Just three percent of UK adults can correctly identify the anatomy of the clitoris, according to sex toy and lingerie shop Lovehoney.
A survey of 2,000 UK adults — what Lovehoney is calling "The Great British Cliteracy Test" — found an alarming gap between confidence and knowledge of the anatomy. Ninety percent of participants stated they know where the clitoris is, but only 30 percent could correctly locate it on a diagram. Women were only one percent more likely than men (30 percent to 29 percent) to find it.
And a mere three percent were able to identify its full internal structure.
When shown a diagram of a vulva, 24 percent thought it was a heart, 13 percent thought it was a vagina (which is the internal organ, not external as the vulva is), and 10 percent believed it to be ovaries.
This is shocking, but it may not be as surprising as when we consider people's lack of sex education. Sixty-six percent of participants said they were never formally educated about the clit, and 78 percent said sex ed failed to properly cover female pleasure. As Lovehoney notes, the complete structure of the clitoris was only fully mapped in 1998 — less than 30 years ago. For much of history, this anatomy wasn't wholly understood.
What's more is that 16 percent of women say they've never learned about female sexual anatomy, and 16 percent taught themselves. Twenty-two percent of men said they learned most from their partner, while 13 percent said porn taught them the most.
Some are even turning to AI to learn about clit stimulation (more male, 23 percent, than female, 13 percent, unsurprisingly).
Sex education "should include comprehensive information about female anatomy and sexual health," Lovehoney's sexual health and wellness expert, Sarah Mulindwa, stated in the press release, as "understanding one's body is a fundamental aspect of health literacy."
Not only is this an educational problem, but it's a problem of pleasure. The orgasm gap between men and women in heterosexual pairings is real, and stimulating the clit is the main way most women O. Yet, 23 percent of men believe their partners orgasm every time during penetrative sex, according to Lovehoney's survey. Eleven percent of women say they do.
"Women need and often prefer their clitoris touched, stroked and stimulated in some way to orgasm," sexual and reproductive health expert, Dr. Suzanne Belton, stated. "The findings of the 'Great British Cliteracy Test' demonstrate that on paper at least, two-thirds of men and women cannot point to a clitoris."
Sad, but true. Hopefully now, these participants — and everyone else — will educate themselves.
