Hello beautiful CIMS family, 

See Gallery here of pictures of clit and vulva anatomy drawn by artist in our CIMS community. 

International Clitoris Awareness Week was May 6–12, and somehow I nearly missed it, which feels deeply on-brand for me but better late then never!

So consider this my belated but very enthusiastic public service announcement:The clitoris is not a “little button”, not just the little rose bud you see externally at the top of the vulva, and... THE CLIT IS NOT HARD TO FIND  (despite all the jokes online we see.)

The clitoris is an entire organ, mostly hidden inside the body, with one job: pleasure.

And yet so many of us grew up learning more about how not to get pregnant than how to pleasure and understand our AMAZING body parts. 

For years the clit has been left out of medical textbooks, conversations, research, and intimacy.

Recently, researchers completed one of the most detailed mappings ever done of the clitoral nerve network, including a much deeper understanding of how extensive and complex the internal structure actually is.

Which sounds like a normal scientific update, until you realise how unbelievably late we are to this conversation.

Medical science has mapped male genital anatomy in extraordinary detail for decades, while the clitoris, an organ whose primary role is pleasure, has historically been under-researched, under-taught, and often completely left out of anatomy education altogether.

For years, many textbooks only showed the tiny external tip of the clitoris, despite the majority of the organ existing internally. The full structure actually extends deep inside the pelvis, with internal bulbs, erectile tissue, and thousands upon thousands of nerve fibres forming an intricate network designed for sensation.

Some researchers have even pointed out that surgeons performing pelvic procedures often receive far more education on preserving nerves linked to male sexual function than female sexual function, simply because the anatomy hasn’t been prioritised or properly studied.

So when scientists announce a “new” mapping of clitoral nerves in 2026, it’s both exciting and frustrating:

exciting because we are finally learning more about bodies that have historically been ignored…

and frustrating because half the population should not have had to wait this long for their anatomy to be taken seriously.

The good news is that conversations are changing. More educators, doctors, researchers and creators ( ME) are finally treating pleasure, anatomy and female sexual health as worthy of real education instead of taboo whispers.

Because knowing your body is not dirty.
Pleasure is not embarrassing.
Anatomy is not inappropriate.
And the more we understand ourselves, the harder it is for anyone else to make us feel ashamed.

So in honour of Clitoris Awareness Week, even if we are fashionably late, here is your reminder to:

Say the word.
Learn the anatomy.
Ask for what you like.
Stop pretending bad sex is fine.
And never, ever let anyone make you feel weird for wanting to understand the body you live in.

Love you lots,
Ellie x