WEBVTT - The Anatomy Lesson You Never Got 0:00:15.356 --> 0:00:27.316 Pushkin. Hi, Emily, and I am I have a question 0:00:27.356 --> 0:00:30.556 for you. I'm sleeping with a guy right now and 0:00:30.916 --> 0:00:35.996 his penis is like really really really curved, like really curved. 0:00:38.636 --> 0:00:40.756 The idea of talking about genitals for an hour and 0:00:40.836 --> 0:00:43.916 it really really makes me happy, Like I was thinking 0:00:44.156 --> 0:00:46.076 in the car, like of all the things I want 0:00:46.076 --> 0:00:55.556 to say about penises. I'm Emily Nagaski and this is 0:00:55.596 --> 0:00:58.596 the Come as you Are podcast where I answer questions 0:00:58.596 --> 0:01:02.436 about sex with science. I'm here with mo My, a 0:01:02.596 --> 0:01:07.196 producer extraordinaire. So Emily, we have gotten a lot of 0:01:07.236 --> 0:01:10.796 questions from the hotline, as you know, and today the 0:01:10.876 --> 0:01:16.676 question I'm bringing you is about basically penis anatomy. Yay, 0:01:17.196 --> 0:01:21.876 let's talk about penises. I really did not expect one 0:01:21.876 --> 0:01:24.116 of our first episodes to be about penises. I know 0:01:24.516 --> 0:01:27.636 a lot of your audience is sis women, and I 0:01:27.716 --> 0:01:30.836 really did not expect a huge amount of penis convo 0:01:31.076 --> 0:01:32.956 from the get go. But you know what, here we are. 0:01:33.436 --> 0:01:36.436 You know, a surprising number of women and fems have 0:01:36.556 --> 0:01:39.516 sex with people with penises. I always forget that. I 0:01:39.996 --> 0:01:44.596 always forget a lot of people interact with penises. It's 0:01:44.636 --> 0:01:47.236 a lot of people I'm continuing to remind myself that 0:01:47.636 --> 0:01:50.196 a lot of people have or interact with penises. In fact, 0:01:50.316 --> 0:01:53.956 most people have or interact with penises, and it's not 0:01:54.036 --> 0:01:57.716 even about gender. Some women have penises, genitals do not 0:01:57.876 --> 0:02:01.516 a gender make this is a show where penises are welcome. 0:02:03.156 --> 0:02:07.436 Thank you Emily for saying that. Okay, let's go ahead 0:02:07.476 --> 0:02:11.796 and get into it. So let me play this week's 0:02:11.876 --> 0:02:15.116 question for you. Hi, Emily, I have a question for 0:02:15.196 --> 0:02:20.596 you about the male anatomy, specifically the penis. I'm sleeping 0:02:20.596 --> 0:02:23.956 with a guy right now and his penis is like 0:02:24.796 --> 0:02:29.436 really really really curved, like really curved, and I don't care. 0:02:29.556 --> 0:02:33.716 I mean, he's it gets the job done. He's just 0:02:33.756 --> 0:02:37.556 really embarrassed about it, and like, yeah, I just want 0:02:37.596 --> 0:02:40.716 to know it's that normal. Is there a reason for it? 0:02:40.796 --> 0:02:42.836 Is it because he's like jerking it too hard to 0:02:42.876 --> 0:02:46.396 one side or like, I don't know, it's normal? Can 0:02:46.436 --> 0:02:52.996 I hurt it? Can I break it? Oh? You know? Thanks? Yes, 0:02:53.116 --> 0:02:55.556 it is completely normal. It is common. And if there's 0:02:55.636 --> 0:02:57.876 one thing I want to accomplish with this podcast, it's 0:02:57.916 --> 0:03:00.876 to make sure you can look at your genitals and 0:03:00.956 --> 0:03:04.956 any of your partner's genitals and know that they're all normal. 0:03:05.436 --> 0:03:09.356 They're all normal, they're all beautiful, and I can even 0:03:09.396 --> 0:03:13.556 explain why because the science says so. I just want 0:03:13.556 --> 0:03:16.316 to start by thanking this listener for calling in. There 0:03:16.396 --> 0:03:19.036 is so much to unpack in this call. You know, 0:03:19.236 --> 0:03:22.716 I'm hearing worry, I'm hearing like cultural myths about masturbation, 0:03:23.036 --> 0:03:26.116 wanting to reassure your partner, and also just myths about 0:03:26.156 --> 0:03:30.356 basic anatomy. So let's start with what you just said, 0:03:30.396 --> 0:03:34.316 that a curved penis is totally normal. Can you say 0:03:34.316 --> 0:03:36.716 more about that? I did actually look at the research 0:03:36.756 --> 