G-spot

Women do not have a G-spot

You might be surprised to know just how much controversy exists among sex researchers and gynecologists as to whether women have a G-spot. G-spot is a term used to describe an especially sensitive area that supposedly exists in a woman’s vagina. This erogenous zone is supposed to be an area that can be stimulated to lead to pleasurable feelings or even orgasms in women for whom the G-spot can be identified. Among those who say that this spot exists, they suggest it is located on the front wall of the vagina, about halfway between the pubic bone and the cervix. The G-spot is often cited as being a source of “internal” or “vaginal” orgasms for a woman, as opposed to the clitoris, which can be stimulated for more of an “external” orgasm.

The G-spot was named after Dr. Ernst Gräfenberg, a German obstetrician and gynecologist, who described a sensitive female area back in the 1950s. Three researchers, Drs. John Perry and Beverly Whipple, and Alice Kahn Ladas, Ed. D., dubbed this area the G-spot in his honor in their 1982 book called The G Spot: And Other Discoveries About Human Sexuality. What they described was really more of an area than a spot, an area on the front wall of the vagina where a number of anatomical structures tend to come together—blood vessels, glands and ducts on either side of the urethra, nerve endings, the vagina wall, and the neck of the bladder. In their study, 400 women were examined, and the G-spot was identified in each one. Histologic studies, ones that look at the types of cells or human tissues, seem to support the existence of this area in terms of the various components coming together in one area. However, they also suggest that the composition of this area is somewhat different from one woman to another, which may be why it seems like some women do not have a G-spot or do not experience pleasure when this area is stimulated. Contrary to popular belief, the G-spot does not have a lot more nerve endings. In a study that took 110 biopsies from twenty-one women, they did not find a particular area in this region with lots and lots of nerves. While this small study could have just missed the spot, it also supports the idea that the G-spot is not just a bunch of nerves, but a collection of other structures.

This all sounds fairly straightforward. Surely scientists can tell if a body part exists or not, right? You might be surprised. A number of them doubt whether the G-spot exists at all. However, the science disproving the G-spot is not particularly strong. One argument against the G-spot is that some scans, such as an MRI, have not revealed an obvious structure. The problem with these studies is that they are generally very small. Scientists have argued based on one scan of one woman in whom they did not see a structure that they would call a G-spot. One scan of one woman does not mean that there is not a particularly sensitive area present. Other arguments against the G-spot suggest that there is not a particular anatomical spot, but that the entire area is quite sensitive or that the G-spot might be “in women’s heads.” If you think that stimulating a particular area is going to feel good, then it will feel good, argue these detractors. The problem with this line of thinking is that it could go either way for the G-spot. Certainly, the brain is an important sexual organ. If you think something will be exciting or you think something will feel good or you want someone to touch you, that should make that aspect of sex more enjoyable! This does not mean that there is no sensitive area in the vagina; it just means that the psychology of sex might be the most important thing overall. Researchers both for and against the G-spot agree with that idea.

Another recent study claimed to disprove the existence of the G-spot based on a study in 1,800 twins. Just over half of the women believed they had a G-spot, but the twins of these women were no more likely to think that they had a G-spot. The lack of a twin connection made the study authors conclude that this was evidence against an anatomical G-spot. While twins should be more likely to have the same anatomical structures, it is also possible that their sexual experiences are different enough that they do not consider themselves sensitive in the same areas. As the G-spot expert Dr. Whipple suggests, the biggest problem with this study is that twins usually do not have the same sexual partner! With different people, different emotions, and different scenarios, the experience of sexuality among the twins might be different enough to color whether they think they have this sensitive area.

After reviewing the studies of the G-spot, it is clear that experts are divided and that the science is not rigorous enough to give us a clear answer. On balance of these data, we are going to come down in favor of the existence of the G-spot. (We’re trying to be very scientific, but have to admit that there are likely some nonscientific reasons biasing this conclusion. We’ll spare you the specifics…) Reasonable examinations have supported the existence of the G-spot, and no convincing science currently disproves these findings. One of the most important factors here is how important the brain is to the experience of sexuality. The reason to celebrate the G-spot is not because women should be pressured to find if they have such an area and to have it stimulated. Instead, it should refocus us to know more about the parts of the body that can be involved in pleasurable experiences. It is also clear that more research needs to be done related to women’s sexuality, even in the basics of the anatomy of the vagina.