Since March is National Clitoris Awareness Month (huh?), I thought we’d take a moment to reflect on the beauty and importance of this pleasure dome.

According to experts (by that I mean Wikipedia), the word for clitoris derived from the Greek “little hill,” but there’s some debate about whether that’s accurate. Other etymological candidates are “key” or “latch,” and “tickle.”

Your little hill has 8,000 nerve endings. Don’t have a little hill? Bummer. You’ve only got 4,000 in your clitoral equivalent, which is the head of your penis. Don’t have a clitoris or a penis head? In that case, you’ve got a lot to teach me. Maybe you should write a sex column.

Anyway. Ladies, meet Australian urologist Dr. Helen O’Connell. If you get some down time in the next week, consider sending this lady a thank-you note. Her research has revealed that the clitoris is not a little hill at all; really, it’s more like a snow-capped mountain, covered in babbling brooks, shimmering butterflies, warm sunshine and unicorns (I made that last part up). Her research has inspired rewrites of many medical textbooks, because those old-school texts didn’t pay enough attention to the anatomy and function of the clitoris to begin with. Nobody ever does.

Basically, O’Connell proved that the clitoris isn’t just a little eraser-shaped button like we thought. What we can see is just the tip of the iceberg. Literally! Her research also suggests that perhaps that G-spot we’re always hearing about is really the clitoris in disguise — the two might be the same thing, or at least super closely related.

Freud once said that clitoral stimulation can arouse a female the way "pine shavings can be kindled in order to get a log of harder wood on fire.” Let’s leave all obvious cries of misogyny and sexism aside for now, because this is not that kind of column. This is the kind of column that thinks about how totally unsatisfied Mrs. Freud must have been. This is the kind of column that lets you know that Freud was totally (TOTALLY!) mistaken. So, in honor of National Clitoris Awareness Month (um…), do your part. Purchase a clitoris-shaped ribbon for your car or bike, or stand outside Smith with a clipboard and simultaneously introduce yourself to strangers and guilt them into subscriptions to a $5.00/mo “Clitorial Supporters” newsletter. Become a fan of the clitoris on Facebook and invite all your friends to do the same.

But if you really, really want to make a difference, slow down and pay attention to your girlfriend’s little hill. No, I mean really pay attention to it. What’s that? You’re a gay man? You’re a gay man and you read this whole thing? Kudos! You, too, can be proactive in the fight to end clitoral ignorance. Your mother will be proud.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/5013866.stm
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg15921455.500-the-truth-about-women.html?page=2