Becky asks: What does “G” in “G-spot” mean?
“G” in G-Spot means “Gräfenberg”, named after the famous gynecologist Dr. Ernst Gräfenberg, who gave it its name and also invented the first Ring IUD birth control device, known as the “Gräfenberg ring”.
Dr. Ernst Gräfenberg was born in Germany on September 18, 1881 and was awarded his PhD on March 10, 1905. He undertook gynecology in Berlin from 1910 and was soon named Head of the Gynecology department at the University of Berlin. Due to his Jewish origins, Gräfenberg was forced to resign from the University when Hitler gained power in Germany and Nazism began its unbridled rise.
He was advised by friends and family to leave Germany, but he did not agree. Given that many of his patients were the wives of high-ranking Nazi officials, Gräfenberg thought he would be safe. His expectations were shattered, as he was arrested in 1937.
Margaret Sanger paid for his release in 1940. He subsequently fled Germany to settle in New York City, where he established a new and successful gynecologist practice.
It was at that time that Gräfenberg delved into the topic of urethral stimulation. This field was not his main body of study; however, he stated: “An erotic zone always could be demonstrated on the anterior wall of the vagina along the course of the urethra”.
This erogenous zone had been previously noted by Dutch physician Regnier de Graaf in the 17th century. He believed that, when stimulated properly in that area, women would often be able to ejaculate. He saw a connection between that area and a form of female prostate. Although de Graaf was a precursor in versing theories on the subject, Gräfenberg is usually considered the one who discovered and named the area as “G-spot”, after he wrote the paper “Female Ejaculation: a case study” published in the Journal of Sex Research in 1981.
The actual name of the G-Spot and the anatomical area were to become much more popular for the general public one year later, in 1982, with the book, The G Spot and Other Recent Discoveries About Human Sexuality by Alice Kahn Ladas and Beverly Whipple.
Extra Fact:
- 2,350 women in the U.S. and Canada responded to an anonymous questionnaire. 82% reported that the area around the G-spot area was extra sensitive and that they sometimes ejaculated during orgasms. This ejaculation rate was more than double when compared to the women who did not mention any additional sensitivity in the G-spot area.