0:03:39.916 to see if there's like documentation about what proportion of 0:03:39.956 --> 0:03:42.636 people have a penis that points in one direction or 0:03:42.676 --> 0:03:45.796 another that doesn't exist. I'm not actually sure how they 0:03:45.836 --> 0:03:47.676 do it, because how much of a curve counts is 0:03:47.676 --> 0:03:49.716 a curve because some of the curves are just a 0:03:49.756 --> 0:03:54.116 little bit, and some of them are pretty pronounced. But ultimately, 0:03:54.156 --> 0:03:58.116 every single penis is different from every single other penis, 0:03:58.516 --> 0:04:03.316 and there is no normal. They're all normal. The only 0:04:04.156 --> 0:04:07.116 thing that isn't normal is if your genitals are causing 0:04:07.156 --> 0:04:09.396 you pain. If you're not in pain, then the answer 0:04:09.436 --> 0:04:12.156 is yes normal. And if you're experiencing pain, talk to 0:04:12.156 --> 0:04:15.716 a medical provider. Fortunately, with a penis, your doctor is 0:04:15.756 --> 0:04:21.996 likely to take your concerns seriously. So dark and so true. 0:04:22.716 --> 0:04:26.876 Can you explain, like anatomically what causes the curve? It's 0:04:26.876 --> 0:04:30.996 actually the curve part itself is really simple. So most 0:04:30.996 --> 0:04:32.716 of the time when we think about penises, we just 0:04:32.756 --> 0:04:35.076 think about this one shaft with a sort of cap 0:04:35.556 --> 0:04:37.556 on the end of it, right, like a mushroom kind 0:04:37.556 --> 0:04:41.796 of shape. But did you know the shaft is actually 0:04:41.836 --> 0:04:46.796 made of three separate chambers, all enclosed within the shaft. 0:04:47.676 --> 0:04:52.796 So there's two corpora cavernosa, the cavernous bodies, and then 0:04:52.836 --> 0:04:56.116 there's one corpus spongiosum, which is the one that the 0:04:56.196 --> 0:04:59.596 urethra runs through. So when you imagine a shaft, don't 0:04:59.596 --> 0:05:05.716 just imagine one solid shaft. Imagine three shafts all wrapped 0:05:05.796 --> 0:05:11.116 up together. I like to imagine it as like columns. Great, 0:05:11.236 --> 0:05:14.076 so we have like a burrito made out of these 0:05:14.116 --> 0:05:17.316 three columns, right, but it's just a burrito with three 0:05:17.316 --> 0:05:21.796 hot dogs in it. The three hot dog coco. I 0:05:21.876 --> 0:05:26.356 love that if one is shorter than the other, it's 0:05:26.356 --> 0:05:29.796 going to curve toward the short one. And if all 0:05:29.916 --> 0:05:33.316 three of these chambers of the shaft are the same length, 0:05:33.956 --> 0:05:37.716 then the penis is straight. You can't see the hand 0:05:37.716 --> 0:05:41.476 gestures I am made, right, So you're saying that if 0:05:41.596 --> 0:05:45.276 one of the hot dogs in the whole wrap up 0:05:45.276 --> 0:05:48.316 in here, the penis is shorter than the other one, 0:05:48.756 --> 0:05:52.516 then the curve is going to bend towards the short 0:05:52.916 --> 0:05:55.876 bend in the direction of the shorter one, right, because 0:05:55.876 --> 0:05:59.876 they all grow together, and the longer ones will continue 0:05:59.916 --> 0:06:03.396 to grow beyond the point that the shorter one has 0:06:03.476 --> 0:06:08.516 fully extended already. WHOA Like, It's this very simple, very slight, 0:06:08.596 --> 0:06:12.316 anatom comical difference. It's completely normal. It's just a way 0:06:12.716 --> 0:06:15.956 people's penises can look. M Okay, Is it kind of 0:06:15.996 --> 0:06:18.036 like when you have a lopsided labia, like one of 0:06:18.036 --> 0:06:21.516 the labia minora is bigger than the other one, Yeah, 0:06:21.516 --> 0:06:24.836 which is very often the case. Right, totally. And I 0:06:24.836 --> 0:06:27.996 should say, if this is not clear already, that I 0:06:28.036 --> 0:06:32.516 am not a sex educator. Emilie Nagaski is the professional 0:06:32.516 --> 0:06:36.116 sex educator, and I am just a lesbian podcast producer. 0:06:36.756 --> 0:06:40.036 So my reactions are very much based on my non 0:06:40.116 --> 0:06:46.676 scientific but prolific personal experiences that labia labia's they're very 0:06:46.756 --> 0:06:51.076 rarely symmetrical. They are very rarely symmetrical. And labia is 0:06:51.236 --> 0:06:55.556 the plural. Wait, labia is plural. One of my labia 0:06:55.836 --> 0:06:59.516 is this size, but my other labium is this other size. 0:07:00.196 --> 0:07:04.476 Uh huh, Okay, this is a little grammar lesson you 0:07:04.516 --> 0:07:08.636 did not get in school. Yeah, And I think culturally 0:07:08.676 --> 0:07:11.316 we spend a bunch of time trying to help people 0:07:11.316 --> 0:07:15.556 with Volva's understand that their anatomy is normal. That's what 0:07:15.556 --> 0:07:19.276 it's supposed to look like like. They have hair, they 0:07:19.316 --> 0:07:22.516 have inner labia, they have outer labia. The size of 0:07:22.556 --> 0:07:26.396 all those parts can vary, and there's no need to 0:07:26.396 --> 0:07:29.956 get surgery to correct any of that. If your genitals 0:07:29.956 --> 0:07:33.756 are not causing you pain, you're all set. You're not 0:07:33.876 --> 0:07:37.636 just all set, you're perfect. And the same thing is 0:07:37.636 --> 0:07:41.236 true about penises. If one of the chambers of your 0:07:41.716 --> 0:07:45.396 penal shaft is shorter than the others, it's going to 0:07:45.516 --> 0:07:47.836 point in at a direction. That is not an indication 0:07:47.876 --> 0:07:50.036 of a problem. You don't need to get surgery corrected. 0:07:50.476 --> 0:07:55.836 Is just part of the beautiful variety of human sexual anatomy. 0:07:56.636 --> 0:07:59.676 I think one of the reasons that we people have 0:07:59.716 --> 0:08:02.476 so much embarrassment about their shape or their size or 0:08:02.516 --> 0:08:07.156 their lopsidedness. Might be that there's no zero We've never 0:08:07.196 --> 0:08:10.716 seen any of that import at all. You know, there 0:08:10.716 --> 0:08:12.796 are times when I feel like I was born at 0:08:12.876 --> 0:08:17.756 just the right time. Like I saw a partner's penis 0:08:17.796 --> 0:08:22.276 in real life before I ever saw a penis in porn, 0:08:22.716 --> 0:08:26.036 so I didn't have this big hole like set of 0:08:26.556 --> 0:08:29.676 ideas about what penises look like, reinforcing that, like if 0:08:29.676 --> 0:08:31.836 there's only this one way that penises can look like. 0:08:32.276 --> 0:08:35.836 And anybody younger than me I was in graduated from 0:08:35.876 --> 0:08:38.716 high school in nineteen ninety five. I feel like anybody 0:08:38.756 --> 0:08:41.636 younger than me was going to have access to porn, 0:08:42.556 --> 0:08:46.196 maybe before they ever saw a partner's penis in real life. 0:08:47.676 --> 0:08:49.956 I don't even remember which one came first for me. 0:08:50.676 --> 0:08:52.876 I was that young, I guess, or I just I 0:08:52.916 --> 0:08:55.676 have no idea which one came first, but probably born. Yeah, 0:08:55.756 --> 0:08:59.076 porn is such bad sex education. Porn is what it is. 0:08:59.596 --> 0:09:02.556 The metaphor I often use is that learning about sex 0:09:02.716 --> 0:09:06.356 by watching porn is like learning about driving by watching NASCAR. 0:09:07.436 --> 0:09:10.396 Those are trained professionals on a closed course with a 0:09:10.716 --> 0:09:14.076 pit crew. That is not a representation of how sex 0:09:14.116 --> 0:09:17.796 actually works in real life, and most mainstream porn is 0:09:17.996 --> 0:09:21.236 really limited, like there's only one kind of car in Nascar, 0:09:22.156 --> 0:09:25.556 Like there's only one right kind of body in porn. Right. 0:09:25.716 --> 0:09:29.036 They very much value the long, thick, straight penis in 0:09:29.076 --> 0:09:31.956 porn as if that's the only erotic kind of penis 0:09:31.956 --> 0:09:36.076 there is. It is not right exactly. In real life. 0:09:36.156 --> 0:09:45.396 There's diversity, there's variety, there is messiness. There are curious, surprising, funny, noisy, wet, 0:09:45.956 --> 0:09:49.276 sticky things that happen, and that's fun and good. I 0:09:49.396 --> 0:09:53.356 love it. Okay, So I have a personal experience with 0:09:53.396 --> 0:09:56.316 a curved penis, which was that my high school boyfriend, 0:09:56.516 --> 0:09:59.556 