WHAT IS FEMALE ANATOMY?
What exactly is the Anatomy of females? What is the Clitoris?
I’m surprised how many myths and misunderstandings there are out there related to simple anatomy (the structure of the body)!
I think most sex education is incomplete. It focuses only on the internal organs used for reproduction, but does not explain the outer anatomy.
I use a fruit analogy to explain the internal organs a bit in the “What is a Period” and “What is a Pap Smear” posts. The Uterus is a pear, the Fallopian Tubes are vines, and the Ovaries are grapes.
The Uterus, or Womb, is the remarkable organ that can grow to >100x its size to carry and nourish a baby for 9 months!
The Ovaries contain the Eggs that, when combined with Sperm, make reproduction possible. Each Egg and Sperm contain half of the genetic material needed to make a person, which is why both are needed.
The Ovaries are connected to the Uterus via the Fallopian Tubes, and fertilization (Sperm combining with Egg) usually happens sometime in the few days it takes for the Egg to travel through the entire tube to get to the Uterus.
So that by the time it reaches the Uterus, the fertilized Egg is ready to implant in the lining of the Uterus (called the “Endometrium“), which provides nourishment as the pregnancy continues. (The “Myometrium” refers to the muscly part of the Uterus, responsible for period cramps).
The Placenta forms later. I’ll make a separate post on anatomy changes in Pregnancy.
The opening to the Uterus is called the Cervix. The Vagina, or “Birth Canal” connects the Uterus to outside the woman’s body, to allow a baby to come out when the time comes. The Vagina is also how Sperm enter.
From my previous analogy, the Cervix is the “head” of the pear, and the Vagina is like a stretchy Fruit Roll-Up.
A “reproductive age” woman (~12-51 years old) releases an egg every month or so, so there are a lot of opportunities to become pregnant. Traditional Sex Education teaches abstinence (waiting until you are ready to have a child before having sex), but this is only one method of birth control, and a very unrealistic one.
Sexual desires are natural, and many people choose to have sex for reasons other than reproduction.
For millennia, people, especially women, have been shamed for enjoying sex, seen as “impure” or “promiscuous.”
This is why the outer female anatomy is so rarely taught, or just briefly mentioned.
There are so many outer organs. The general entire outer area is called the “Vulva.”
This is the view of the woman lying down facing you with her legs open. If she were standing up, you’d only be able to see the Pubic Area/Mons Pubis, which contains Pubic Hair, which some women choose to groom or shave.
Here are some side views, to help you visualize the entire inner and outer female organs, and how the vulva is connected.
There are 3 openings, the Urethra (for liquid waste/urine from the bladder), the Vagina, and the Anus (for solid waste/poop from the intestines).
The labia are fleshy “lips” which provide some protection for the sensitive organs, especially the Urethra and Clitoris.
What most women don’t know is that the Labia are often asymmetrical, meaning one is usually larger than the other!! And they can sometimes be quite large. This does not mean there is something wrong with you!! This is not a defect or deformity that needs fixing!! Unless they are so large that they get caught in underwear and bother your every day life, then you can consult a surgeon about changing them.
Choose your surgeon wisely, however. Some doctors are not well-trained in these surgeries, never taught vulvar anatomy, and they end up doing more harm than good, such as removing part of the Clitoris, causing chronic pain, scarring, or sexual dysfunction after the surgery.
The results of those surgeries are the same as Female Circumcisions, or Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), a cultural procedure done to roughly 3 million girls each year in parts of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Usually done before age 15, it has absolutely no health benefits and causes extreme pain and harm, such as difficulty with urinating, infections, problems having periods, psychological trauma, and need for further surgeries in order to reopen the vaginal opening so that the women may have children. The WHO and UNICEF are currently working on fighting and hopefully eliminating this toxic tradition.
The Clitoris is perhaps the least talked about organ. It is often shown as the small pea-sized dot on diagrams, and many people complain that they are unable to “find it” when they are trying to please their female partners. But it is actually is HUGE!!
I can’t believe how many people I’ve met who don’t know where or even what the Clitoris is, or choose to ignore it.
As far as we know, the Clitoris serves no function for reproduction, only for pleasure, and sex for pleasure was highly frowned upon, and still is to this day. Female sexuality has been stifled, suppressed, and shamed for millennia.
The Clitoris has over 8,000 nerve endings, twice as many as the penis. It is extremely sensitive, and powerful. The majority of women (70%) cannot orgasm (climax of sexual pleasure) without stimulating the Clitoris.
The Clitoris and Penis actually come from the same group of cells when a baby is developing in the Womb. Until about several weeks old, male and female embryos look exactly the same.
Studies show that only 30% of women can reach orgasm (sexual climax) from vaginal stimulation or penetration alone!
Traditional Sex Education not only completely ignores female pleasure but also creates this myth that women should enjoy penis-in-vagina intercourse, otherwise there is something wrong with you. This leads many women to feel ashamed when they don’t enjoy it as much as they think they “should.”
Or worse, some women even put up with pain or expect sex to hurt. About 30% of women report pain during vaginal sex (and 70% during anal sex).
“Good sex” means different things to men and women. To women, it means without pain, rather than with an orgasm.
This is heart-breaking, and it’s my mission to change these statistics!!
I want to empower women to embrace their sexualities, whatever they may be (some people are asexual), and feel comfortable asking for what they want and need, without guilt or shame.
I think one of the first steps is education and de-mystifying the rumors and mis-information out there.
If you found this brief anatomy lesson helpful, please share with others! Thank you!!
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