There is lots of taboo around the clitoris, talk around it is sometimes seen as cheeky, naughty or dirty but often it's not really understood, which is surprising since research shows the majority of vagina owners need clitoral stimulation to reach orgasm.

So, what is the clitoris?

The clitoris is part of the vulva that leads to sexual pleasure when stimulated, medical research has found there to be no other biological purpose to the clitoris other than pleasure.

The clitoris is much bigger than what we can see from the outside. Only the clitoral tip peaks out from under the clitoral hood, the rest of the clitoris is internal. There are thousands of nerves in the clitoris (more than the penis!) making it very sensitive, therefore clitoral stimulation should be done softly as harsh force can cause pain rather than pleasure.

Since a large proportion of the clit is internal it can also be stimulated from different forms of penetration.

If your'e a vulva owner, we recommend looking down there with a mirror just to get to know yourself and understand your anatomy. Every vulva is different, everyone has different size labias and clitoral hoods so getting to know your own vulva will help you when it comes to self pleasure and allow you to communicate better to sexual partners how to please you according to your anatomy.

Clitoris:

Vulva Diagram:

Vulva Diagram with full clitoris shown behind, showing internal anatomy of clitoris behind external anatomy: