The Clitoris

The CLITORIS is situated just above the vaginal entrance at the upper end of the labia majora and is partially hidden by the labia minora. The clitoris is homologous or similar to the penis in the male and consists of a small erectile shaft and a glans which is highly sensitive. Like the penis it is composed of erectile tissue which hardens on physical or psychic stimulation. As stated earlier, the glans of the clitoris is covered by the hood or prepuce formed by the union of the upper part of the two small lips.

POSITION AND SIZE OF THE CLITORIS: The shaft of the clitoris may be as thick as a lead pencil and about two centimetres long or it may be longer and thinner. The size varies considerably from female to female. The glans is usually a little smaller than a green pea. However, the glans increases appreciably in size in women who masturbate frequently. The position of the clitoris on the front of the symphysis pubis is variable. In the past, sexologists erroneously believed that the clitoris came in direct contact with the penis during coitus. The lower the position of the clitoris on the symphysis pubis and the longer its size, the better would be its contact with the penis and the greater the response in the female.

MUTILATION OF THE CLITORIS: No organ in the human body has been subjected to such unimaginable mutilation as the unfortunate clitoris. It is a classical example of ignorance about the normal physiology of the most voluptuous organ in the human female. Ignorance on the part of a layman one can forgive, but what does one say about the learned medical men who, until forty years ago, chopped off the clitoris, just as they excised tonsils and appendixes! For removing the latter organs, there was some justification an infected tonsil could impair health by acting as a septic focus, causing rheumatic fever which might affect the heart and the joints. An acutely inflamed appendix could cause death, if not operated upon in time. But what reason was there to cut off the clitoris? It was supposed to prevent madness, masturbation and nymphomania in women, the motto of the medical men being 'When in doubt, cut in out'.

In the 19th century Dr. Isaac Baker in London excised the clitoris as a cure for various conditions like sleeplessness, sterility and other ills that his unfortunate victim* was supposed to suffer from. In 1859, Dr. Charles Maigs advised a concentrated silver nitrate solution to be applied to the clitoris to prevent masturbation. And in the USA, surgical societies were conducting classes to educate surgeons in clitoridectomy until 1925. The wise men pronounced that 'it saves women a lot of sickness and suffering.' Far from alleviating suffering, it increased it in the unfortunate women. According to Ms Magazine of March 1980, the wife of a US Congressman states, 'My friend, a contemporary who must be in her sixties now, when she was four to five years old, her family was enlightened and well to do, but they accepted this as a treatment for masturbation.'

The medical evidence that the operation saved the women from innumerable ills is nil. In fact, there are reports that they grew worse after the mutilating surgery. The immediate complications were haemorrhage and infection. Later they developed frigidity, sterility, pain during sex and a number of psychosomatic illnesses like headaches, backaches and abdominal pains. The male perpetrators of these crimes did not shed a single tear, for after all a woman was not supposed to enjoy sex! In fact, they argued that they had done a good turn to the females because their continuous masturbation would have resulted in sexual promiscuity, perversion and madness.

It is estimated that 30 million women in the world are suffering from genital mutilation. The different types of mutilation are: (1) Surma or Circumcision, where the tip of the clitoris is removed; (2) Clitoridec tomy, where the entire clitoris, the prepuce, the glans and the adjoining part of the labia minora are removed; and (3) Infibulation (from the Latin word fibula meaning 'clasp'), where the entire clitoris, the labia minora and labia majora are removed and the scraped vulva is sewn across the vagina. A small opening is left by inserting a thin matchstick or a wooden or metal rod for urine and menstrual flow. The poor infibulated woman is opened up before marriage to permit intercourse.

Clitoral mutilation is common even today in parts of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, Pakistan and Malaysia. According to a United Nations report, clitoridectomy is practiced in more than 26 countries in Africa.

. Indian sexologists even in those days knew about the role played by the clitoris in sex. Kokaka has given a beautifully graphic description of this organ which he called kamatapatra. He describes the clitoris as hidden in the folds of the labia minora and labia majora and compares it to the unfolded and folded petals of the lotus flower. Normally, the petals of the lotus are folded but during sex they become unfolded.

FUNCTIONS OF THE CLITORIS: Never has Mother Nature packed so much voluptuous sensation in so little space as the clitoris because it is richly supplied by nerves. Its stimulation is the master key to unlock a woman. Unfortunately, during sexual intercourse, the clitoris does not come into direct contact with the penis except in certain positions. You need to stimulate it with your fingers. If you want a Bachelor's degree in 'Love Making', you must be a master at stimulating the clitoris. Know its location, and how and when to stimulate it in order to levitate your partner into ecstatic climaxes.

The clitoris is a unique organ which has no other function except to give pleasure during intercourse. The penis, its male equivalent, provides pleasure, but also deposits sperms in the vagina and voids urine. According to Masters and Johnson, the clitoris has two important functions. It is a Receptor and a Transformer of sensations it receives when a woman is sexually aroused.

Let us examine and understand both these functions in depth as the clitoris is the focal point of sexual response in the female.

THE RECEPTOR FUNCTION is similar to the receiving station of a power house. Just as electricity is generated at the power house and then transmitted to the receiving station, in the same way the sexual power house is in the hypothalamus, the part of the brain situated at the base of the skull. It is the seat of our emotions and the headquarters of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). The hypothalamus is intimately connected with the pituitary, a tiny gland about the size of a large pea, situated at the base of the brain and located inside the skull. The pituitary is the most important gland in our body and is rightly termed the leader of the 'endocrine orchestra'.

The pituitary is the master regulator of our body and is also the self ' starter of the sexual machinery. Just as the car engine starts when you press the self starter, similarly the pituitary gland is the starter of the sexual motor you are 'turned on'. The receiving station of the female sexual power house is the clitoris. It receives messages from the breasts when the male partner is fondling them or when the finger is stimulating it or during indirect stimulation of the clitoris in sexual intercourse. As seen in Fig. 5 1, the vaginal opening is far from the clitoris. In the normal man on top position, obviously the penis cannot directly stimulate the clitoris. The method of indirect stimulation was first observed by Dr. Masters and Mrs. Johnson in their sex laboratory. The vagina is like a barrel and the penis moves to and fro in it like a piston during intercourse. The labia minora can be compared to a crank shaft moving up and down at right angles to the penis. When the penis is thrust in, the labia minora are pulled down resulting is sliding of the prepuce over the glans. When the penis withdraws, the labia minora move up and so does the prepuce, uncovering the clitoral glans.

STEP UP TRANSFORMER FUNCTION: The response of the clitoris is unique. It is easy to understand by comparing it to a step up transformer which can convert a 110 volt current into 220 volts. Similarly, the clitoris increases sexual tension (like the higher voltage of a step up transformer), ultimately producing sexual release and orgasm, when the voltage cannot be stepped up further.