Researchers surveyed 441 sexually active cisgender women via an anonymous, online questionnaire, asking them to point out, on anatomic illustrations, areas that bring them pleasure when touched during sex, and areas that they dislike having touched during sex. For each erogenous zone, respondents rated the importance to their sexual pleasure on a 10-point Likert scale, or indicated why they dislike having a specific area touched.

The maps above show the percentage of women who designated each zone as pleasure-producing and the average rated importance of that zone to sexual pleasure. Notably, the vaginal introitus (50.8%) and peri urethra (42.6%) were selected more frequently than the clitoris (41.3%), although the latter scored higher on the 10-point scale for importance to sexual pleasure.

The maps below show the percentage of women who said they disliked having a structure touched during sex. The anus (34.0%) and perineum (7.9%) were the most disliked areas for the primary reason of respondents finding “It’s gross,” followed by “It hurts” and “I’m ashamed/embarrassed.”

[source: An Anatomic Map-Based Study: Erogenous and Aversive Sensation in the Vulva, Vagina, and Breasts, presented by Jenna Stelmar at the joint scientific meeting of the Sexual Medicine Society of North America and the International Society for Sexual Medicine]