Editing Clitoral hood piercing (section)

==Motivations==
Clitoral hood piercings are done to enhance sexual pleasure, for aesthetic reasons, as an artistic expression of personal style, and for survivors of sexual abuse or assault, as an act of reclamation.

According to ''[[Cosmopolitan (magazine)|Cosmopolitan]]'' magazine, many people say the vertical clitoral hood piercing enhances sexual pleasure more than a horizontal clitoral hood piercing.<ref name="auto1"/> The vertical orientation of the jewelry increases pressure on the clitoris, particularly if the lower sphere (bead) of a barbell is situated to apply pressure directly to the [[Clitoris#Glans|glans of the clitoris]]. The clitoris is the human female's most sensitive [[erogenous zone]] and the primary [[anatomical]] source of human female sexual pleasure. The glans of the human clitoris is about the size of a pea but is estimated to have 8,000 to 10,000 sensory nerve endings,<ref>{{cite web |last1=White |first1=Franny |title=Pleasure-producing human clitoris has more than 10,000 nerve fibers |url=https://news.ohsu.edu/2022/10/27/pleasure-producing-human-clitoris-has-more-than-10-000-nerve-fibers |website=OHSU News |access-date=12 June 2023 |language=en}}</ref> approximately double the number of the [[glans penis|glans of the human male penis]], which is much larger. The extremely high density of sensory nerve endings in the glans of the clitoris enables it to be exceptionally sensitive to stimulation.

A clitoral hood piercing may be desired as an adornment, either on its own, or in association with other body piercings. Some people say that even if they were the only person who ever saw their genital piercings, they would be happy with them.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Fenn |first1=Violet |title=Why genital piercings aren't as scary as you think |url=https://metro.co.uk/2017/03/14/genital-piercings-arent-as-scary-as-you-think-heres-what-to-expect-from-them-6478526/ |website=Metro |access-date=8 June 2023 |language=en |date=14 March 2017}}</ref>

For some who have been sexually assaulted, raped, sexually abused, or psychologically hurt in various ways, genital piercings serve as a means to reclaim their sexuality or their ownership of their genitals.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Stirn |first1=Aglaja |last2=Oddo |first2=Silvia |last3=Peregrinova |first3=Ludmila |last4=Philipp |first4=Swetlana |last5=Hinz |first5=Andreas |title=Motivations for body piercings and tattoos - the role of sexual abuse and the frequency of body modifications |journal=Psychiatry Research |date=30 December 2011 |volume=190 |issue=2–3 |pages=359–363 |doi=10.1016/j.psychres.2011.06.001 |pmid=21705093 |s2cid=42613463 |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21705093/ |access-date=5 June 2023 |issn=0165-1781}}</ref>