Vaginal orgasm - truth or myth - scientists claim to have the answer…
Way back in 1970 Anna Koedt wrote The Myth of the Vaginal Orgasm arguing that the vagina is not designed as a pleasure centre and therefore attributions of frigidity based on not reaching vaginal climax (as opposed to clitoral climax) were a construction of patriarchal masculinity. However, Emmanuele Jannini at the University of L’Aquila in Italy now claims that there are physiological differences which mean some women have the elusive G-spot (and therefore vaginal orgasms) and some don’t.
Jannini’s work began with biochemical markers relating to heightened sexual function in the tissue between the urethra and the vagina however there was no way to link these to the experience of vaginal orgasm. This led her to do gynecological scans which have revealed anatomical differences between women who do have vaginal orgasms (through stimulation of the G Spot) and those who don’t.
It’s a small sample mind - nine women who did have vaginal orgasms and eleven who didn’t but they found that the area of tissue between the vagina and the urethra is thicker for those who do experience vaginal orgasm. SOme have argued, however, this tissue is just part of the clitoral structure.
This means, says Jannini, that “women without any visible evidence of a G spot cannot have a vaginal orgasm…Jannini accepts that there are limitations to his study. In particular, the small number of women he studied doesn’t allow him to say what proportion of all women have G spot - although it would seem that a large number do not.”.
From New Scientist
However what is worrying is the New Scientist’s headline “Ultrasound nails location of elusive G spot” (emphasis my own). Seems even if we can locate the G Spot we can’t move beyond patriarchal notions of sexuality as “nailing” “pounding” and “impaling”. Because, of course, the G Spot would be no use to women without a penis would it……
Posted by Louise Livesey on 20 February 2008, at 6:22 PM | Comments (5)
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Jess said:
Interesting, but are you really serious that the term 'nails' worries you in this context?
Posted on 21 February 2008 at 9:43 PM
Leigh Woosey said:
I do feel impelled to praise the BBC's coverage of the story, not least because it is so rarely that they let a voice of reason into their science coverage. The last fifth of their article reads:
Dr Petra Boynton, a sexual psychologist at University College London, said that an entire industry had grown up around the idea of a G spot, and it was unhelpful to label women unable to find theirs as "dysfunctional".
She said: "We're all different. Some women will have certain area within the vagina which will be very sensitive, and some won't - but they won't necessarily be in the area called the G spot.
"If a woman spends all her time worrying about whether she is normal, or has a G spot or not, she will focus on just one area, and ignore everything else.
"It's telling people that there is a single, best way to have sex, which isn't the right thing to do.
I do hope html tags work in here.
Posted on 22 February 2008 at 11:19 AM
Denise said:
Who started all this stuff about the vaginal versus the clitoral orgasm in the first place?! Yes, guilty as charged, Nutty Professor Freud. The damage that fool did to the human psyche is incalculable, and it's clearly still going on.
Maybe the F-word should start a Hall of Shame!
- Freud
- Fay Weldon
- ...?
Or maybe not. It would be the longest list in the history of the world, and we've all got lives to live.
Posted on 22 February 2008 at 11:46 AM
B said:
Thing that bugs me with the New Scientist article is the phrase 'claims to'. I bet if it was some kind of 'different male orgasm' that phrase would not have been in there.
I also bet that the person doing the research believes them, else it was pretty pointless doing that research! Why say 'claims to' have g spot orgasm? That just wound me up - more than the nailing thing, I have to say.
Posted on 27 February 2008 at 5:40 PM
Vincenzo Puppo said:
Enzo said:
Jannini et al. write of a “urethrovaginal space”, but this term is incorrect from a scientific point of view, and it’s not used in anatomy: the anterior vaginal wall is separated from posterior urethral wall by the urethro-vaginal septum. The authors write “By vaginal orgasm we mean the orgasm experienced after direct stimulation of the anterior vaginal wall by penetration”: but the authors do not write what was the position of coitus. Besides one “vaginal” orgasm at least once in the past month (in women that reported at least two acts of sexual intercourse per week…) it is not a significative difference with women without “vaginal” orgasm.
The authors write “The close physical proximity of the urethra and the clitoris to the anterior vaginal wall suggests an association between these anatomical structures and sexual function…”, but there’s no part of the vaginal wall adhereing to the clitoris, in the anterior vaginal mucosa there isn’t a pseudocavernous tissue: the bulbs don’t develop from the phallus, they don’t belong to the clitoris, the term clitoral bulb isn’t used in anatomy.
The measurement by ultrasonography of the “space” within the anterior vaginal wall (that has no function in female sexuality) is incorrect from a scientific point of view. Jannini et al.’s article increases the confusion on this topic (i.e. female orgasm) in sexologists and in women.
There are women who would do an ultrasound to measure a “space”?... and what would be the normal measures of this "space”?...
There are reporters and women that have read the full text of the article published by the Journal of Sexual Medicine?...
Jannini et al’s article should not be published by the Journal of Sexual Medicine: but this article was reviewed by Reviewers?...
See “Vaginal orgasm and G-spot don’t exist: from EFScongress2008”: http://it.youtube.com/watch?v=E52HiDw5bhM
Posted on 10 July 2008 at 9:19 AM