Katie White
What started as a light-hearted question to friends quickly became a major concern. Not
a single person I asked could get anywhere close to drawing the clitoris. Most people
couldn’t even say the word without laughing. The ones who did manage to say it
subconsciously lowered their voice to a whisper. The clitoris is a gift that evolution felt
important enough to not deny us, so what has gone wrong?
I’m not shaming anyone here; I was exactly the same and it’s no accident that we are
iclliterate. The clitoris is the only organ in the human body (male or female) that exists
purely for pleasure. By taking importance away from female pleasure, society could
flatten the role of women exclusively to rearing and raising children and make them
secondary to men.
Today the clitoris is ignored. In the past it was actively feared. A large, visible clitoris
was a sign of being a witch and was enough to merit death. People genuinely believed
that it was where the devil sucked your soul out from. Bikes were (and still are)
designed to be more upright for women from fear of provoking an orgasm; another sign
that most people don’t know the first thing about them.
Words are a signal of importance. Most people (women included) can’t say the word
clitoris without giggling; we are taught to be embarrassed of the one part of our body
that is designed for pleasure. Meanwhile we are given a buffet of words for the penis,
which has more synonyms than any other word in the English language – 174
synonyms to be precise. There are none for clitoris and the ones that exist for vagina
include the rudest word in the English language. So many are immature – pussy, mini
moo, poonani. Others are misogynistic – bang hole, cock pocket, snake den, sausage
mitten. The rest are just outright unattractive – beef curtains, fur burger, bearded clam.
This problem is far more than words and a drawing. Feminism is rooted in the belief that
men and women are equal. How do we ever expect to have gender equality if we know
nothing about this uniquely female organ? Being iclliterate is just one example of how
society has normalised misogyny, setting a dangerous context for micro-aggressions
and far worse in terms of sexual harassment. We can’t write the clit back into the script
without knowing what it looks like, or having the language to discuss it. Yes, the vast
majority of it is inside our bodies, but most people can draw the lungs.
None of us learn about it at school. Education on the female reproductive system has
ignored the clitoris. The most cliterate among us can identify it as a floating magic bean
within a sideways eye. Being cliterate is relevant for everyone – whether you have a
clitoris, engage with one or consider yourself an ally to anyone who identifies as a
woman.
Understanding the anatomy of this organ scientifically proves the importance of
foreplay. All female orgasms are caused by the clitoris – whether it’s the external ‘bean’
or the internal bulbs. But the internal part is only activated once the external part is too.
On top of this, saying the word clitoris has actually been proven to lead to better sex.
The problem here is lack of awareness, which should theoretically make it an easy one
to solve. The cliteracy crusade’s mission is to make the world cliterate. Educating the
globe is no easy task and we need as much help as we can get.
The first, and easiest thing you can do is start conversations. Ask your friends,
colleagues, grandma and supermarket checkout assistant if they can draw the clitoris. If
you’d like, use the simple diagram in this article to help you. If you don’t feel comfortable
bringing the question up, wear one of our tote bags to prompt the conversation. Each
one comes with the drawing and diagram inside. Give these to your friends and
encourage them to do the same.
Our next aim is to get the conversation going on a much wider level. We want to talk at
schools, events and workshops. This is going to take time and we are just at the start of
our exciting journey. Please stay with us, take a look at cliteracycrusade.com for more
information/to see our tote bags and give @cliteracycrusade a follow on Instagram.
Wouldn’t it be brilliant to see a spray-painted clit on the pavement in ten years’ time?
