A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE G-SPOT CONTROVERSY

Ancient tantric teachings have long specified that all women possess two poles, or hot spots. One is the northern external pole, the clitoris. The other is the less well-known internal southern pole, the G-spot. It should be noted that recently both these assumptions have been challenged as being too limiting. Some people feel that the human sexual response is so rich, fluid and varied that it is impossible to declare any absolutes. After all, it may be entirely possible for women to have more than two hot spots and there is no good reason to get stuck with any more limiting beliefs.

Throughout this century, however, there has been considerable controversy about whether or not the G-spot even exists. In the past, many self-important male doctors, and even some women, have denied its existence, and the debate over the focal point of female sexual arousal has stirred many scientific arguments.

Freud takes a lot of abuse from feminists, but he was on the right track with his assertion that women were capable of either clitoral or vaginal orgasms. Unfortunately, his explanation was quite judgmental. He regarded a clitoral orgasm as masculine and immature, while vaginal orgasms were considered feminine and fully mature. (Freud apparently was unfamiliar with blended orgasms and full-body orgasms). Yet, I can understand where Freud was coming from since the clitoral orgasm closely resembles the normal male ejaculation-orgasm. Though it may be intensely pleasurable, it is generally brief, localized, and falls short of rapture, or ecstasy. On the other hand, many women who have experienced the difference between the clitoral orgasm and the deeper, more fulfilling vaginal (G-spot) orgasm will never be satisfied with the lesser of the two.

In spite of Kinsey’s extensive research, he erroneously chose to assume that sexual arousal for women revolved solely around the clitoris. While Dr. Grafenberg agreed with Kinsey that the clitoris is indeed a hot spot for female sexual sensitivity, he also recognized that there is an area of extreme sensitivity in the vagina too. He was the first modern physician to describe this internal trigger point for female orgasm. He noted that it is located on the anterior wall of the ceiling of the vagina about two inches from the entrance. Dr. Grafenberg, apparently possessed astute powers of observation and in honor of his work, the Grafenberg Spot, or G-spot for short, was named after him.

Believe it or not, in the 60’s, famed researchers Masters and Johnson assured us that orgasm in women involves only the clitoris, and that it is the main focus of female erotic arousal. To Masters and Johnson, the vaginal orgasm was only a myth. I still find it pretty amazing that neither Masters and Johnson, nor Kinsey, had any idea that the G-spot existed even after many years of investigating human sexuality.

However, in defense of Masters and Johnson and Kinsey, it should be noted that while the clitoris tends to protrude from the surrounding tissue, the G-spot lies embedded deep inside the vaginal wall, quite well hidden. In addition, until a woman is fully aroused the G-spot will remain small and soft and virtually indistinguishable from the surrounding tissue. Only when it is stimulated does it become engorged and swollen. This probably explains why this sensitive hot spot has been overlooked for so long by the medical profession. During the course of a gynecological exam, the area of the G-spot is usually palpated, but not intentionally stimulated, as a matter of medical ethics. Remember that physicians are taught to avoid procedures that might cause their patients to become sexually aroused. For this reason alone, it's easier to understand why the G-spot has been mostly overlooked. After all, it's not visible and just as the penis does not usually swell during a medical exam, neither does the G-spot. If you think about it, you can see that based solely on a typical medical exam, if a doctor didn't know any better, he or she would be forced to conclude that a man's penis is always soft, droopy and only two or three inches long.

It was left to medical researchers Perry and Whipple, in 1980, to announce to the world that there is indeed a spot within the vagina that is extremely sensitive to deep pressure. They were the ones who named the area in honor of Grafenberg. Of course, they were unaware that the spot had been identified in ancient tantric texts where it was known as the kunda gland, where kundalini (ecstatic energy) is said to reside. Perry and Whipple had found the G-spot in every one of the more than four hundred women that they had examined. They observed that when properly stimulated, the G-spot swells and leads to orgasm in many women. At this point in time, the evidence is quite conclusive. The G-spot not only exists, but it is a major trigger point for female orgasm.

Over the years, I've become convinced that contacting the G-spot during sexual intercourse is essential for optimizing a woman's pleasure. Many women are very aware when a finger, or penis, loses contact with this area and they adjust themselves to this by changing positions. This is why women who do not experience orgasm during intercourse could benefit by exploring different sexual positions until they find one that allows direct stimulation of their G-spot. After all, men exhibit wide variations in terms of the angle of their erections and the size and shape of their penises. Women must find what works best for them. For example, a man who has an erect penis that lies flat against his belly might very well contact a woman's G-spot perfectly in the face to face position, whereas this might not be the case in some other position. On the other hand, for some women, contact with their G-spot is more likely in the rear entry position, and in others from the woman-on-top position. Not only does the physical makeup of the partners and the positioning for intercourse play a role in the stimulation of the G-spot, but the cooperation of the partners plays a part as well. It may just be that the frame of the perfect lover is based on the compatibility of the physiological characteristics, along with the couple's willingness to improvise and experiment.

Of course, even perfectly compatible positioning of the sex organs won't work as long as the G-spot remains armored, or insensitive. That's why I would encourage any couple in a sexual relationship to explore G-spot massage. First and foremost, women need this kind of healing work. Though most people are as yet unaware of it, virtually all women have some degree of genital armoring. Armoring is a process whereby past traumatic experiences are stored in the muscular tissues of the body, and the female sex organs are just as prone to armoring as the rest of the body. Because the G-spot is such a sensitive area and so well hidden deep inside, it is believed to be a perfect receptacle for storing sexual and emotional trauma. Armoring causes the tissue to harden, creating tension and blocking energy in the area that has been traumatized. By armoring itself, the body attempts to protect itself from pain, but in the process, the area in question becomes desensitized to the extent that it reduces the person's capacity to feel pleasure. No wonder so many women fail to enjoy sexual intercourse. For many women it can be either a frighteningly painful experience, or one characterized by numbness and insensitivity that renders their vaginas only minimally responsive to the penis.

Because the G-spot is particularly prone to armoring, it often functions at a reduced level of sensitivity that inhibits pleasure and interferes with the full orgasmic release. Since every cell in our body has a memory, traces of the emotional content of every unsatisfactory sexual experience have been recorded in the muscular tissues of our genitals in a nearly imperceptible way.

Though women are seldom aware of it, if a woman has had painful sexual experiences ---- either physical or emotional ---- her initial response to being touched there may be pain, as if she has a bruise or a cut. If she perseveres, though, and if she and her partner go slowly, lovingly and tenderly, the sore spot inside her will heal and with it her past wounds. Healing herself in this way can awaken in her a power she has never known that can illuminate her life on many levels. Only then will a woman be able to experience optimum sexual pleasure. A woman may consider herself healed when there is no fear, no identification with past traumas and therefore no habitual tendency to contract during sex.