“Clitoris” dates back to the 17th century and could derive from words for “sheath”, “key” or “latch”, or “to touch or tickle”, says Wolf. The first recorded use of the word “clit” was in America in the 1950s. It was only in 2009 that a small team of French researchers carried out the first sonographic mapping of an erect clitoris, even though the technology to do so had existed for years. Understanding has been frustrated by historical heteronormative studies of the female anatomy that assumed stimulation by a penis was necessary to orgasm Wolf blames Freud. “You can come from these different places that are all using the clitoris but using it in different ways,” says Wolf.

G-spot and penetrative orgasms are clitoralīoth stimulate internal parts of the clitoris. When you’re aroused, they curl around “and give your internal body a little bit of a hug”. When at rest, the “arms”, or corpora cavernosa, of the clitoris’ body extend straight out towards your thighs. It’s not “a zero to 100 situation”, says Wolf, but as you draw closer to orgasm, it increases in size. They can swell as much as 300 per cent when engorgedĬlitorises range from 7-12 cm in length and swell by 50 per cent to 300 per cent when engorged when aroused. “All those little pieces are working together to create the amazing sensations that anyone with a clitoris feels when they’re having orgasms.” The actual vaginal tunnel has almost no sensation at all – giving birth through something as sensitive as a clitoris would be “excruciating”, says Wolf. A clitoris is made up of 18 distinct parts – a mixture of erectile tissue, muscle and nerves. That’s double the number of those in a penis. “From there, all this fabulous magical stuff is happening beneath the surface.” There are more than 8,000 nerve endings in the tip of the clitoris alone “The part that we’re seeing and feeling is just this tiny little glans that creates the head of the clitoris,” says Wolf. Mostly invisible below the surface, wrapping around the vaginal tunnel and extending out towards the thighs. Hooked into the foyer of the Sydney Opera House, she said, it seemed to do the trick: “Everyone wanted to give it a bit of a hug.”Īnd now that the giant, golden clitoris has got your attention, here are 10 facts Wolf wants you to know.

Most nerve endings in body