The practice of easure

There's never been a better time to close the "orgasm gap" than right now today, even. The female orgasm has been better understood by science in the last 20 years than in the last 2 000. Here's what you need to know and how to put it to good use.

- CHRISTI NORTIER

Our understanding of the female orgasm has been revolutionised in the last two decades - shocking, considering it's been around as long as, well, we have. It's been dismissed by male scientists as frivolous for eons, but in the early 2000s a handful of women scientists made it their mission to reveal just how dynamic and powerful a thing it really is. They did this by better understanding its core: the clitoris - and the brain.

Physically, an orgasm is a "series of rhythmic contractions in the pelvic muscles that send waves of pleasure throughout the body," explains Durban-based sex educator, Lisa Welsh. When you feel sexually aroused, a rush of blood is sent to the clitoris and vulva - and after an orgasm, contractions redistribute the blood again. To make sense of female pleasure, it's crucial to understand something scientists only learnt in 2005: the clitoris is so much larger and more sensitive than we thought. In truth, only 10% of the clitoris is visible; the other 90% of nerves and blood vessels extend about 9cm into the pelvis - and stimulation of this entire area accounts for both the vaginal orgasm and mythologised "G-spot". Australian urologist Helen O'Connell also proved that the clitoris has two to three times more nerve endings than the penis. So, with such abundant reach and sensation, why is the female orgasm still so elusive for so many women (and even more men)?

WHEN BODY MEETS BRAIN

There are so many "pleasure peaks" during sex or arousal that it can be difficult to know exactly when an orgasm starts and ends, explains neuroscientist Dr Nicole Pause in The Guardian. Her research shows that women's interpretation of their orgasm doesn't always line up with when they are having the contractions, showing that orgasm is as much in the mind as it is in the body.

So what's going on up there?