one of my high school boyfriends. It was the first 0:09:59.596 --> 0:10:01.756 penis I had ever seen, and it was his first 0:10:01.796 --> 0:10:04.596 time ever, like, you know, showing his penis to anyone 0:10:04.636 --> 0:10:09.716 besides I guess the doctor. And it was extreme curved, 0:10:10.316 --> 0:10:12.716 now I know, extremely curved. And he was like, is 0:10:12.716 --> 0:10:14.836 this normal? And I was like, I don't know, bro, 0:10:15.156 --> 0:10:19.636 I really don't know. And now imagine if your high 0:10:19.676 --> 0:10:22.676 school sex ed class had shown the three chambers and 0:10:22.756 --> 0:10:25.316 had explained very simply that if one of the chambers 0:10:25.396 --> 0:10:27.196 is shorter than the others, then there's going to be 0:10:27.196 --> 0:10:29.836 a curve and he knows it's normal. That's all it takes. 0:10:30.436 --> 0:10:33.196 And it would have been life changing for him because 0:10:33.196 --> 0:10:36.956 he was so ashamed. And he went to the doctor 0:10:36.996 --> 0:10:39.636 and the doctor basically dismissed his feelings and was like, yeah, 0:10:39.636 --> 0:10:41.956 it's normal whatever. And he was like, yeah, but is 0:10:41.996 --> 0:10:44.316 no one ever gonna love me? Am I never gonna 0:10:44.356 --> 0:10:47.276 be but I have good sex, Like am I do? 0:10:47.396 --> 0:10:50.996 I have a defective penis. And he was so upset 0:10:51.036 --> 0:10:53.516 about it, and I really couldn't comfort him because I 0:10:53.556 --> 0:10:58.316 didn't know anything about penises. I didn't know what to say, Like, 0:10:58.396 --> 0:11:00.156 it didn't look normal to me, but I didn't know, 0:11:00.236 --> 0:11:02.116 like it didn't look normal compared to what I saw 0:11:02.676 --> 0:11:07.556 in the medical diagram. Yeah. I also have a personal story. 0:11:07.676 --> 0:11:10.596 In my twenties, many moons ago, I had a partner 0:11:10.996 --> 0:11:14.916 with quite a curved penis. But I already knew this, 0:11:15.036 --> 0:11:20.116 and I could explain to him, Oh why, And it 0:11:20.236 --> 0:11:23.116 made so much of a difference in his own relationship 0:11:23.156 --> 0:11:26.316 with his genitals. Oh my god, that is so great. 0:11:26.556 --> 0:11:29.956 Holy moly, You're like the better, You're the better version 0:11:29.956 --> 0:11:32.436 of my story. The adult sex educator version of the 0:11:32.636 --> 0:11:36.276 nightmare that my poor high school boyfriend went through. Yeah, 0:11:36.316 --> 0:11:41.396 ten years passed and I got two degrees worth of 0:11:41.516 --> 0:11:45.156 education about sexuality, so I knew enough to explain, and like, 0:11:45.436 --> 0:11:50.036 it's this small piece of knowledge that can totally change 0:11:50.036 --> 0:11:52.996 how a person thinks about their own genitals and recognizing 0:11:53.396 --> 0:11:57.036 not just that they are normal, but why they're normal, 0:11:59.036 --> 0:12:02.196 how the shape of their genitals is just part of 0:12:02.236 --> 0:12:07.716 the great panoply a variety that is the world of 0:12:07.796 --> 0:12:14.036 human genitalia. Speaking of the great panoply of human genitalia. 0:12:14.316 --> 0:12:16.716 That's our queue to take a break. And when we 0:12:16.756 --> 0:12:19.916 get back, I want you, Emily, to basically give us 0:12:20.756 --> 0:12:23.556 the updated anatomy one a one lesson the one that 0:12:23.596 --> 0:12:26.956 we never got in high school. And particularly I want 0:12:26.996 --> 0:12:29.916 you to talk about the same parts organized differently theory, 0:12:30.436 --> 0:12:33.116 because it's one of those concepts that when I very 0:12:33.116 --> 0:12:35.676 first heard it, it was like, holy shit, how did 0:12:35.676 --> 0:12:38.276 I not know this? But it also felt like I 0:12:38.316 --> 0:12:43.316 always knew it. I pitty the commercial that breaks up 0:12:43.356 --> 0:13:00.836 a conversation about penal anatomy. All right, Emily, So we 0:13:00.916 --> 0:13:05.796 started this episode by answering an anonymous listeners question about 0:13:05.836 --> 0:13:09.556 someone they're sleeping with having a curved dick, and you 0:13:09.676 --> 