The ‘G’ does not stand for genetic

Ah, the female G-spot. The stuff of sexual legend. Does it exist? Does it not exist? Do you just need better directions to find it, or a “G”PS?

Well, a 2010 study in the Journal of Sexual Medicine has thrown in and says that while it may be in some people’s jeans, it’s actually not in their genes.

The G-spot has been described as a small, sensitive structure along the front interior wall of the vagina, which can produce or intensify orgasms when stimulated. The “G” comes from Ernst Gräfenberg, the physician who first wrote about the spot in 1950.

Some books and magazines have publicized a wide acceptance of the existence of the G-spot in women, but the science has not fallen one way or the other quite yet.

Previous studies have linked the presence of a G-spot to anatomical or physiological features. These include the space between the urethra and vagina, the Skene glands (also known as the “female prostate”), or the clitoris. However, the debate still goes on due to small sample sizes or high variability.

In this study, Andrea Burri and her colleagues at King’s College asked more than 1,800 women if they have a G-spot, and 56 percent of the women reported that they do. This figure is comparable to the 66 percent reported in an American survey from 1990.

The interesting feature of Burri’s sample was that they included 357 pairs of identical twins and 356 pairs of fraternal twins. Since twins share genetic information, they were able to further explore whether or not genes were correlated with a G-spot.

Burri’s conclusion? The G-spot is not a heritable, genetic trait.

This finding seems to go against the anatomical explanation: If the G-spot were structural, then it stands to reason that it would be genetic to some degree.

Instead, Burri found some associations between reporting a G-spot and factors which are more psychosocial. For example, some of the women reporting a G-spot also scored higher in “openness to new experience,” fantasized more, and were more satisfied with their relationships.

In addition, these women were more likely to achieve orgasm during intercourse, and have multiple, more satisfying orgasms. Yet more of them still preferred clitoral orgasms over vaginal ones.

These results are not perfect. If having a G-spot facilitates a vaginal orgasm, then the 56 percent in this study does not match up with the reported 15-30 percent of women who are able to have vaginal orgasms. Also, there could be bias in self-reporting because of the way the questionnaire was worded, and the authors did not confirm presence of a G-spot by physical exam.

Still, we can take away that not all women report having a G-spot, so don’t think you’re weird if you don’t think you have one.

While the G-spot may be associated with other aspects of orgasmic function, the causation is not clear. Maybe having a G-spot gives you better orgasms, or maybe better orgasms make it more likely that you’ll perceive having one.

Either way, the preference for clitoral orgasms suggests that a G-spot might not grant you a one-way trip to vaginal orgasmic bliss.

At least, you probably won’t find directions on Google Maps.

Perry Tsai is a columnist from The Daily Tar Heel. He is a second-year medical student from New Orleans, LA. Contact him at perrytsai@gmail.com