Size matters. We've heard it countless times about the penis, but what about the clitoris? We're not talking about physical size, we mean the metaphorical space it occupies. It’s one of the most important organs for women's sexual health, yet to both the medical community and the public, it has remained an enigma. It wasn't fully represented in anatomy textbooks until the late 20th century and was once dismissed as simply "a small version of the penis." The research gap is even more staggering. A 2025 PubMed search found just 2,780 published studies on the clitoris. The penis? 56,443. Now, nearly 30 years after researchers fully mapped the nerves of the penis, scientists have completed the first detailed map of the clitoris.

Research led by Dr. Ju Young Lee at Amsterdam University Medical Center has created the first 3D map of the nerves within the clitoral glans. Yes, it took until 2026. 

Let's go all the way back to Hippocrates, who in 450 B.C. called the clitoris the columella, or "little pillar." Since then, it has been called far worse. During the Middle Ages, it was labeled "the devil's teat," and clitoridectomies were performed to treat everything from "hysteria" to masturbation, a practice that continued into the 20th century. In the 16th century, anatomist Andreas Vesalius dismissed it as a "useless part" absent in healthy women. Ironically, his student Realdo Colombo praised it as the "seat of women's delight"...he also claimed to have discovered it. 

That connection to female pleasure is precisely what made it taboo. As Dr. Rachel Rubin explains, women's sexual health has long been treated as "hysteria...all psychosocial, not real medicine. Sexual health and quality of life is not something we focus on for women." In 1948, there was no mention of the clitoris in the landmark medical textbook Gray’s Anatomy. It didn’t appear in the book until 60 years later. Meanwhile, male sexual function remained a research priority. Viagra alone generates roughly $1.8 billion in annual sales.

The result has been decades of misunderstanding. Ask someone to describe the clitoris and chances are they'll picture a pea-sized nub. But that's only the visible tip, the glans, which accounts for about 10% of the organ. The full clitoris stretches roughly 10cm, extending deep into the pelvis with more than 10,000 nerve endings, about 6x the nerve density of the penis. Doctors were shocked by this. As Dr. Blair Peters said, "When I went through medical school, we did not learn anything in particular about the clitoris beyond the fact that it exists."

That knowledge gap has real consequences. A 2018 study found that routinely skipping vulvar and clitoral examinations caused physicians to miss conditions affecting sexual function, including clitoral adhesions, whose symptoms are often written off as psychological. The lack of anatomical knowledge can also complicate pelvic and urethral surgeries. Without a clear understanding of where the clitoral nerves extend, surgeons risk damaging them, permanently affecting sensation and a woman's ability to experience sexual pleasure. Similar risks exist in penile surgery, but those nerve pathways have been carefully studied since the 1970s. For women, preserving sexual function has rarely been given the same priority as fertility or disease prevention.

Dr. Helen O'Connell, who led the first comprehensive anatomical study of the clitoris in 1998, wrote that much of the medical literature questioned the importance of the female orgasm. The evidence suggests the opposite. "Orgasm is a brain function that leads to improved health and wellbeing," she wrote, "as well as having positive implications for human relationships and possibly fertility."

That's what makes this latest breakthrough so significant. Although the findings have not yet been peer reviewed, the new 3D map could improve pelvic surgeries, better protect sexual function, and advance reconstructive procedures for survivors of female genital mutilation. According to the World Health Organization, more than 230 million women and girls worldwide have undergone FGM.

The clitoris is not a niche body part. It's a fundamental part of female anatomy that has been hiding in plain sight. As Dr. Ea Mulligan once said, its neglect is "a beautiful case study on the invisibility of women's concerns in science and medicine." Size matters in terms of research, scope, and even curiosity. Let’s give the clitoris what it deserves; the results could be orgasmic. 

Domestic abuse can take many forms, and the signs can be difficult to spot. It can look like tracking, isolation, gaslighting, or financial control. This October, ID's No Excuse for Abuse campaign returns to raise awareness of the warning signs of domestic abuse. During Domestic Violence Awareness Month and beyond, ID is partnering with NO MORE and The National Domestic Violence Hotline to provide actionable tools and resources that help people identify abuse, access support, and take steps toward stopping domestic violence. Learn more here.

