Sexual Dimorphism Genitalia

CW/TW: big warning about in graphic descriptions and details about human genitalia (penises, vaginas, the like). Also graphic pictures.

Also note: I have been wanting to make this blog post for a very long time, primarily to illustrate the minimal difference between what society deems as 'female' and what society deems as 'male'

There is very little difference between what we consider "male" and "female" on the biological level for human beings.  This post on this blog will focus on explaining the differences.

"Sexual dimorphism" can be described as how science can anatomically find a difference between what we see as "typically male" and "typically female". Science associates "typically female" as the body used to carry a fetus to term and give birth and in some animal species, care for the young until they reach maturity. Science associates "typically male" as the body that carries the sperm and impregnates others to "carry on the species" so to say. Obviously when we get into the social sciences "girl vs boy" is changing on a daily basis. We are not here to discuss the social science side of what we perceive as "feminine vs masculine". This is solely for biology.

An anatomical diagram of a penis vs a clitoris

As one can see from this diagram, overall, there are minimal differences between the two body parts. personally, I jokingly say "a clitoris is a baby penis and a penis is a big clitoris".

On the viewer's left is a clitoris filled with blood and on the viewer's right is a flaccid penis (image source)

The photograph here is being shown solely to show just how minimally different the two organs are

Now where does that leave the testicles? Again, very similar to what we consider "female anatomy". You see that "line" that goes down the center of the testicles? That is the "connection point" of where the labia majora would be. If the body did not connect the tissue here (among other things going on when you were a fetus in the womb), this likely would have become a labia majora. 

The "foreskin" on the clitoris is what we consider the "clitoral hood". The prostate has an equivalent for vaginal anatomy as well. This is known as the skel's gland. 

Let's be real, the sexual education in America is absolutely horrendous right now. Being a sexologist (and legally qualified to teach health education in the state that I am in right now), I strongly believe that if we had more frankly blunt depictions of human sexuality (age appropriate and all) and concepts within the human sexuality taught to our students (consent, basic introduction to LGBTQIA, sexual health and wellness, etc.) we would, as a society, have a much more (frankly) complex understanding of human sexuality.

I strongly believe that one of the primary reasons we have "male vs female" as a concept is because of our instinctual urge to categorize things. We have an entire scientific field dedicated to this idea (taxonomy, one hell of a field). Being able to put things in "neat little boxes" when discussing things brings the human brain comfort and helps reduce anxiety levels when trying to understand a concept. For this reason, I understand the "why", but at the same time, it is so incredibly frustrating when you see just how truly similar the human body is when it comes to "male vs female".

For further reading material, I strongly recommend the following!:

• Peaceful Parenting: http://www.drmomma.org/2015/02/homologous-organs-clitoris-penis.html
• Sexing the Body by Anne Fausto-Sterling (yes this book is dated with terminology and the like but is a great introduction to learning about how truly minimal sexual dimorphism is in humans)
• www.isna.org (this deals specifically with the intersex population but is a great read because it deals with sexing the human body)