By Daisy / www.divinecaroline.com
In sex education, they taught us about the reproductive organs of the human body. As part of the female anatomy section, we learned the names for all the parts of the female genitalia, including the clitoris. What sex education instructors neglected to mention was that this little organ, smaller than the size of a pea on average, houses the highest concentration of nerve endings in the body.
Between 8,000–9,000 pressure-sensitive nerve endings reside in the glands and root of the clitoris. That is a lot of potential sensation. The discussion of masturbation in class was broached but the conversation never progressed very far because people had so many moral restrictions involved in talking about it. This didn’t allow for us to discuss ways to expand upon what we were already doing and experiencing during masturbation.
In addition, the clitoris’s sole function has nothing to do with reproduction. In fact, there are cultures wherein the clitoris is surgically removed from a woman’s body, bearing no effect on her ability to reproduce offspring. What they didn’t tell us is that this tiny organ holds the key to having a more pleasurable life. The exclusive function of the clitoris is to experience pleasure.
Exploring my body as a little girl I discovered this good sensation that I felt when I touched my genitals. It was a pleasurable feeling that I enjoyed in private. I would touch my vagina, put my hands between my legs and rub. It was not something that I talked about with my parents or sisters or anyone, but it was a regular part of my life. My favorite way to masturbate was to lie face down and rub my vagina back and forth over something. My teddy bear or part of my blanket was great. Another favorite way that I liked to masturbate was with running bath water.
Later, as I matured into adolescence, the form of masturbation that I used matured as well. As a teenager, with the abundance of sexual interest and energy that is present, I found masturbation a useful, fun, and safe tool to explore, understand and enjoy my body more. I used my hands more often, rubbing my fingers side to side and up and down over the hood of my clitoris, stroking my fingers into the opening of my vagina. I loved to have an orgasm and I would often end the day laying in bed with my hands between my legs in masturbation. Touching my genitals felt so pleasurable, and after I had an orgasm I was more relaxed and able to quickly fall asleep.
As a young woman, I learned the anatomy of the clitoris. The clitoris has a higher concentration of nerve endings than any other part of my body and the clitoral hood covers the head of the clitoris. I had never deliberately retracted the hood of my clitoris and stroked directly on the head of it up to that point. It was brand new to me and initially stroking my clitoris directly produced so much sensation I would only do it for short periods of time. I loved adding this on as another way that I would masturbate.
Now, this knowledge of the female anatomy and the sensitivity of the clitoris are an integral part of the strokes I use during masturbation on a daily basis. I pull my hood back and stroke my clitoris directly. The sensation that I feel during masturbation reflects the sensitivity that I have developed from using a variety of pressures and speeds when I am stroking my clitoris. The sensation is also enhanced from noticing how my body feels and doing what feels the best to me in each moment. Sometimes I take myself over a hard edge but often times I don’t. I like the way my body feels after I have been stroking my clitoris, my senses become more acute and I feel more sensation all over my body and on the surface of my skin. Sometimes, even when I am out, I stop and use a public restroom to stroke my clitoris for a few minutes. Masturbation allows me to insert these pleasurable feelings into any part of my day and that affects all different aspects of my life. No one has to know why it feels good to be around me or why good ideas pop out of my mouth, I know.
What you may not have heard until now is that the clitoris’s sole function is to feel pleasure. Masturbation is a core class, but it’s also an elective. It’s my choice every time to have more pleasure in my life, whether I am in a physically sexual relationship with another person or not. I feel that masturbation is a great way to take care of my body and that learning ways to have masturbation be a more gratifying experience from beginning to end has added hugely to my enjoyment of life.