This review explores the clitoris from sociological, anatomical, physiological, and sexological perspectives. The biased approach of which scientists have long studied and regarded this organ has significantly contributed to a prolonged period of ignorance and repression. As described by Blechner (2017), the anatomy of the clitoris has been discovered, repressed, forgotten, denied, diminished, and rediscovered multiple times since antiquity to today.
Modern understanding of the clitoris reveals a complex and highly innervated structure. The glans of the clitoris contains more than 10,000 axons (nerve fibres), highlighting its exceptional sensitivity (Uloko et al., 2023). Long ignored and minimized, the sensitivities of the clitoris are essential for both sexual and reproductive functions. For decades, scientists claimed that the clitoris had no role in reproduction. However, recent research has overturned this perspective indicating clitoral stimulation in fact induces vaginal lubrication and decreases vaginal pH, thereby facilitating sperm capacitation(Levin, 2020). The pioneering work of Master & Johnson (1966) described the physical changes induced by clitoral stimulation, but it is only recently that the importance of these observations has been fully recognized. A statistically significant relationship has been found between the visibility of the clitoral glans, sexual function, and orgasm, suggesting that surgical interventions to increase visibility could improve sexual satisfaction (Pulatoğlu et al., 2020). Furthermore, the size and location of neoclitoris¹ and clitoris influence sexual function, impacting scores of arousal, desire, and orgasm (Aydin et al., 2021; Vedovo et al., 2023).
Thus, the evolution of understanding the clitoris, from historical neglect to contemporary recognition, underscores its crucial physiological role in every phase of the sexual response (Tonwe, 2023). It is this recognition that invites us to reconsider the importance of the clitoris not only in terms of sexuality, but within a broader context of reproductive health and well-being.
¹ A neoclitoris is a clitoris created or reconstructed following a surgical operation called aïdopoièse.
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