Sally Rafson feels so strongly about it, she got it silk-screened on her underwear.

"Don't Ignore the Clitoris." warn a pair of lime green panties the 21-year-old English major frequently wears, inspired by an early sexual partner.  "He would ask ‘Is this doing anything for you?'  And it really wasn't."  After that, "It'd just kind of become my mantra," until she eventually realized that underwear would be a fitting, convenient place for the phrase.  A reminder, just in case her partner gets so distracted he doesn't think about it.

With Valentine's Day coming up, Rafson's mantra might be good for both men and women to keep in mind.  The clitoris – and its more mysterious cousin the G-spot – could use a lot more attention.

Nestled under the hood formed where the two lips of the vulva intersect above the opening of the vagina, the clitoris actually develops from the same tissue as the penis in an embryo, and shares some of the same structures and processes.  Like the penis, it has a shaft (roughly an inch long, located inside the body) and glans (the button-like part that's actually exposed), and stiffens and swells from blood flow during arousal.

But while the penis has several functions, the only thing the clitoris does is produce sexual pleasure, making it entirely unlike any other organ.  It's so sensitive that some women find direction attention to the clitoris uncomfortable, and prefer to be stimulated through the skin surrounding or covering it.

The clitoris can be manually or orally stimulated, but it also gets attention in some sexual positions.  Having the woman on top is good for the clitoris; doggy style does little for it.  Both positions allow for either partner to manually work it, though, so being on top is potentially the most enjoyable and satisfying position for a woman.

"I think the clitoris isn't getting enough publicity, [and that's] one of the reasons sex in this culture is considered a ‘guy thing,'" says Rafson.  She believes more knowledge of and concern for the clitoris leads to women being far more interested in sex.  ‘There's just not much point in having sex if the clitoris is ignored.  I might as well go watch a movie with some hot Mexican actor."

"I strongly prefer the clitoris," says art major Trista Saunders, 19.  24-year-old local actress Jessica Storck has had a different experience.  "My clitoris is a little shy, but my G-spot is like ‘Go there NOW!!'"

If the clitoris is attention-hungry, the G-spot is dying of malnutrition.  The G-spot is far from a quasi-mythical province adrift in the uncharted depths of the vagina, as many people seem to imagine.  It's a consistent, geographical location that is fairly straightforward to find and stimulate.  Its effect, however, isn't as clear-cut.

Some women find the G-spot intensely pleasurable, and even the key to multiple orgasms.  Others don't feel anything special from it, and some women find it generally uncomfortable or may feel like they need to urinate.  This range of experiences has led some researchers, scientific as well as casual, to declare that the site has no special significance.

But different women have different reactions to the stimulation of the clitoris as well.  Some can achieve orgasm in a matter of minutes from clitoral stimulation, while others can't achieve orgasm at all.  The controversy over the G-spot may simply be a case of ‘your mileage may vary.'

‘G-spot' is an abbreviation for Grafenberg spot, named after Ernest Grafenberg, a gynecologist in the 1950s who first suggested that one particular area seemed to produce especially intense pleasure.  He was referring to a specific feature, a lump of tissue on the front wall of the vagina, behind the clitoris and the pubic bone, one to three inches inside.  It's quite obvious in some women, and extremely difficult to find in others.

Knowing what you're looking for seems to be the key to finding the G-spot.  A study in 1982 reported finding the G-spot in every woman who participated, over 400 in total.  Other studies haven't found it at all.  The G-spot may feel like a bean-shaped area the size of a dime or a quarter, or it may be most recognizable as a series of ridges that feel quite different from the smooth wall of the vagina around them.

The G-spot can be stimulated in a number of ways.  Women may have trouble reaching their own G-spots because of the angle they are reaching from.  Likewise, a partner sitting next to a woman may have the same trouble with the angle, while one kneeling, sitting or lying between her legs and inserting their fingers straight into the vagina might find the G-spot startlingly close to the opening.  Sex with the woman on top or in ‘doggy style' is also likely to stimulate it.

"I have apparently three ‘G-spots'," asserted an area 18-year-old who spoke anonymously on this sensitive topic.  She then lists the location Grafenberg named, and two others as well, but notes, "Orgasm is practically impossible without clitoral stimulation."  She's never tried for a purely G-spot orgasm, but combining it with clitoral stimulation was rather memorable.   "I had an ongoing orgasm for like four minutes."

Occasional UAF student Portia Collette sighs and shakes her head.  "I've only had vaginal orgasms, not clit orgasms [during sex].  Sadly, because those orgasms are the best.  More stimulation is necessary."

So this Valentine's Day, ask yourself:  Have I been ignoring the clitoris or neglecting the G-spot?  Is more stimulation necessary?

photo by Brandon Seifert
English major Sally Rafson's reminder to the general public.

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