Sensory homunculus

[JellySlice]

I was discussing the sense of touch with dd, and Googled sensory homunulus to show her, because an image is worth a thousand words.

And then I realised that the sensory homunculus is always male. I have never seen a sensory homunculus of a female body. Adding female to the search term just brings up male sensory homunculi with lipstick and nail varnish, or sexualised cartoonish female images.

It won't take a thousand words to explain its absence, but surely someone, somewhere, must have created a sensory image of the female body?

Or maybe in context you were just joking about volunteer cadavers? apologies, it flew over my head if so.

They had a model of this in the Science Museum , or was it the Natural History Museum? Can't remember which.

It's not supposed to be about erogenous zones. Lol. It's about nerve endings and sensitivity.

@Gottalife

It's not supposed to be about erogenous zones. Lol. It's about nerve endings and sensitivity.

Yes, I think everyone who has read the thread who didn't know already was aware of what it is.

It's not supposed to be about erogenous zones. Lol. It's about nerve endings and sensitivity.

Lol. Lol. Clearly these subjects are completely unrelated! Thanks for clearing that up for us.

If it was 'erogenous zones', an exterior surface mapping wouldn't really work anyway, would it?

If it was 'erogenous zones', an exterior surface mapping wouldn't really work anyway, would it?

That's a really interesting point though, since the cervix and G-spot have nerve endings shouldn't they be somehow included on the homunculus? I cannot quite envision what that would look like but the Sheila-na-Gig seems like a decent start. Come to that, shouldn't men's prostate glands be included similarly? And shouldn't the representation for both sexes have a very large anus? (sorry for the unpleasant image, I can see perfectly well why this isn't done.)

I don't have anything to do with the research that done by 2 professors who I collaborate with.
I know that when stuying live subjects they use Positron emission tomograph and MRI.
However they also use cadavers in their research....its dead good research!

RoyalCorgi- it's one of my favourite books! Though I feel she could do an entire series of books on all the ways science has ignored women

For those people who are talking about the G spot & Clitoris, you would prefer the Sexual Homunculus.

As I say its takes allot of work to ensure what I make is not just a styled figure but scientifically accurate and correct. these are used by universities and museums all over the world so they must represent physical realty otherwise they are not a Sensory Homunculus.

The sexual homunculus are on their way and if you think sensory homunculi are strange, then hold on to your hats......you are basically a clitoris on legs!

I was right with you until ...

Finally one of the distasteful things about the research is that much of it is undertaken on cadavers.

which made me a bit

Either we are talking science. Or we are not. If we are, the I don't think there's much room for the word "distasteful". "Difficult" certainly. But "Distasteful" is assigning a subjective value to the study of the human body - and a subjective value that I and many others don't subscribe to.

I could understand the word in the context of 19th century bodysnatching. But it seems an odd thing to say.

(I never wanted to study biology anyway, but one thing I recall growing up was the expectation that autopsies weren't really a feminine activity - except as a subject).

Anyone can draw a picture of what they think a female homunculus might look like, I've just done a sketch now, but the issue is its not a female homunculus.
It is difficult to understand but these things are not just grotesques figures, but rather genuine real topographical maps of the neural cortex. To simply draw one without undertaking the required study would be doing the female body/mind an enormous disservice.

A female Homunculus must be based on the physical reality of how how richly innervated parts of the brain are. I am sure you will understand that the clitoris is a far larger sensory organ than most people believe it to be. Therefore we cannot just replace male organs to female as the size is totally dependent on the level of how neural innervation within the brain cortex.

Consequently its important to remember that as these figures are used in universities all over the world they must be accurate.
If somebody just MADE their own version, unless their figure is built to correspond to the correct ratios, l it is not a Sensory Homunculus.

OK, so follow the link to picture, its not accurate and it is not really a Female Homunculus, but rather a Female Style Homunculus.

www.sharonpricejames.com/femalehomunculus.html

Excellent that you are doing this! I really look forward to seeing your Female Sensory Homunculus (Femuncula? ). Of course it needs to be based upon accurate data, to be accurately representative of female sensation. So it's good that that data is being gathered, rather than the MSH being rejigged with a bit of make-up added. Women are not modified men!