0:13:13.676 explained the three hot dog taco that is the basic 0:13:13.716 --> 0:13:17.116 anatomy of the penis, and that it's super normal for 0:13:17.156 --> 0:13:19.756 one of those three columns to be shorter than the 0:13:19.796 --> 0:13:22.196 other two, and then if one is shorter, then the 0:13:22.236 --> 0:13:26.236 penis curves towards that side, which amazing obvious, but somehow 0:13:26.276 --> 0:13:29.716 I never knew that now. I put this question early 0:13:29.756 --> 0:13:35.236 on in the series because basically, I am begging you 0:13:35.436 --> 0:13:40.716 to re educate us about anatomy one oh one. So 0:13:40.836 --> 0:13:46.796 can you start by explaining the same parts organized differently theory? Yeah. 0:13:46.876 --> 0:13:51.076 So one of the things that's valuable about understanding where 0:13:51.316 --> 0:13:55.796 curved penises come from is the idea that, oh, the 0:13:55.876 --> 0:13:58.116 shaft of the penis is not just one thing, it's 0:13:58.156 --> 0:14:04.076 these three chambers separately. And all human bodies are made 0:14:04.076 --> 0:14:07.436 of the same parts, but in some cases those parts 0:14:07.436 --> 0:14:10.156 are organized in different ways. Like on the day a 0:14:10.196 --> 0:14:13.396 person is born, the adults around them look at their 0:14:13.436 --> 0:14:16.636 body and based on the shape of their genitals decide 0:14:16.676 --> 0:14:19.396 it's a boy or it's a girl generally, which is 0:14:19.636 --> 0:14:23.476 you can get into the bullshit of that some other episode, 0:14:23.716 --> 0:14:28.236 I'm sure that we will, But that package of stuff 0:14:28.276 --> 0:14:31.756 that we identify as being one thing or the other 0:14:32.156 --> 0:14:35.956 is actually all the same stuff, just organize in a 0:14:36.036 --> 0:14:40.116 slightly different way. So the most obvious example for me 0:14:40.716 --> 0:14:45.156 when a baby is born is the scrotum. So when 0:14:45.516 --> 0:14:49.356 a human with a scrotum grows into adulthood, they've got 0:14:49.356 --> 0:14:54.116 this stretchy skin on the outside of their body and 0:14:54.356 --> 0:14:56.596 hair grows on it whether they remove it or not. 0:14:56.836 --> 0:15:00.036 Right and on a person with an it's a girl 0:15:00.236 --> 0:15:03.276 type of body, when that person gets to adulthood, they've 0:15:03.276 --> 0:15:07.276 got this external body part of stretchy skin where hair 0:15:07.396 --> 0:15:12.116 grows on it. One is scrotum and one is the labia. 0:15:12.196 --> 0:15:16.276 In fact, in utero, this tissue is called the labio 0:15:16.476 --> 0:15:20.956 scrotal tissue because it comes from the same basic parts 0:15:20.996 --> 0:15:26.356 in embryonic and fetal development. In fact, one of my 0:15:26.436 --> 0:15:29.396 favorite things about scrotums. If you get up close and 0:15:29.436 --> 0:15:32.716 personal with a scrotum, you look real close and you'll 0:15:32.756 --> 0:15:34.916 see a seam running down the center of it. It's 0:15:34.956 --> 0:15:38.836 called the scrotal raife, and that is where the scrotum 0:15:38.916 --> 0:15:42.036 knit together. And if things have been a little different 0:15:42.076 --> 0:15:45.276 with the chromosomes or the hormonal environments in the womb, 0:15:45.756 --> 0:15:49.676 then that tissue would not have knit together and it 0:15:49.716 --> 0:15:53.396 would have just become labia. Truly, all the same parts, 0:15:53.396 --> 0:15:56.156 just organized in different ways. I just want to clarify, 0:15:56.276 --> 0:15:59.276 like you're saying that the ball sac seam, the seam 0:15:59.316 --> 0:16:02.676 that runs down the ball sac, yes, is the same 0:16:03.916 --> 0:16:10.396 parts as the split of the labia, but just organized 0:16:10.436 --> 0:16:13.756 like it just was developed differently based on different hormonal 0:16:14.116 --> 0:16:17.396 inputs hormonal in the uterus, and it was when the 0:16:17.436 --> 0:16:22.956 baby was a fetus. Wow, Okay, why I'm so mind 0:16:22.956 --> 0:16:25.316 blown by this and I cannot believe I was like 0:16:25.716 --> 0:16:28.116 twenty five before I ever knew that this was how 0:16:28.156 --> 0:16:30.956 it worked, that those two things were the same bits, 0:16:30.996 --> 0:16:34.796 just organized differently or developed differently because we think of 0:16:34.916 --> 0:16:38.196 them as being so different. But once you understand that 0:16:38.236 --> 0:16:40.156 it's all the same parts organized in different ways, you 0:16:40.156 --> 0:16:42.996 can look at any package of genitals and see that 0:16:43.076 --> 0:16:46.156 it's really just all the same thing, and that like 0:16:46.516 --> 0:16:51.236 the group of genitals we label one way very so 0:16:51.316 --> 0:16:54.036 much from each other, and the group of genitals we 0:16:54.116 --> 0:16:58.036 label a different way vary so much from each other. 0:16:58.356 --> 0:17:02.036 It is often when I think about and look at 0:17:02.236 --> 0:17:03.716 I have to look at pictures of genitals on a 0:17:03.716 --> 0:17:06.996 pretty regular basis of part of my job. Yeah, there 0:17:06.996 --> 0:17:08.956 are times when I feel like there are more difference 0:17:09.236 --> 0:17:12.956 is within the it's a gruel batch of genitals. Then 0:17:12.956 --> 0:17:16.196 there are between it's a girl and it's a boy 0:17:16.236 --> 0:17:19.996 type genitals, Like they all vary so much from each other. 0:17:20.276 --> 0:17:24.596 Each one is unique, like a little snowflake, and yet 0:17:24.636 --> 0:17:27.196 we like cluster them all together like they're all the same. 0:17:27.236 --> 0:17:29.956 They're not the same, but they are. They're all the same. 0:17:29.996 --> 0:17:33.196 It's all the same parts organized in different ways. Okay, 0:17:33.196 --> 0:17:34.756 So are you about to tell me that the clitters 0:17:34.756 --> 0:17:39.476 and the penis are the same parts organized differently, right? Okay, 0:17:39.596 --> 0:17:42.876 the clitterest does not have the same functions as the penis, 0:17:42.876 --> 0:17:46.676 except that they're both really good at pleasure. But it's 0:17:46.716 --> 0:17:48.956 made of the same parts as the penis, which is 0:17:48.956 --> 0:17:51.436 why it's really important that we know that there's all 0:17:51.476 --> 0:17:55.556 these internal parts of a penis. Right, So there's these 0:17:55.596 --> 0:18:00.756 three chambers, two corpora cavernosa, the cavernous bodies, and then 0:18:00.796 --> 0:18:04.916 there's one corpus spongiosum. The same thing is true about 0:18:04.916 --> 0:18:09.796 the clitteris. Oh my god, The really big difference, apart 0:18:09.876 --> 0:18:13.196 from just like size of the clitterest, is that the 0:18:13.236 --> 0:18:16.196 only part of the clitterest that is outside the body 0:18:16.916 --> 0:18:19.956 is the equivalent of the head of the penis or 0:18:19.996 --> 0:18:23.836 the glands. So if you imagine, and like if you again, 0:18:23.876 --> 0:18:26.516 if you're up close and personal with an erect penis, 0:18:26.636 --> 0:18:29.676 you can press down along the sides into the person's 0:18:29.716 --> 0:18:32.716 body and feel how deeply the shaft goes into the 0:18:32.716 --> 0:18:35.676 person's body. So if you just imagine that, the whole 0:18:35.756 --> 0:18:39.636 shaft retracts back into that person's body so that only 0:18:39.676 --> 0:18:43.156 the head is visible. Yeah, that's more or less what 0:18:43.156 --> 0:18:46.996 a clitterest is, the clitteral glands, the external part. Does 0:18:46.996 --> 0:18:52.276 that make sense? Wow? Yes, okay, it does make sense, 0:18:52.396 --> 0:18:55.836 And I did not realize, Like I I've heard about 0:18:55.876 --> 0:18:59.316 the internal clitterest and it has that sort of wishbone structure. 0:18:59.396 --> 0:19:03.676 It has those two roots almost that go into the 0:19:03.756 --> 0:19:06.596 body wrap around the vagina, like I've seen that the 0:19:06.756 --> 0:19:10.636 legs and bulbs of the vestib Yeah. Yeah, so I've 0:19:10.676 --> 0:19:13.276 seen that image before, and I think there was a 0:19:13.316 --> 0:19:15.436 movement a few years ago, you know, to really educate 0:19:15.476 --> 0:19:18.756 people that, hey, the clitteris is an entire internal structure 0:19:19.476 --> 0:19:24.356 that is much bigger than just the thing we see outside. Yeah, imagine, 0:19:24.636 --> 0:19:28.516 like the change that happens between a non erect penis 0:19:28.556 --> 0:19:31.796 and an erect penis, how much change happens in sort 0:19:31.796 --> 0:19:34.556 of the shape and size and presence of a penis. 