"The clitoris is the only part of the body which has no function other than providing pleasure." - Natalie Angier, author of Woman: An Intimate Geography

This provocative and often humorous documentary explores the "mysteries" of female sexuality, focusing on the clitoris; a tiny, highly sensitive organ with 8,000 nerve endings at its tip, making it the most responsive organ in the human body, including the tongue or, in men, the penis.

In THE CLITORIS interviews with doctors, psychologists, writers, therapists, and sex educators are interwoven with graphic imagery, animation, hilarious TV commercials to examine both historical and contemporary perceptions of the psychology and physiology of women's sexual response.

Originally "discovered" in 1559 by an Italian anatomist, the clitoris was long ignored or misunderstood in the medical literature. But the film includes sequences with Dr. Helen O'Connell, a Urologist at the University of Melbourne who did the first complete anatomical study of the clitoris, as well as animated sequences illustrating both its internal and external physiology.

Other sequences look at the clitoris' crucial importance in terms of female sexual response; a clinical psychologist discusses how seventy percent of women report that they do not have orgasms during vaginal intercourse. And teenage girls discuss overcoming social taboos involved in discussing their sexual anatomy, learning about the pleasures it can afford them, as well as the importance of sexual responsibility in their relationships.

The film also examines other issues, such as women's response to erotica, whether or not the "G spot" actually exists, the nature of female sexual urges, women's ability to have multiple orgasms, the debate over Viagra and the potential for a female version of this sexual-enhancement drug, and women's basic right to sexual pleasure.

In short, THE CLITORIS is a stimulating documentary that is sure to generate discussion and debate in a wide variety of settings!

Select Accolades

• 2005 National Women's Studies Association Film Festival