While Americans are still battling it out over whether abstinence-only sex education is a good idea (spoiler: it isn’t), our French counterparts are way, way ahead of us. Paris-based researcher Odile Fillod has created an open-source, 3-D-printed, anatomically correct clitoris that can be used in sex-education programs — and The Guardian reports that both primary and secondary schools in France will utilize it in the classroom starting in September.
The vast majority of sex-education classes neglect to introduce such a comprehensive overview of the clitoris — or really anything beyond a slight mention of it — so Fillod’s model serves as a revolutionary piece of equipment. Along with offering a straightforward way to explain the actual physical makeup of the clitoris, it’s also a tool for explaining various facets of sexual pleasure.
“It’s important that women have a mental image of what is actually happening in their body when they’re stimulated. In understanding the key role of the clitoris, a woman can stop feeling shame, or [that she’s] abnormal if penile-vaginal intercourse doesn’t do the trick for her,” Fillod told The Guardian. “It’s also vital to know that the equivalent of a penis in a woman is not a vagina, it’s her clitoris. Women get erections when they’re excited, only you can’t see them because most of the clitoris is internal. I wanted to show that men and women are not fundamentally different.”
Slate does point out that it’s not as if this model clitoris is going to be introduced in every single school immediately, but it’s certainly a start. And since the blueprint is open-source, feel free to forward it to your ex-boyfriend so he can figure out exactly what he was doing wrong.
