7 Erogenous Zones You Should Explore Tonight

The G-spot is undoubtedly the most enigmatic erogenous zone on a woman's body. Despite how much it's talked about, it seems that many women still have difficulty stimulating it. It's not hard to understand why: The G-spot is tricky to reach, which is made all the more difficult because every vagina is different, meaning there isn't one "correct" way to stimulate a woman's G-spot. Even if not everyone has managed to have a G-spot orgasm, everyone has at least heard of the elusive area. But what does the "G" in G-spot stand for?

The G-spot's full name is the "Gräfenberg spot," named for Ernst Gräfenberg, a German gynecologist who studied urethral stimulation in the 1940s. It was Gräfenberg and his colleagues who first mentioned the elusive spot in the Western Journal of Surgery, when he described an "erotic zone" on the anterior wall of the vagina, along the course of the urethra. However, it wasn't Gräfenberg himself who coined the term "G-spot" — he's merely its namesake.

The magic spot didn't have a proper name until 1981, when sexologist and professor Beverly Whipple — along with a team of other scientists — co-authored a case study about female ejaculation. The first published instance of the term "G-spot" was when Whipple's paper was featured in the Journal of Sex Research. Since then, Whipple has written an entire book about the subject, called The G Spot: And Other Recent Discoveries About Human Sexuality.

Perhaps because it is such a recent discovery, some people remain unconvinced that the G-spot is even real. If you're one of those skeptics who doesn't believe in the existence of the G-spot (or maybe you just have difficulty reaching it), here are seven alternative erogenous zones that are a little less difficult to locate, because everyone deserves a pleasurable sexperience.

1. Inner Thighs

A 2013 study of 800 participants found that inner thighs were ranked among the top erogenous zones for both men and women. Thighs may be ticklish, which is a big turn-off for some, but others might be aroused by the sheer anticipation of being touched or kissed so close to the, uhh, main event. After all, your inner thighs are about as close to your genitals as you can get without just going for the real deal.

2. Ears

According to the same study, both men and women put ears high up on the list of sexiest body parts. Although ears may not look particularly attractive, this finding isn't totally surprising — is there anything hotter than having someone whisper or breathe in your ear during sex?

3. Lips

This might come as a big duh because kissing is such an important part of sex, but many people may not think of lips as an "erogenous zone," per se. But according to the above study, people ranked lips as one of their sexiest areas, albeit a bit unsurprisingly. So if you weren't already the world's biggest fan of making out, now that you know how ~sexy~ people consider their lips, you have a good excuse to passionately kiss your partner as often as possible.

4. Shoulder Blades

This might seem a little out there, but the study doesn't lie: Those aforementioned 800 participants who ranked their lips, ears, and thighs as erotic also enjoyed some sexual shoulder blade action. If we're being honest, though, who hasn't seen a particularly gorgeous set of back muscles at some point of another and thought "damn, I'd love to rub my hands all over those?"

5. Feet

Although participants in the above study ranked feet as one of the least sexy body parts, that doesn't negate the fact that foot fetishes are very real, and are one of the most popular fetishes out there. So although not everyone is into kink, feet nevertheless can be a super sensual spot. Even those who might not classify themselves as a foot-fetishist might get down with a little toe-sucking now and again.

6. Nipples

I've spoken about how nipples are, sadly, often forgotten about during sex. Though not everyone's nipples have the same level of sensitivity, with both practice and patience, nipple-play can become extremely pleasurable. Studies show that the sexy sensations you get from nipple stimulation travel to the same part of the brain as vaginal sensations, so learning how to incorporate nipples into your foreplay or intercourse is totally worth it.

7. Neck

It's not exactly a secret that the nape of the neck is a sexy spot. A study of female body parts found that the neck is very sensitive to "light touch" — which probably explains why any sort of gentle kissing, licking, sucking, or even biting of the neck feels so damn good. (Or maybe you just have a vampire fetish, and that's OK too.)

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