from the book Orgasms
by Lou Paget
Female orgasms during intercourse without direct clitoral stimulation are often associated with what is commonly known as the G-spot. The G-spot (named in honor of German physician Ernst Grafenberg, who first noted the tissue distinction) is an area approximately the size of a dime, located about two-thirds the length of your middle finger inside the vaginal entrance, above the pubic bone felt through the front wall (tummy side). When stimulated, the G-spot can enlarge to the size of a quarter. For some women, continuous stimulation can lead to a powerful orgasm. For others, G-spot stimulation is unpleasant. And just so you know, there are still other women for whom the much sought-after G-spot simply doesn't exist at all.
Ever since the G-spot was brought to public light in 1982 with the publishing of The G-Spot by Alice Kahn Ladas, Beverly Whipple, and John D. Perry, the G-spot has been controversial. Does it exist or not? Well, for some it does and is exceedingly pleasurable when stimulated, and for others, there is little or no sensation. This makes sense since this area above the anterior (tummy side) of the vaginal wall is considered to be vestigial tissue from genital evolution. Yet the G-spot is hardly new. It has been known to other cultures in the past since the first century A.D. The Chinese called this erotically sensitive area "the black pearl" and the Japanese referred to it as "the skin of the earthworm," and other people refer to it as the female prostate.
Not surprisingly, there are a number of misconceptions surrounding the G-spot. Dr. Beverly Whipple points out that the G-spot is not in the vaginal wall, but felt through it, and therefore requires more direct and firm pressure to stimulate it. Because of its position, many women have trouble finding their G-spot. The easiest way to locate it is when the woman is aroused enough so that the area is engorged with blood and can be felt more easily. Then, as Whipple suggests, the woman squats and reaches up inside of herself, as lying down isn't the easiest way to find it and often women's fingers are not long enough to reach the area. Another misconception involves female ejaculation. G-spot stimulation does not necessarily lead to ejaculation, though it can and has. But it's not required.
The AFE (anterior fornix erotic) zone is an area so named by Malaysian sexologist Dr. Chua Chee Ann. It is a spongy area of the vagina, and similar to the G-spot is located on the tummy side, but farther up the vaginal canal, closer to the cervix. Where as the G-spot is a defined area, the AFE is a longer, less defined area. However, the AFE responds to very gentle, light strokes, unlike the firm strokes used in G-spot stimulation. Citing his paper directly, Chua's study of 193 women in Malaysia stated that all but eleven "reported vaginal lubrication and' increased erotic pleasure, and often orgasms, from stimulation of this zone." However, as Dr. Herbert Otto notes, this may be proportional to the number of women who can orgasm from G-spot stimulation, as Chua's population was very specific.
