I know a lot of women (men too) are uncomfortable saying vagina. There, I said. Vagina, vagina, vagina. Why is it so hard to say that word? Maybe we didn't hear it enough as children. There are a lot of women at my parties who are uncomfortable saying vagina. They say "down there" or even wore "va-jay-jay."
Sure it was funny the first time I heard it on Grey's Anatomy. Obviously tv has issues saying vagina too. That's just a silly name for it!
Growing up first generation Vietnamese-American, my first language is Vietnamese. To this day, I have no idea what the actual word for vagina is in Vietnamese. Or clitoris. I'm afraid to ask my mom. I'm in my thirties and have 2 kids. I sell sex toys for a living but I'm afraid to ask my mom. How exactly do I explain to my mother what a clitoris is when our only sex talk was don't get pregnant?
From the very beginning, I've taught my daughter that her girl parts is called vagina. Now it's technically not correct but it's close. When she's older, I'll explain all the other parts to her. She's four now. She's know what her vagina was since she started speaking in full sentences. Some people think I'm crazy for teach her vagina and penis. Heck, she even asked me what her clitoris was one day during her bath. Of course I told her.
Let's show our vagina the respect it deserves. Empower yourself. Don't call her your hoo-ha or your beaver or your bush or whatever. Own the word. It's nice and strong.
Let's teach our young'uns the right terms too. Both our boys and our girls. Teach them at a young age to respect their bodies by giving the right words to use. It's a start to give our girls, especially when they become pre-teens and teens, good self-esteem. Teach our boys also to respect not only their body parts but girls' too. Take the mystery out of it, and it's no longer forbidden fruit.
The ladies I meet who are uncomfortable talking about their genitals are also uncomfortable voicing their sexual needs to their partners. Isn't it time we take our pleasure into our own hands (literally or figuratively)?
Or as the artist of the piece pictured said:
Ain't nothing wrong with "vagina."
Photo (and art) courtesy of Ricë Freeman-Zachery.
