There is this unbelievably wonderful and, at the same time, a significant project by Sophia Wallace, an American conceptual artist and photographer called Cliteracy. “How is it possible that we landed on the Moon and walked around 29 years before we discovered the anatomy of the clitoris? We actually cloned sheep, identified the Higgs boson particle, and only discovered the clitoris 29 years ago?”–asks Wallace, causing laughter among the audience. Still, that question contains the internal sadness of half of the population of planet Earth, “cursed” according to the general opinion, to have a clitoris. Science, of course, not so advanced as it is today, has been ignoring the clitoris for more than two thousand years, not giving it the attention clit deserves.
So, here’s a quiz question: How many people know precisely what this is about? Where is the clitoris, how does it look, and what is it for? What’s clit’s anatomy? (see the photo above to get a clearer perspective or the following link)
How’s all this possible!? Not knowing the anatomy of a clitoris! Well, all this begins to make sense when we take into account that this organ is the source of pleasure in women (with 8000 nerves).
We can put it this way: If there’s no organ responsible for pleasure (as believed until recently), it means that the sexual act for women has only reproductive function, providing enjoyment for men. Quite simple! The woan, femininity and her whole existence have always been reduced to reproductive purposes, which on the other hand, determines her role in family and society.
The female genitalia is still taboo, strictly controlled and maintained throughout history. Female sexual desire is shameful, dirty, immoral, obscene, pathological, devilish… If we just think about the dark Middle ages when hundreds, thousands and according to some, maybe even millions of women were declared witches and killed by hanging, drowning and burning; previously tortured with various methods. According to the Catholic clergyman Heinrich Kramer, the author of one the most misogynistic texts ever written, Malleus Maleficarum (Hammer of Witches, 1486), witchcraft stems entirely from carnal lust, which is allegedly insatiable in women. Female lust is incontrollable, leading them to have sex even with the devil.
And what can be expected from a woman who is defective in her very creation–made from a curved rib, according to these assistants of the Inquisition. Imperfect in every way. In fact, her whole existence is defined by the man, from her becoming to interpreting the clitoris as a female penis. We use a male organ to determine a female one, which is entirely wrong. Maybe that’s because male genitals have been studied in detail; an erected penis symbolizes the perfection of the human being. The female body is secondary and deserves no attention.
In addition, about 4 million girls a year are exposed to the possibility of Female genital mutilation (FGM). It is a procedure performed on a woman or girl to alter or injure her genitalia for non-medical reasons. It most often involves the partial or total removal of her external genitalia. The reasons behind the practice vary. In some cases, it is seen as a rite of passage into womanhood, while others see it as a way to suppress a woman’s sexuality. Many communities practice genital mutilation in the belief that it will ensure a girl’s future marriage or family honour.
All of this is happening right now, in our time in the 21st century. Is this just one way of continuing the dark witch-hunt from the Middle ages? Female desire, passion, longing, lust is castrated both literally and figuratively as something that we need to get rid of because it’s unnatural, which sends a message that something is wrong with female sexuality.
Today despite the progress and liberation of sexuality, the matrix of patriarchy is still deeply rooted on a level of dogma. Patriarchy is always present; it just finds different ways of existence, changing its methods and means to keep women submissive. In short, the issue of sexuality is a matter of power. Nowadays, new myths are being built and forced, such as beauty, as a tool to satisfy and please others (men), instead of getting to know themselves better, liberating themselves, and feeling free and pleased. Female sexual desire is wrapped in shame, failing to see and recognize that women long for something more, such as orgasm. The sexual desire remains repressed, unarticulated and most frighteningly unrealized. Attempts to break down the stereotypes often hit a wall of already established determinations of women: prostitutes, obscene, promiscuous, they pose a threat to moral and social norms because the androcentric order has already imposed female ideal based on purity, goodness and beauty. Men refuse or evade sexual games with their wives because the purity of their love must be preserved as she is the mother of his children and seek kinky pleasures outside the marriage bed. At the same time, women stay frustrated just not to be characterized as prostitutes. Double standards role attitudes and beliefs firmly stand the test of time.
Established control over sex and sexuality is used to restrict sexual freedom, limiting the lavish female nature to reproductive function, depriving her the opportunity for self-realization in all roles from witch to a “gentle wife” and mother. My gut and reality tell me that this trend will not be changed easily, but we are here determined to regain our inherent right to live a fulfilled life.
