G-Spotting: A Story of Pleasure and Promise

Running late on a Monday morning, you might have trouble finding your car keys, but it's doubtful anyone would argue that they don't exist. So pity the poor G-spot, the controversial and misunderstood female pleasure center. Filmmakers Ségolène Hanotaux and Gilles Bovon's documentary G-Spotting interviews both Shere Hite, whose 1976 The Hite Report seemed to render guys moot in the bedroom thanks to the discovery of clitoral orgasm, and Dr. Beverly Whipple, co-author of The G-Spot and Other Recent Discoveries About Human Sexuality, the landmark 1982 book that argued men could be useful again…if only they would stop and ask for directions. The film employs cheeky visual humor—a lengthy discussion of female ejaculation features footage of lawn sprinklers—but the issues raised here about love, sex, gender, and pleasure are serious and handled respectfully. Although the film allows for some disagreement as to whether the G-spot is fact or fiction, the overall consensus here is that it does exist. Perhaps the most provocative moment here is a sequence in which a woman reaches orgasm seven times—while fully clothed, inside an MRI machine, with hands in plain sight—by simply thinking; a reminder that the most powerful sex organ is the one between our ears. Featuring some sexually explicit material, this thought-provoking documentary is definitely recommended for human sexuality studies and more adventurous collections. Aud: C, P. (H. Seggel)