In my previous post, The Myth-Busting Sexual Anatomy Quiz, one of the answers in particular prompted comments and questions. I stated that the clitoris is not a mini-penis as it is often described but rather, biologically speaking, the penis, is an enlarged clitoris? But how can this be and does it really matter?
The Psychology of Gender looks at our biology, history and culture to consider the impact of gender roles and stereotypes, and addresses the ‘dilemmas’ we have regarding gender in a post-modern world (see UK / USA).
Of course, the statement was meant to be contentious and spark discussion. And, I discuss it fully in my book The Psychology of Gender (see UK / USA). When we talk about sex and gender we are storytelling. And, how we set the scene for our stories is key. So, by describing the clitoris as a ‘mini-penis’ we set up a chain of assumptions, By describing the clitoris ‘in terms of the penis’ we assume that the penis comes first (pause for sniggering). There’s also the not-so-subtle implication that the clitoris is an underdeveloped penis and therefore an inferior organ. These assumptions are biologically incorrect.
The part of the story often omitted is that male development requires hormones to suppress female development and further hormones to enhance male development. This makes female anatomy the platform for male development and so technically the penis is an enlarged clitoris. It sounds provocative because it goes against the ‘received wisdom’ or ‘gender spin’ – the story that gives primacy to the penis.
If we compare the female and male genitalia we can see how the embryonic tissue developed down the two routes:
ovaries = testes
labia majora (outer lips) =scrotum
labia minora (inner lips) = underside of the penis
glans (head of clitoris) = glans (head of penis)
shaft (erectile tissue) of clitoris = shaft (erectile tissue) of penis)
vagina = no comparable structure in male.
It’s notable that the word ‘vagina’ is used for female genitals where in fact this only applies to the birth canal. So in describing the female anatomy in everyday language, we put the emphasis on reproduction. The collective term for female genitalia is the vulva, which includes the clitoris, the only organ in the human body solely for sexual pleasure. The everyday use of ‘vagina’ for female genitalia is more gender spin as it keeps the emphasis on penetration and again ‘sidelines’ the clitoris. Again, it’s how we edit the story.
Then there’s the G-Spot to contend with. That’s it, let’s get the emphasis back up the vagina in a quest for the orgasmic grail. There is certainly not universal agreement that the G-Spot really exists. Supposedly located on the anterior wall of the vagina, no structure has been identified and evidence is largely anecdotal. Academic research suggests that:
the special sensitivity of the lower anterior vaginal wall could be explained by pressure and movement of clitoris’ root during a vaginal penetration and subsequent perineal contraction.
This research counters the story of the ‘clitoris as tiny penis’. In fact, its root extends deep into the body. So what some women experience as the G-Spot may be a by-product of the movement of the clitoris. More evidence, if any were needed, that the clitoris is not an inferior penis, and females are not ‘incomplete’ males.
For a fuller discussion of how to tell better (and more accurate) gender stories, see The Psychology of Gender (For US click, For UK click ).
Post updated: 29 May 2019
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- Never Mind. . . the Great Procrustean Binary Gender Swindle
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Excellent and informative post, Dr. Wood. The reality that males are simply genetically modified females, that women are biologically stronger — these are profound and provocative facts. I wish more people were aware of them (particularly men), as they really cut against many of our ingrained and erroneous notions about gender and sexuality.
I first learned about this in a college class. I’ll admit I was a little shocked at first to discover that anatomically speaking my penis was actually an enlarged clitoris, but I really did rethink a lot of my notions about sex and masculinity after that. Now the biological primacy of the female seems perfectly intuitive and obvious to me (why would we males have nipples after all?), but I did wonder afterwards why this wasn’t more common knowledge.
Have just discovered this blog and enjoying it very much. Keep up the good work!
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Thanks for reading and taking time to comment. Yes. . I think the biology helps us to question gender politics and appreciate that we have more in common than the things on which we differ.
Regards
Gary.
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So instead of “‘assuming a primacy of the penis”, you’ve assumed a primacy of the clitoris. Not hypocritical at all. The penis is not an enlarged clitoris, you do not develop a clitoris then develop a penis. You develop one and done, you don’t develop a clitoris then change to a penis. The penis and clitoris are homologues, meaning the develop from the same indifferent embryonic tissue. Just because the undifferentiated tissue more closely resembles a clitoris, does not make it one.
A penis is not an enlarged clitoris, and a clitoris is not a shriveled penis.
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Yes the post is deliberately provocative to challenge the common erroneous assumption. The aim of the post was to challenge this and to say if we really must go down the comparison route then ‘penis as an enlarged clitoris’ is a ‘bit more correct’ than ‘clitoris is a mini penis’, but yes totally agree that they are different organs. The clitoris is totally specialized for sexual pleasure whereas the penis is multi-functional. Thanks for reading my blog and taking the time to post a comment.
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Reblogged this on quietwarrioratl and commented:
Facts about your anatomy this isn’t taught! This is why comprehensive sex education is important! Thanks Dr. Gary Wood!
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From the perspective of a human the clitoris is first to appear, but from the perspective of wider biology the penis did come first. It evolved around 100 millions years ago, while the clitoris is restricted to mammals, making it much younger. When a biologist refers to it as a “mini penis”, they are indicating the structure is built off of genes originally involved in penis making. I don’t think it is all that helpful to call either structure “primary”, in any case.
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The clitoris is a kind of miniature penis, this though both have the same origin. But look a little bit dfeeper, so you see, that the main purpose of sexuality by nature is the reprodution. The pleasure however is only the reward for to make descendants. While the clitoris is only there for pleasure, so it don`t have the main.place, so it is a mini.penis, by my opinion. Political correctness is no argument for me, it is only a kind of moral in western countries and often a product of feminism in many cases.
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You can`t say, the penis is an oversized clitoris, else you take all your priority to the pleasure and forget the main purpose of the sexuality and this is the reproduction. The desire, the lust is only the reward for to make reproduction. So, you have to notice, that the main purpose of the penis isn`t the pleasure, it is ratherly the reproduction, so it is at first a reproduction organ, in contrast to the clitoris.
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One could argue that the primary purpose of the penis is to void urine. Else it’s a multi-functional organ, or else it’s simply a delivery system for sperm, which then puts the function of the testicles above that of the multi-functional penis. The point is that the clitoris is a denigrated organ often described as a mini-penis and this is simply not the case. Yes the post is dripping with misandry, but that’s kind of the point. Also, sex is about more than just reproduction otherwise people would only do it just to have children. Clearly it transcends the biological imperative.
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The pleasure is only the reward for the reproduction, resp. the stimulator for to make a child. That`s the real sense of the nature, so the penis is the measure and main reference.point.
And independant of this, isn`t it so, that by a lot of testosterone the clitoris resamble more and more a penis.
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Reblogged this on The Psychology of Gender and commented:
One of the most popular blog posts I have written. It was based on a section from my book Sex, Lies and Stereotypes. An updated, moderate’ version also appears in The Psychology of Gender. It’s an example of how something as supposedly factual as biology is reported and discussed from a male perspective.
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While I am fully familiar with the hormonal mechanisms behind sex differences, I find it difficult to see how female anatomy can be ‘the platform’ for male development when, as mentioned in John Smith’s comment, “you don’t develop a clitoris, then change to a penis”. That’s not to say that female anatomy is inferior; I never thought that at all.
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So does the penis start as a clitoris and then become a penis or does a fully developed penis belong in the category ‘clitoris’?
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