Everything You’ve Ever Wanted to Know About the A-Spot

When I was 19, I didn’t use my hands to masturbate. By then, I’d realized that what I needed was something longer and bigger. Something that would get at… whatever the heck was back there that I couldn’t reach. Instead, I went out and got myself a lengthy jelly dong. It was shiny, purple, and veiny.

The dildo was comically longer than I needed—at least nine inches in length and two inches in girth—but it would do. With lots of lube, I awkwardly mounted and tried to sit down on the dong, gently applying as much weight and pressure onto the base as possible. Suddenly, something new was accessed. It was like I’d discovered a new door in a house I’d lived in for a long, long time. It felt like some part of my vaginal canal expanded, unfurling to its full potential. At that point, I barely understood my clit, much less my cervix and vaginal canal, so it would be a long time before I ever heard a name for this place. But, oh, it has a name: the anterior fornix, or the “A-spot.”

What is the A-Spot?

The A-Spot is a sensitive crevice located on the belly side of the cervix. It sits between the front vaginal wall and the ridges of the cervix. The cervix blocks the area from stimulation, which makes the zone feel extra sensitive. Penetration or even light touching of the cervix is uncomfortable for many women, but touching the anterior fornix can produce an immediate feeling of pleasure. In fact, if you have a cervix, you also have a posterior fornix! I enjoy the sensations both spots give me, but some people only like one or the other.

Unless you are directly looking for these areas, or you’re inserting something SO big that the canal expands and everything is being touched, it’s very easy to let these spots go unnoticed. But as a vulva-owner who has always been a size queen, the A-spot is just as yummy to me as the G-spot… maybe even more yummy.

I emailed with my fellow educator Kate Sloan, who is also a sex journalist and A-spot enthusiast, about her first encounter with this satisfying spot. She discovered hers around the age of 19 after having had pleasureless penis-in-vagina (PIV) intercourse, much like myself. Sloan researched different techniques for making PIV more pleasurable, such as the Coital Alignment Technique, a method that suggests vertical penetration and thrusts to maximize clitoral stimulation. It was during this period that she discovered her A-spot.

“After many months of incorporating clitoral stimulation into intercourse and finding that it enabled my orgasms during PIV, I started to notice that things always felt especially good when my partner would thrust very deep. It clicked that this might be the anterior fornix I’d read about. After I figured that out, I started experimenting on my own with sex toys that could reach that spot, and doing a lot of reading about it.”

Sloan cites Dr. Chua Chee Ann’s research as the resource that shed more light on the area. Given that standard sex education barely manages to include the clit, and the “existence” of the area within the urethral sponge referred to as the G-spot is an ongoing debate, it’s no surprise that there has been very little coverage of the anterior and posterior fornices. Sloan speculates that this is because the person who “discovered” it is a non-white, non-American researcher.

Like Sloan, sex educator and pleasure coach Glamazon Tyomi discovered her A-spot while with a partner. “I began to realize how moist I would become in certain positions when my partner was deep. The increase in wetness would also come with a warm, calming, euphoric feeling across my body, and I noticed that it would happen with deep penetration near my cervix… I knew this wasn’t something that was commonly experienced or discussed, so I began to do research.”

Tyomi finds the discourse surrounding the A-spot to be lacking. “There are several erogenous zones within the vagina that have been documented in ancient texts rooted in Eastern philosophy… But because no one is talking about it, the search for it is uncommon. Sex educators stay away from the subject because there isn’t much printed literature backed by science or research for them to draw from. But we know it exists.”

The A-Spot vs. the G-Spot

Because the G-spot is only a few inches in front of the A-spot on the belly side, you can easily be confused if you don’t understand the differences between them. If you have a vaginal canal, the sensations of each area are generally considered pleasurable, but distinct.

As with all sex thangs, it’s really important to communicate what does and doesn’t feel good. “I’ve had partners think it was my G-spot, even after I kept telling them ‘Deeper, please!’ repeatedly during our interaction,” Sloan notes. “I’ve even had partners hear me explain that it’s my A-spot and respond, ‘Are you sure you don’t just have an unusually deep G-spot?’ As someone who plays with both spots regularly, I’m very aware of the different sensations they each produce in me. I can definitely tell the difference.”

So how does one go about stimulating their A-spot?

Sloan recommends using the world’s most versatile sex toy: hands! “Fingers can provide the deliberate pressure and steady rhythm that my A-spot likes… I also find it ridiculously hot on a psychological level when a partner fingerbangs me to orgasm this way. It displays a mastery of my body that I find incredibly hot.”

Noting that more than 75 percent of vulvas don’t reach orgasm from penetration alone, Tyomi says that folks are not likely to achieve orgasm solely from the A-spot. “Those of us that have experienced this type of stimulation enjoy it because of the wave of orgasms it [helps produce] and the increased moisture. Our partners love the feeling of our vaginas becoming wetter and tighter, quivering with pleasure… the slippery texture of the A-spot feels good to rub up against.” The sensation is significantly more delicious when paired with clitoral stimulation, so definitely consider stimulating the clit in tandem.

Toys with curved ends, like the Abby G, are really good at nestling in there and getting at the A-spot, too. And if you love size, you can try a broad, thick toy to internally expand every bit of the canal and access the anterior and posterior fornices simultaneously.

Sex positions to stimulate the A-Spot

“Positions that shorten the vagina (legs brought closer to the abdomen or chest) can help penetrating partners find the spot more easily,” Tyomi suggests. “I also recommend ‘planking’ position as a way to locate the spot easily.”

If you are trying to achieve A-spot stimulation with a flesh cock or a strap-on, it can be less intuitive than with your hands or other kinds of toys. Positions that enable deep thrusting – like doggy style or lifted missionary, where your hips are raised off the bed with a pillow or your legs are on your partner’s shoulders – can help.

“While positioned deep inside, search for the ‘slippery’ spot on the front wall… almost immediately the vagina will become moist and euphoria sets in, ushering relaxation and arousal,” Tyomi recommends. “The penetrating partner may have to shift a little to the right or to the left, or even shift their partner’s legs to one side or the other to access the spot more easily. Patience is key.”

You might also know about the A-spot and dislike the sensations, just like not all vulva owners lurve G-spot stimulation. “I know a lot of people who like it, and I also know a lot of people who’ve tried it and have felt ‘meh’ about it,” Sloan remarks. “I think, like anything else, it works for some people and not for others.”

It’s also important to not JAM a cock/toy/fingers into the back of the vaginal canal and think it will lead to orgasmic goodness. “Fucking someone ‘too deep’ can be painful or uncomfortable, because of the cervix,” Sloan adds. “You probably shouldn’t fuck someone deeply and forcefully unless you know they like that.”

But if you’re like me, and get the tingles just envisioning what this sensitive area feels like, chances are you will love to explore all the magical things it can offer alone or with a partner. “A-spot stimulation is the technique that facilitates simultaneous climax from both partners,” Tyomi advises for folks looking to align their orgasmic energies. “Want to come together? Stroke that A-spot.”

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This article was updated for clarity. It was originally published in December 2017.