The word “cliteracy” gives me joy and exasperation. I’m exasperated that at forty-four years old, I am only now learning important details about what I would consider the basics of my anatomy.
As recently as last year, I wrote a “A Love Letter to my Clit.” The last phrase in the poem was “my pleasure point – my delicious dot.” The intention of self-love was terrific. The anatomy was incorrect. I thought that my clit was simply a nub – a tiny mound of feel good above my vaginal opening. Instead, it’s the tip of an iceberg.
The clitoris is actually an organ that’s part of a network of erotic erectile tissue – most of which is internal – that has as much mass and size as a penis. (We’ve got full on penis-sized stuff inside us!)
Sophia Wallace – a feminist visual artist – coined the word cliteracy and has been on a campaign to educate women and everyone else. “It’s appalling and shocking to think that scientifically, the clitoris was only discovered in 1998,” she told the The Huffington Post in a fantastic article on the subject.
Actually the female genitals have been discovered and undiscovered several times since the mid-1800’s. Let’s discover it and remember this time, shall we?
This blog will be the first in a series to celebrate cliteracy. We’ll begin with an introduction to Sophia Wallace’s fantastic, eye opening project. Check out this video.
Click to see video.