Crystal Echo Hawk, the founder of the Native American-led media platform Indigenous House and a member of the Pawnee nation, is no stranger to “good trouble.” As founder of IllumiNative, a nonprofit that challenged the invisibility of Native communities, she led research and increased media visibility for Native people. That included leading the charge to change the Washington football team’s name in 2022, and supporting the senate confirmation of the first Native American cabinet member, former Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland, of the Laguna Pueblo tribe. Now, she leads a new venture, Indigenous House, which continues the work of providing platforms and visibility for Indigenous people in media. 

What’s the worst career advice you’ve gotten?

Early in my career, I had to deal with a lot of sexual harassment. And the advice was always the same, “Don’t say anything because it’s going to ruin your career.” 

It was so egregious that I finally reported it. It was a board member, and I had an all male board at the time. Eventually, the board member was removed. It was terrifying, but my experience taught me that it’s okay to say, ”This isn’t okay” and to stand up. No person should have to put up with that kind of harassment in a job.

What’s the best piece of non-obvious career advice you’ve gotten?

To stop “sucking it up.” So many of us are told to suck it up; that we have to work ourselves to death and not complain, even if it’s affecting our health or family life. But it’s okay to take care of yourself. You can invest in your wellbeing, and things won’t fall apart. And if they do, maybe they need to.

What was a heartbeat moment for you in your career?

It was probably the series of moments that led to my decision to sunset IllumiNative and to start something new. That meant finding new ways to fund and sustain the work of increasing the visibility of Indigenous people, while fighting against gender-based violence. I wanted to find a way that wasn’t dependent on philanthropy. That led to Indigenous House. This shift taught me that we can still do great things for our community while being ambitious and taking care of ourselves

Who is one person you’d love to give flowers to from your career that influenced your journey? What advice or lesson did you learn from them?

If I had the opportunity, I’d give flowers to Emma Grede and her book Start with Yourself. I’ve never met her but, last year after closing IllumiNative, I was in a very introspective period and her book really helped me. I was thinking at the time: How can this work evolve? Who am I? What kind of leader do I want to be? What did I learn from what I just did? I was so inspired by her story and loved the lessons Emma shared: it’s okay to be ambitious, to talk about money, to build wealth, and to examine the baggage we carry.

Where have you caused some good trouble in your career?

Being a part of changing the Washington football team’s name in 2020 from an offensive slur about Indigenous people to the Washington Commanders. That work had been going on for decades, and it took so many other amazing activists, including Suzan Shown Harjo and Amanda Blackhorse. Thousands of people organized and hit the right pressure points at the right time. When they announced it, I dropped to my knees and literally started crying. Former owner Daniel Snyder had said this would never happen, but this showed the power of organizing. Sometimes change can take decades, but you can’t give up.

Want to nominate a leader you admire? You can do so here.

Niki Fleshner of The Female Quotient weighs in:

AI won't take your job, but someone who knows AI might. That's really where I land. I want people using these tools now, not eventually. The earlier you become fluent, the bigger the advantage. So your concern isn't a reason to slow anyone down, but it is a reason to be clear about how to use AI. AI can get you an answer in 4 seconds instead of 4 hours, but those 4 hours were never just about finding the answer, they were about building judgment. Building judgment still takes time.

3 things I'd encourage:

Become fluent in AI. Remember that while it can accelerate your work, it can't build your judgment; that comes from wrestling with problems, asking better questions, and thinking for yourself. The people getting the most out of these tools are the ones who bring the most thinking to them.

P.S. Got a burning career question? Serve it up here to Dear FQ to score advice from a powerhouse leader in our network.

When people talk about getting ahead at work, the conversation usually centers on skills, experience, or expertise. But our community believes the real competitive advantage is how you work with people. An overwhelming majority said emotional intelligence is the skill that sets great leaders apart. The problem? Research suggests only 36% of people are emotionally intelligent (yikes!).

As AI becomes the baseline, the qualities that make us human become even more valuable. Technology can generate answers, summarize information, and automate tasks, but it can't build trust, navigate difficult conversations, or inspire a team. AI may level the playing field, but emotional intelligence will set people apart.

Now that's a satisfying ending.

Xo,

The FQ

Don’t forget to let us know what you think of The FQ Newsletter here.