Vagina (What do we call it?)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you have kids and have never talked about your vagina with friends or your husband, you must have had a very lonely pregnancy, delivery, recovery, etc.

You have GOT to be kidding me.

I had a fine, very social pregnancy, labor, delivery and recovery, thank you very much. I just never once used the word "vagina" during the entire time.

Really, I'm quite sure about this. MAYBE with the doctor who stitched me up after a bad tear during labor -- but honestly, I really wasn't all that chatty with him. I had just had a baby, see, and I was pretty tired, and I think he said something like, "You have a little tear, here-- I'll just stitch that up now" -- nope, I really didn't have to ask him "Do you mean you will be stitching up the tear in my vagina?" In context, it was kind of understood.

After I had the baby, and friends came to visit and bring me many, many meals (because I was such a social person) I think I might have said (to very close personal friends, who asked how was the labor) "Yeah, I had a little tear, but it's not too bad." I really don't think I said "I tore my vagina, but the wound is healing nicely. Every now and then I have some god-awful discharge coming out of my vagina, but I guess that's normal, don't you think so? Tell me, how was your vagina after you gave birth?"

As for my husband, well, I'm definitely not a prude. I just don't think we use the word in a clinical way, they way I guess some of your ladies do. What exactly do you say to your husbands? "My vagina's feeling quite moist and lubricated, shall we have some intercourse?" I think he would find the use of the word a big turn off, honestly. We usually keep it a little less scientific. But hey, to each her own!

it sounds like you do talk about your vagina, you just don't refer to is as your "vagina." i thought people were saying they literally didn't speak of the body part.

[Anonymous]

Fanny.

"US fanny" to specify booty, "UK fanny" to specify vulva et al.

[Anonymous]

Seriously, Why would women talk to each other about their bodies? Ever heard of a book called Our Bodies, Ourselves? Back when the Boston Women's Health Collective started the book, not too many people did, and it was a problem. Second-wave conciousness raising did a lot of good in demystifying and de-stigmatizing women's bodies and women's health issues, and had a lot to do with the overall improvement in women's healthcare. Do I talk about my cooter (hehe) with all my friends at the drop of a hat? No. Do I talk about my body with close friends to share experience and information? Yes I do.

Read your history.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The vagina is not actually the anatomically correct term for the entire female genitalia.

If you want to speak about the entire area, I think there is nothing wrong with calling it private parts. At this age being generic is probably not such a bad thing. Calling the entire area one name will help you to teach your daughter that this area is a private place for her only. [b][b]We tell both of our children that it is inappropriate for people to touch them in any place that is covered by a bathing suit. These are important conversations to have with our children starting as early as possible. Sad, but true. Especially as they enter preschool and elementary school and spend less time in our presence and more time with others.
[/b][/b][b]
ITA OP, it is so tough to have these conversations and still have our children keep their innocence, but it can be done. I do not discourage masturbation, just tell them that their private parts are for private and for THEM only.

Here's a good diagram of female anatomy:
http://www.everydayhealth.com/sexual-health/101/basics-of-the-female-sexual-anatomy.aspx

I imagine we will be pulling this one out in the coming years.

Back to something more serious...speaking of entering preschool, when explaining this how do you separate someone helping them with toileting? In other words, would a child that young understand that you are talking about inappropriate touching vs. someone helping them wipe after using the toilet? I hope that makes sense...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We call it the "pie". I know. My daughter is 7 and she has a twin brother and an older brother (9) too. She shares a room w/her twin bro for now and it's ok. When she is @ 9 we'll probably have the "talk"..

hahah..Pie?? That slays me.

Im taking a more silly approach and calling it, "woo-woo" .

Pie is too funny!!! I'm just wondering what you child is going to do or think when someone says "let's have pie" ..."I love pie" etc.

[Anonymous]

Privates.

Time enough for latin when they study it in high school.

Plus the outer part that is visible is not really a vagina.

I don't teach my daughter that she has beautful irises or that she better point her corneas at me when I am speaking to her. Simple English words for body parts are fine with me.

Plus it emphasizes the private aspect of her genitals which I also began teaching early.

[Anonymous]

I use "coochie" when talking about my own vagina to DH.

[Anonymous]

Poor OP!! Did you even think this would turn into a whole new thread??!! Don't worry about the PPs and stick with Pee Pee! (Heh! Heh!)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We call it the "pie". I know. My daughter is 7 and she has a twin brother and an older brother (9) too. She shares a room w/her twin bro for now and it's ok. When she is @ 9 we'll probably have the "talk"..

hahah..Pie?? That slays me.

Im taking a more silly approach and calling it, "woo-woo" .

what about hair pie? she'll be better informed come junior high that way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Privates.

Time enough for latin when they study it in high school.

Plus the outer part that is visible is not really a vagina.

I don't teach my daughter that she has beautful irises or that she better point her corneas at me when I am speaking to her. Simple English words for body parts are fine with me.

Plus it emphasizes the private aspect of her genitals which I also began teaching early.

excellent! killing two birds with one stone, so to speak

[Anonymous]

I call it vagina with my DD and hoo haa with my friends. I have already talked about my hoo haa twice today.

[Anonymous]

Right now I say I have to clean my daughter's "bits and pieces" or "personals" after a poo and she's 5 months old. I never thought about where to take that later on.

I guess I'll stick with those two, and keep pee-pee as a verb in the future. Vulva, I just don't know, it just makes me think of "Mulva" from Seinfeld!

Kind of interesting that there are so many casual words for penis and balls and not for vagina. Kinda sexist, no?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:we call it a vajay jay

That's what we call it too (DH started it).

[Anonymous]

If you are looking for a new name for "it" I highly suggest going to see The Vagina Monolouges. Not sure about this year, but I saw it twice around Valentine's Day at George Mason University. The students put on a great show and the tickets are cheap. Vagina was never a word that just rolled off my tounge, that is until I saw this play and was telling all my friends about it. Now it seems very natural to say, amongst friends.