0:19:34.956 --> 0:19:39.716 All that same change is happening inside evolva. So when 0:19:39.756 --> 0:19:42.796 you look at that wishbone shape, the two bulbs of 0:19:42.796 --> 0:19:45.556 the vestibule that make the sort of wishbone shape, those 0:19:45.596 --> 0:19:50.356 are the corpora cavernosa, those cavernous bodies that are the 0:19:50.516 --> 0:19:53.836 same parts as in the shaft of the penis, aka 0:19:53.916 --> 0:19:57.316 the hot dog, just internalment. The hot dogs make the 0:19:57.316 --> 0:20:02.956 little cars making the inside of the penis. Got it. Sorry, 0:20:02.996 --> 0:20:05.916 I'm literally functioning on like a fifth grade level on 0:20:05.996 --> 0:20:12.156 the understanding of this. I thought it was one, you know, big, 0:20:12.796 --> 0:20:15.356 one big flesh knob. Yeah, basically I didn't realize that 0:20:15.396 --> 0:20:20.356 there were multiple columns and that those translated directly to 0:20:20.796 --> 0:20:24.356 the legs of the internal clitterus. So I want to 0:20:24.356 --> 0:20:30.636 talk to you about something. The technical term is anatomical homologues. 0:20:31.276 --> 0:20:35.436 So we know what anatomy is, right. Homologue means having 0:20:35.476 --> 0:20:40.836 the same origin. The origin of the human body is 0:20:40.836 --> 0:20:46.756 the development in the beautterus sper meats egg. We know 0:20:46.836 --> 0:20:54.276 if that happens, and then development begins blasticist an embryo, yeah, 0:20:54.276 --> 0:20:58.556 eventually a fetus, and there is this really complex cascade 0:20:59.116 --> 0:21:05.956 of hormonal and developmental events. But in that embryonic blast 0:21:05.996 --> 0:21:12.756 assist early fetal development stage, bodies look exactly alike. It 0:21:12.836 --> 0:21:16.676 isn't until six and a half weeks into gestation, when 0:21:16.676 --> 0:21:20.716 there is a wave of hormones that anything is different. 0:21:21.196 --> 0:21:24.676 All the prefab hardware of what a human body is 0:21:24.716 --> 0:21:29.476 made of is there, regardless of the chromosomes. We know 0:21:29.596 --> 0:21:33.236 that like traditionally we call xx is and it's a 0:21:33.276 --> 0:21:36.476 girl type person an XY, it's a boy type person, right, 0:21:36.996 --> 0:21:39.956 But up until six and a half weeks, it's identical. 0:21:40.236 --> 0:21:43.596 It's all the same parts. It's only after that wash 0:21:43.636 --> 0:21:46.876 of hormones that anything begins to change. So all that 0:21:46.996 --> 0:21:53.556 same prefabricated hardware begins to organize itself into slightly different shapes. 0:21:54.516 --> 0:21:58.516 But then the clitteress and the penis do do you 0:21:58.636 --> 0:22:01.876 know the external part of the clitteress, the part that 0:22:02.036 --> 0:22:05.076 is visible that you can touch with your hand, is 0:22:05.116 --> 0:22:09.956 the homologue of the head of the penis. So imagine 0:22:10.356 --> 0:22:14.756 that a penis gets sort of retracted into a person's body, 0:22:14.796 --> 0:22:18.636 and all that's visible is the head, right, you can 0:22:18.676 --> 0:22:22.916 imagine that. It's a little silly, but all that internal structure, 0:22:23.036 --> 0:22:26.396 all three of those chambers are still there. They're just 0:22:26.556 --> 0:22:31.196 deep inside the body. Oh my god, I wish you 0:22:31.196 --> 0:22:33.116 could see my face right now. My hands are over 0:22:33.156 --> 0:22:36.236 my mouth, like as if someone just exploded the world 0:22:36.276 --> 0:22:41.116 for me. Like, basically, the penis is a very large 0:22:41.116 --> 0:22:44.476 clitterings or vice versa, and it's outside the body, but 0:22:44.556 --> 0:22:47.436 in a different world with different you know, hormonal inputs. 