CarnalNation

There's been another go-round in the debate over whether there's really a G-spot. Frankly, it's hard for me not to just say, “Who cares what scientists think? What will it change for them to scientifically prove there's a G-spot anyway?” The answer, of course, is that all those scientists might start having more fun in bed. (And their lovers, too.) The more pleasure there is in the world, the better.

Well, scientists can spend their lives testing, measuring and searching for anatomical structures and not finding them, but that hasn't stopped some of us from blithely enjoying our G-spots nonetheless. The G-spot has been controversial since it was “discovered” in 1950 by gynecologist Ernst Grafenberg and named for him in the '80s. But just like everything else about our sex lives, lack of definitive answers doesn't preclude us having fun with it.

The most recent scientist to say nay is female, which has some folks thinking that she knows what she's talking about more than the guys do. It's also interesting that this time, Dr. Andrea Burri and her fellow researchers compared the experiences and opinions of identical twins with that of fraternal twins. This is generally done to determine if there is a genetic component to whatever is being tested, because identical twins have the exact same DNA. They come from one fertilized egg that splits after conception. Fraternal twins, on the other hand, come from two different eggs, fertilized separately, and therefore are as alike as any other siblings. When a characteristic is shared—or not shared—with consistency by identical twins more often than by fraternal twins, it is probably a genetically-derived trait.

In the '80s, there was a large research project that studied identical twins and fraternal twins, and concluded that there was probably a genetic component to homosexuality. (Yes, Virginia, there is a gay decorator gene!) There was an amazing array of other questions asked in that study. They had a very long list of activities on a questionnaire and asked about the subject's interest in and participation with each. Participation and interest were measured with a 9-choice scale ranging from the scientifically valid wording of “Yuck! Even thinking of someone else doing that curls my hair!” to “Do it ALL the time! Wanna do it with me now?” There was also the “Don't Know/Never Heard of That” option. My identical twin sister was a research subject in that project with me. We're still waiting to hear about genetically-influenced proclivities toward shoe fetishes; just scientific curiosity, you understand.

We weren't in Dr. Burri's research, but we have talked about her study of the G-spot. We agree that Dr. Whipple's remark is most relevant: Women have different sexual partners and techniques and therefore different sensations and experiences, regardless of how much alike their anatomy or genetics may be. So, having both an identical twin and a G-spot, and having worked as a sexological bodyworker with scores of women who also have G-spots, I have a word or two (well, maybe closer to a thousand) to say about Dr. Burri's findings and G-spots.