Should We Be Renaming The Vagina?

Widow, I think you uwill find c-section is a fairly new method of delivery. We would not exist as a species with out the good old fashioned baby out the fanny birth.

Personally I think of all humans as animals and all animals have a primary function which is to make more animals, as humans we have a choice about it but at the end of the day it's still our primary function. . That's not woo

"I think of the vagina as the 'birth canal'. Its main function is giving birth - insemination can happen without penetration.

There would be no human species if there were no pathway to exit the female body."

Speak for yourself, none of my children ever went that way and I've no regrets about that.

If you think of the vagina mainly as the birth channel you may as well think of women mainly as precious vessel with the purpose of giving birth. Rather reductionist if you ask me.

But then I've never subscribed to the red tented womb woo branch of feminism.

KittensInaHalfShell
"I like sheath. A sheath protects something- vaginas the protectors of penises since time began."

"actually- maybe men should be offended"

On the contrary; men will say they need all the protection they can get.

I think of the vagina as the 'birth canal'. Its main function is giving birth - insemination can happen without penetration.

There would be no human species if there were no pathway to exit the female body.

Gosh, that Wolf's a smug piece, isn't she? I sort of laughed, but actually, given the profile she gets, the joke's on aLl of us, really.

I tend to agree about ignoring etymology. Vagina is fine but cunt is better.

I wish I had found this thread right at the beginning, but never mind.

It seems a little ridiculous to be rejecting a word based on its etymology, especially when that etymology is not known by the vast majority of people who use the the word.

I posted on another thread, not too long ago, about the word "woman", which has an unpleasant etymology too (it basically boils down to "female pudenda+ man"). Yes, this is not nice. But so what? Some other words have downright odd provenance. Take "lady", for example, which stems from the meaning "breadmaker" All very interesting, but the meaning of all of these words has moved on. Etymology is just that - history, not current meaning.

Why can we not just use words like vagina and woman and other words of unsavoury etymology, in the sense that they have in today's language, and laugh at their passage through time.

I like the word mink better, sounds like a cute furry animal. Vagina sounds like some sort of disease!

Oh, that's rather nice, I like that!

Still, not sure it's fair on men, as you say!

actually- maybe men should be offended

I like sheath. A sheath protects something- vaginas the protectors of penises since time began.

Ooh, thanks for those links. I'll make a cup of tea and work my way through them.

No, don't fancy buying it, I'll have to wait until the library has it. My mother was
quite amusing reading the Guardian review and pursing her lips about it. Her view-'I only want/need to know about my own'.

I've never read any Naomi Wolf, get the distinct impression that in feminist terms she's a bit 'sus'. Is that fair?

I am always happy to talk rudely more about the Wolf book.

I am so sad I missed the webchat but it was highly amusing. Have you been able to get hold of a copy EC? I've only read extracts.

Hi Eldritch

Earmark a bit of time and some tissues for the tears of laughter on the webchat:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/mumsnet_live_events/1556371-Naomi-Wolf-live-webchat-TODAY-Thursday-6-September-12pm-to-1pm

On FWR try
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/1559795-Naomi-Woolf-Vagina-a-quick-question
and
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/1564726-Another-review-of-Wolfs-Vagina-this-time-by-Germaine

I'd be interested to know what you lot think about the Wolfe book and this review of it.
Unless there is already a thread about it, in which case I'll slope off there.

Sorry FD!

I wonder if Naomi would win back any MN brownie points if she renamed subsequent editions "Fanjo: a Biography"

Vagine sounds wonderfully elegant and French. I worry for Buppy's contortionism if her minge itches like buggery, though.

I have never heard of the tantric sex industry before. Do I dare to ask what it is?

P.s. Fanjo is still the best word. And there is also vagine.

Greer points out some of Naomi Wolf's terminology is a bit reminiscent of Orientalism and 'yoni' is part of that. It is a bit dubious, isn't it, in that respect?

I like the sound of it fine, though, it's nice.

Yoni makes me cringe - it's just sounding too much like woo and incense sticks.

I like the sound of yoni too. Wouldn't like to see it trashed though - it would be nice to think that any new name wouldn't eventually attract negative usage as a swear word or insult. But that's not down to the word itself, but attitudes towards sex and men and women in general, which are less easy to replace.

Apologies for sounding like a cynical old baggage .