Betty Dodson with Carlin Ross

Better Orgasms. Better World.

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11. All sex organs begin as female. The penis develops out of the same embryonic material as the clitoris. It is essentially the same organ biologically speaking until the hormones kick in. That's when our ovaries become the testicles that drop into the ball sack which began as our vaginal lips. I've never known if that's our inner or outer labia. Do you know Lillith?
While both sexes have much in common, the big difference in my experience is that it takes women much longer to get fully aroused. So slow down all you passionate tops and encourage your girlfriend to take charge of her own clitoral stimulation.

Sensitivity equals number of nerve endings divided by surface area, so if the number of nerve endings is constant, less surface area means more sensitivity. Point #1 certainly makes sense to me.
I think it has unfortunate implications about the clitoris, though. I've been told that it has about 8,000 nerve endings, but it is equally sensitive regardless of size. Do larger clitorises have more nerve endings, are they less sensitive, or am I completely wrong?

Betty I suspect your comment about women being slower to arouse needs a little qualification. Kinsey reported that some 45% of those females who had ever masturbated reached orgasm in 3 minutes or less and another 25% in something between 4 and 5 minutes. (Female p163). They reported being noticeably slower during coitus and also I would guess that the environment of one of your masturbation workshops would have both more of the initial distractions that would affect a woman's arousal time, and also they might be starting from a history of difficulty until their bodies and minds learned new skills.
So the physiological capability is likely to be there in all, but for many women the mind runs some heavy filtering.

I'd forgotten this part of Kinsey's research when he reported that some 45% of females who  masturbated reached orgasm in 3 minutes to 5 minutes. For me, that's like a premature ejaculation with little time to build up any sexual tension that would create a more meaningful orgasm. What's the damn hurry? I still say slow down and enjoy more sensations with our wonderful sexual bodies.

Hi Dr. Betty, yes, the original fetal template is female. According to what I have read, males only develop because the original female program is overruled by the secretion of testosterone. From what I have gathered in my classes, we start out with two sets of reproductive ducts: a Wolffian and a Mullerian system (Wollfian for the boys, Mullerian for the girls).  At around three months, if the child is a boy, the testosterone causes the female system to degenerate and the male system to develop. 
I was looking at some of the illustrations in Rebecca Chalker's book The Clitoral Truth and it looks like the scrotum develops from what becomes our outer lips.

In regards to the speed of arousal, Hite also found that most women could orgasm fairly quickly during masturbation. I think Masters and Johnson noticed this as well. A study completed at McGill University looking at thermal imaging found that there was no sex difference between how long it took to get aroused for a healthy person http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060930094145.htm.

But let's put this stuff in its cultural context. Hite was looking at women with an extensive masturbation history and Masters and Johnson hand selected their sample for sexual functionality. This is not necessarily the average woman. A lot of women don't masturbate and so they don't learn their body very well. Plus, the McGill study was only looking at physiological arousal, not psychological arousal. Many studies have found that a woman could be physically quite aroused and report little or no sexual excitement. She may not know she is turned on.

I think women are probably all over the map on this issue. Women seem to really vary sexually more so than men. Some women seem to take a very long time to become fully aroused and others are really quick. Plus, I think many women would agree with you that taking time and playing with arousal is really enjoyable and enhances the experience. In my own experience, I could orgasm rather quickly alone, but often with a partner I could take forever - even with me doing my clit. It seems I often had problems with distraction with a partner. Partner sex can be such a loaded experience with so much riding on it.

Paviel, I am not sure if there is any connection between size and clit sensitivity. Frankly, I was shocked to hear of the breast size and sensitivity link. If I hadn't read it in a Buss and Meston book, I'm not sure I would have believed it. I am not a physiological psychologist, or a biologist so I don't know. It is an interesting question.

That's true! At fetuses start out female. After the testosterone kicks in even the brain changes. Read that in The Female Brain.  Kudos for pointing it out though, that's always bothered me. "The Clitoris is the female penis..." not only is that annoying and an implication of inferiority,  but its completely inaccurate!