All About Females

External Anatomy

Vulva (vajay-jay)
This is the real word for everything you see on the outside of a female’s genital parts. People often call this a vagina but it is really a vulva. It includes the mons pubis (mound), labia (lips), clitoral hood (clit) and openings to the vagina and urethra (where you pee from). Every woman’s vulva is unique and vulvas can vary quite a bit in size, shape and colour.

Mons Pubis (mound)
This is the fleshy part that covers the outside of the pubic bone. When girls go through puberty, hair grows here.

Pubic Hair (pubes, bush)
This is the fleshy part that covers the outside of the pubic bone. When girls go through puberty, hair grows here. Pubic hair varies from person to person; it can be straight or curly, a lot or a little, and black, brown, blonde, white, red, auburn or grey. Some women shave their pubic hair and some don’t.

Labia Majora (outer lips)
The outer lips are the fleshy folds that you see on the outside of the female’s body. Their job is to protect the inner parts and they are usually covered with pubic hair after puberty. Labia vary in size, shape and colour.

Labia Minora (inner lips)
The inner lips sit between your two outer lips. To see them you might want to use your fingers to move the outer lips aside. Inner lips don’t have pubic hair. They are thinner than the outside labia and more sensitive to touch. They also vary a lot in size, shape and colour. When a female is sexually turned on, blood flows to the inner lips and they can look darker and bigger.

Clitoris (clit)
At the top of the inner lips, there is a little hood that covers the clitoris. The clitoris looks relatively small on the outside but it has roots that run down both sides of the vagina underneath the skin. The clitoris is very sensitive to touch and when a female is aroused, it fills with blood and becomes erect (similar to the head of the penis for males). It has lots of nerve endings and is the only part of the body that exists purely for pleasure.

Hymen (cherry)
The hymen is a thin skin that partially or fully covers the opening to the vagina. This is the part that is believed to tear, stretch or “pop” the first time a woman or girl experiences vaginal penetration. Some females do bleed a bit the first time they put something into their vagina, but lots don’t. For many girls, the hymen is stretched partially or fully from riding bikes or horses, falling or using tampons. Some girls are born without a hymen.

Vaginal Opening (vag)
This is the larger opening you see at the bottom of the vaginal lips if you move the labia apart. There are very tiny glands on both sides of the opening called Bartholin glands that secrete lubricating fluid.

Urethral Opening (‘pee hole’)
This is the smaller opening you see above the vaginal opening. It looks like a small fold of skin and it’s where urine (pee) comes out.

Perineum
This is the area between the vaginal opening and the anus. Some girls and women find this area pleasurable and sensitive to touch.

Anus (‘bum hole’)
The anus is the opening to the rectum. Some girls and women find it sensitive and pleasurable to touch.


Internal Anatomy

Vagina
The vagina is a muscular and flexible tunnel about the length of your hand. It is lined with mucous membranes that feel wet, sort of like the inside of your mouth. It is not very sensitive because it makes up part of the birth canal and giving birth would feel too uncomfortable with lots of nerve endings there. It is also the passageway for menstrual fluids. The walls of the vagina rest against each other, and when a female is turned on, the vagina swells, lengthens and becomes wet.

Cervix
At the end of the vagina is the cervix which is actually the bottom of the uterus. It feels hard and round but can change in shape and texture at different points in a female’s menstrual cycle. It has many nerve cells and swells when a woman is sexually excited; some women find stimulation of the cervix pleasurable while others find it irritating.

Urethra
The urethra is the tube that carries urine (pee) from the bladder out of the body through the urethral opening.

Skene’s Glands
These tiny glands are inside the urethral opening. They are where female ejaculate comes from.

Female Ejaculation (squirting)
The release of fluids produced in the female prostate (G-Spot). It is similar to male prostatic fluid and it’s thicker than urine. There can be a couple of tablespoons of it or as much as a cup or two.

Uterus (Womb)
The uterus is a hollow, pear-shaped organ that sheds its lining during menstruation. This is what you see when you have your period. The uterus is very strong and flexible and it is where a fetus grows during pregnancy.

Ovaries
Attached to the uterus are two almond-shaped glands called ovaries. These glands store egg cells (ovum) and produce the female sex hormones estrogen and progesterone. Did you know that females are born with one to two million eggs? By the time girls begin to menstruate there are about 400,000 left and only about 400 will ever mature. When females ‘ovulate’ it means the ovaries have released an egg into the fallopian tubes.

Fallopian Tubes
The fallopian tubes are thin tubes that carry eggs (ovum) from the ovaries to the womb. Normally it takes 3-4 days for an egg to make the journey from the beginning of the tube to the uterus. Along the way, if an egg meets up with sperm, the female may get pregnant. Sometimes these tubes get blocked and a woman has difficulty getting pregnant or the fertilized egg cannot reach the womb.

Grafenberg Spot (G-Spot)
The G-Spot is named after Dr. Grafenberg. This is an area on the front inner wall of the vagina, just above the pubic bone. It contains spongy tissue, which surrounds the urethra. Pressure on this area can give the sensation of having to urinate. Some women enjoy having it stimulated and some do not. The G-Spot is associated with female ejaculation (squirting), but not all women experience this.