How the Cl*toris is Proof of How Broken Women's Health Truly Is

Okay, so...writing this makes me uncomfortable. And it absolutely shouldn't because there's nothing shameful about a woman's body. However, this is the reality of the world we live in: We're made to feel so ashamed of how our bodies function, which keeps us silent. Case in point: I'm not even spelling out the word cl*toris in this piece because I know there's a good chance it'll get flagged somehow.

But when I came across this article, I knew I had to cover it here. Because, well, what is BODYTALK if not a space to talk about the stuff we've been discouraged from opening up about?

Recently, during the HLTH Europe 2026's conference, renowned British physician Dame Lesley Regan, M.D., pointed out that what most people think of as the cl*toris is only a small bit of what the organ actually is, according to MedScape. “Most of it is under the surface, and you can't see it," said the expert. “It’s a lot bigger than you think."

Frankly, it's embarrassing that even experts know so little about the cl*toris, especially because there are serious issues that affect women's quality of life. A fundamental ignorance around how the organ functions has created a real gap in care for these issues.

According to MedScape, postpartum nerve damage and long-term side effects of pelvic surgeries have long plagued women, thanks in part to the lack of clinical understand of the cl*toris and all the nerves it entails. Now, quality imaging techniques are paving the way for mapping of the nerves underneath the surface, thanks to neuroscientist Ju Young Lee, PhD, who realized there was no nerve map of the organ...which leads women to suffer the awful consequences of nerve damage in an incredibly sensitive area.

This mapping is just the beginning: There is so much more left to learn, so many more steps to take to improve this area of women's health — which, like every area of women's health, is deeply underfunded and poorly understood. But unlike breast cancer, PCOS, and endometriosis, this one isn't just ignored by the research and knowledge and the care — it's also culturally shrouded in silence, and that needs to change.