Updated

A sexual quest that has for years baffled millions of women, and men, may have been in vain. A study by British scientists has found that the mysterious G-spot, the sexual pleasure zone said to be possessed by some women but not all, may not exist at all.

The scientists at King’s College London who carried out the study claim there is no evidence for the existence of the G-spot, supposedly a cluster of internal nerve endings, outside the imagination of women influenced by magazines and sex therapists. They reached their conclusions after a survey of more than 1,800 British women.

"Women may argue that having a G-spot is due to diet or exercise, but in fact it is virtually impossible to find real traits," said Tim Spector, professor of genetic epidemiology, who co-authored the research. "This is by far the biggest study ever carried out and it shows fairly conclusively that the idea of a G-spot is subjective."

In the research, 1,804 British women aged 23-83 answered questionnaires. All were pairs of identical or non-identical twins. Identical twins share all their genes, while non-identical pairs share 50 percent of theirs. If one identical twin reported having a G-spot, this would make it far more likely that her sister would give the same answer. But no such pattern emerged, suggesting the G-spot is a matter of the woman’s subjective opinion.

While 56 percent of women overall claimed to have a G-spot, they tended to be younger and more sexually active. Identical twins were no more likely to share the characteristic than non-identical twins.

Andrea Burri, who led the research, said she was anxious to remove feelings of "inadequacy or underachievement" that might affect women who feared they lacked a G-spot.

"It is rather irresponsible to claim the existence of an entity that has never really been proven and pressurise women - and men, too," she said.

SOURCE: Times of London