This past Wednesday, October 7, 2015 from 5:30-7pm, the Alice Drum Women’s Center, the Department of Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies, the Office of the College Chaplain, and the Office of the Dean of the College sponsored a workshop on the female orgasm. Jill McDevitt, PhD in human sexuality, hosted a fun and educational nationally recognized lecture to kick off the F&M “Sex-Positive Series”.
McDevitt began her lecture with a fun game of Pin the Clit! She asked players to pick a part of the vulva, spin in a circle once, cover their eyes and pin it in its proper place on the human body. Notice I said vulva, and not vagina. The purpose of this activity was to go over the anatomy of the vulva, and deconstruct our habit of calling the vulva a vagina. With this activity the audience was reminded about the complexity of the female anatomy, and how by calling the vulva, a vagina it causes the female anatomy to be devalued. By calling an entire region of the body the vagina it is erased of it’s true essence.
She followed that activity with a discussion about the female orgasm. She began by informing the audience that 75% of women have FAKED an orgasm! Then she asked our audience, made up mainly of women, to share their first orgasm stories. Through the sharing of our stories a safe learning environment was created. McDevitt ‘s great sense of humor and welcoming attitude helped the audience feel comfortable in this discussion. We then proceed to talk about the mystery of the vaginal orgasm, which has been studied since 1905. We learned that many different scientific studies have been examining the vaginal orgasm since then, only to prove that some women can, while others can’t. In the end one thing remains the same: THE CLIT IS THE SHIT! Consisting of 8,000 nerve endings and located towards the top of the labia (the outer and inner skin folds), but below the pubic bone, the clitoris is the main cause of orgasms.
The lecture finished with a discussion about our feelings towards our genitals. We anonymously answered the question: “How do you feel about your genitals?” The results were all very different and proved that women have an evident disconnection with their bodies. Many people in the audience were insecure about what their vagina should look like; when in actuality there is no normal vulva. Much like our faces, all vulvas have different features and should be accepted as they are.
Overall, McDevitt has brought our campus a great deal of knowledge about the female orgasm and the female anatomy. She helped us reexamine the view of the vulva, not as a male centric part of the body, but as a valuable part of the female body. As women, it is important to know our own bodies; it can help communicating with ourselves, with significant others, and with doctors.