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but I don’t think most of us are clear what the vulva includes.
     
    External View of the Vulva
     

 
    Ms. Ensler is right: the term “vulva” is much more specific and inclusive, especially when describing the visible parts of the clitoris. Although the vagina plays an extremely active role in the reproductiveprocess, it takes a backseat to the clitoris in the production of pleasure; employing “vagina” as a catchall phrase for describing a woman’s genitalia actually promotes an inaccurate understanding of female anatomy, perhaps even more so than the more generic “down there.”
    So, “vulva” it is—in the interest of accuracy, as well as in the hope of promoting greater familiarity with the term. The words you choose to use in your bedroom are your own business; supplying you with accurate knowledge is this book’s business.

Now You See It:
Female Sexual Anatomy Part 1
     
    The Vulva and External Parts
of the Clitoris *
     
    S TARTING WITH the visible parts of the clitoral network, let’s take a closer look at what’s really “down there.”
    The Mons Pubis. We begin our journey, north, at the mons pubis, also known as the “mons veneris” (mountain of Venus), named after the Roman goddess of love. The mons pubis is a thick pad of fattytissue, covered in pubic hair, which is sometimes called the love mound because it forms a soft mound over the pubic bone.
     
    I nterestingly, the principal function of pubic hair is to attract and retain odors that stem from the release of glands in the pubic area and serve as a source of arousal. As Napoleon noted in a love letter to Josephine: “A thousand kisses to your neck, your breasts, and lower down, much lower down, that little black forest I love so well.”
     
     
     
    The Labia Majora. Heading south from the mons pubis, we next encounter the starting point of the labia majora (major lips). The outer sides of the labia majora, also known as the outer lips, are rich with pubic hair, whereas their inner sides are smooth, lined with oil and sweat glands. Beneath the skin of the outer lips is a network of erectile tissue that engorges with blood during arousal. The outer lips are analogous to the male scrotum, and both were formed from the same embryonic tissue. Although sensitive to touch, the outer lips are not nearly as sensitive as the labia minora (small lips) or other parts of the clitoral network such as the head and shaft.
     
    The Front Commissure. The outer lips mark an area where the visible parts of the clitoris begin. This highly sensitive area, just above the clitoral head, is called the front commissure, and it’s from this point that the clitoral shaft—an unseen, but instrumental part of the clitoris—protrudes.
     
    The Labia Minora. Enfolded within the labia majora are the labia minora (little lips), although many insist that it’s more apt to refer to both sets of lips respectively as outer and inner, rather than big and little, since the inner lips sometimes protrude out and beyond the outer lips. Interestingly, the inner lips are also archaically knownas “nymphae,” named after the nymphs of ancient Greece who were famous for their irrepressible libidos and are the source of the term “nymphomania.”
     
    S ome anthropologists speculate that a woman’s use of lipstick stems from her desire to have the visible upper lips resemble the inner hidden lips below—a signal to the opposite sex that she is sexually ready.
     
     
    The inner lips enfold and surround the clitoral glans (the head), the urethral opening, and the introitus (entrance) to the vagina. Like the inner side of the labia majora, these smaller, inner lips have no hair, but are layered with oil glands that look and feel like tiny bumps. Dense with nerves, the inner lips are extremely sensitive and play an important role in the process of arousal.
    The inner lips are remarkably diverse in size and appearance. From woman to woman, and often on the same woman, no two