ton of incredible health benefits to it. So, one of the most interesting ones is that when we masturbate, it actually increases our pain threshold. So, things like menstrual cramps, headaches won't feel as intense if you're masturbating and experiencing an orgasm. It can also increase your immunity and make you less likely to get sick. It can decrease stress, improve your mood, make it easier for you to get to sleep. There are tons of amazing benefits.

There's still plenty to learn about it

I mean, if we were only really discovering the true shape of that 10 years ago, there's definitely still a lot to learn. So, I really hope that we get some scientists, some researchers out there who are willing to study it more and just help us figure out even more about this incredible part of our bodies. We're not taught about the clitoris. We're not taught about female pleasure. And so it's totally understandable if you've never learned how to orgasm. And so I think it's really important to be gentle with yourself. Recognize there's nothing to beat yourself up about or feel bad about. But there are much better resources that are available now. So don't let that shame or embarrassment get in the way of you learning the actual tools that you need to explore your clitoris, discover what makes you orgasm and help you feel confident in the bedroom.

Brut.