0:22:47.476 --> 0:22:50.956 They are the same materials, that's what you're saying. Yeah, 0:22:50.996 --> 0:22:53.956 I want you to imagine all the changes that happen 0:22:53.996 --> 0:22:57.356 to a penis when it gets erect. Like, here's this 0:22:58.116 --> 0:23:00.596 thing outside of a person's body. It starts out sort 0:23:00.636 --> 0:23:03.276 of squishy. You can squeeze a really hard, you can 0:23:03.476 --> 0:23:06.516 stretch in and pull it. As it fills with blood, 0:23:06.556 --> 0:23:12.436 it gets firmer and it extends and swells. Now, imagine 0:23:12.676 --> 0:23:15.556 if that shaft is all retracted deep into the body. 0:23:16.356 --> 0:23:22.076 All that same swelling and firming up, All of that 0:23:22.236 --> 0:23:28.676 is happening inside of a vulva, in the internal clitterus. Yes. Wait, 0:23:28.716 --> 0:23:32.476 so if you're listening and you're confused, I would recommend 0:23:32.636 --> 0:23:38.876 like just typing into Google the words clitteris and penis, 0:23:38.916 --> 0:23:44.436 same clitteris and penis, same press and turbot on those 0:23:44.436 --> 0:23:48.476 four words, and take a gander at the Google image results. 0:23:48.516 --> 0:23:53.356 You get image results. Oh it's the dinosaur images. I 0:23:53.476 --> 0:23:55.596 love these. I love these two. Why do you call 0:23:55.636 --> 0:23:58.756 it the dinosaur images because it looks it's like how 0:23:58.796 --> 0:24:02.876 a muppet would be a dinosaur. Oh, I'm glad you 0:24:02.956 --> 0:24:04.876 like these diagrams. I mean, I think this is a 0:24:04.916 --> 0:24:08.836 really helpful image. Yeah. It helps people to understand both 0:24:08.916 --> 0:24:11.396 that there's way more to the clearest, but also there 0:24:11.516 --> 0:24:14.556 is way more to the penis exactly. Yeah. Yeah, And 0:24:14.636 --> 0:24:18.116 this science is used to help people who transition, who 0:24:18.396 --> 0:24:23.956 either have hormonal or surgical interventions to change the shape 0:24:23.956 --> 0:24:26.556 of their genitals to be more concordant with their identity. 0:24:28.356 --> 0:24:30.596 It's so helpful that we know this, that we have 0:24:30.676 --> 0:24:34.316 this science, because the science means that we have readier 0:24:34.356 --> 0:24:40.436 access to tools to have gender affirming medical interventions so 0:24:40.556 --> 0:24:44.316 the people's genitals can align with their identity. Yes, yes, yes, 0:24:46.916 --> 0:24:51.316 I'm just absolutely gobsmacked by this information. Like, on one hand, 0:24:51.476 --> 0:24:57.036 I it's weirdly empowering to me. But I'm also angry 0:24:57.196 --> 0:25:02.916 that so many of us were taught the biological differences, 0:25:02.956 --> 0:25:07.076 you know, diagrams of genitals, and we were not taught. Hey, 0:25:08.036 --> 0:25:11.716 this is the same struck, sure, just organized differently. Yeah. 0:25:11.716 --> 0:25:14.076 People get really attached to the idea that there are 0:25:14.116 --> 0:25:17.916 two and they're not the same. Yeah. Some people are 0:25:19.236 --> 0:25:24.116 bizarrely emotionally and politically invested, literally invested in this idea 0:25:24.156 --> 0:25:28.596 of biological difference. So just gonna leave our listeners to 0:25:28.676 --> 0:25:31.596 ruminate on that, and let's take a break. When we 0:25:31.636 --> 0:25:34.436 get back, I think we should talk about like stigma 0:25:34.556 --> 0:25:38.316 and myths about genital shape and size and symmetry, all 0:25:38.356 --> 0:25:40.556 that kind of stuff. And we're also going to talk 0:25:40.596 --> 0:25:42.956 about that one myth that the caller brought up about 0:25:43.036 --> 0:25:58.116 jerking it too hard, Emily. I have been waiting all 0:25:58.116 --> 0:26:00.276 episode to say this, so I'm just gonna say it now. 0:26:01.076 --> 0:26:04.076 And you might not know about this because you don't 0:26:04.156 --> 0:26:06.716 consume a lot of pop culture, But there is an 0:26:06.876 --> 0:26:12.356 entire song by Megan a Stallion about curved dicks being hot. 0:26:12.836 --> 0:26:17.276 It's called Captain Hookah. That is amazing. Wait have you 0:26:17.316 --> 0:26:20.196 heard it? I've never heard of it. Okay, Megan is 0:26:20.276 --> 0:26:24.716