To ask where this awful word came from?

[WhyCantIuseTheNameIWant]

Fanjo.
Even my auto-correct doesn't like it. Fan jo.

i have heard Fanjo (ok, read on Facebook) by my daughters friends use it. so, maybe only on MN in the UK, but certainly used by 20-something unmarried women in California.

It does work well as a female equivalent to willy in that it doesnt have a history of being used as an insult, nor sound like something off a diagram. However, I can imagine if it is the up and coming reference to female sex parts in general then men who use names of womens body parts as insults will appropriate it sooner or later.

i wonder if the hairy banjo song and the term fanny caused more than one person to mangle up the new term. Might explain why people think it is Irish or Scots if the song were common in both countries. Though it doesnt explain why a mix of Americans from various backgrounds including Jewish and Vietnamese and taiwanese and Pacific Islander and Mexican and various northern european countries use it.

I think it was DP who first came across it

I'm Irish and I never heard Fanjo until I saw it here. The Irish expression is gee (I'm only guessing that's how you spell it as I never saw it written down) but it's a coarse word and wouldn't be used it polite society.

Generally speaking I think as many words for things make language more fascinating. But you can really tie yourself up in knots over the nuance of what you mean by words you use, especially while judging how others use them (!).

My dd (20) and I got out foof from the back of the thesaurus drawer yesterday. Now, I tacitly, assume we both are using it in an "ironic, post-modernist" way. But is that how she's using it? Is that how I'm using it under layers of consciousness?!?!

Speaking of dd, of course I would hardly ever refer to my "dd" or even "dear daughter" outside of mumsnet. To me it's just a nod to this site, accepting the fact people use the "d" addition sincerely, ironically or whatever.

I find "DISS" hard to like; and it is used regularly in some circles.

Yes, tobee, the D phrasing was a hard thing, I still can't use it naturally, and it takes a moment to interpret sometimes. So easy to mistake Son in law for Sister in law for instance.

To be honest, I find it incredible that you actually want to use such a twee 'jokey' name. Do you use it to try to shock people?

Yes redhead. I am really immature and I think it's funny to shock people

I thought you left threads when I posted in them anyway.

well, I thought you weren't going to talk to soldier bear anymore, but that didn't last long, did it? I do tend to leave threads when you come on, as they can get really boring then, with you complaining about us all the time.

LOL bye then

Good grief, redhead. Heaven forbid anyone should ever be jokey.

Holding a serious grudge against someone online and taking it from thread to thread is really sad BTW

Do people really think to themselves or say such things like ''Ooh! my vulva is itchy/sore/whatever'' ? I just can't imagine it tbh.

Yes, I do. I've never had another word for them, my family didn't do "pet names" for genitals and I never felt the need to start using them when I was a grown up.

My family didn't do pet names for genitals either but I'm not going to hold it against others who do. Or style myself as intellectually/emotionally superior to those who do. There's plenty of words I don't use or didn't use in the past because I don't/ didn't like them. But, with very few exceptions, it's only of consequence to me what I think of others who use them.

I agree that the vulva squad on MN get quite boring tbh.

I know it's technically a fucking vulva, but I don't care quite frankly - I hate the word, it sounds pretentiously snotty somehow (but I can't explain why).

I say fanjeeta, fanjo or vajayjay if having a casual conversation about lady parts with others (outwith the medical profession) - but funnily enough, it's not a subject that tends to come up that often .

To the kids I say girl bits or lady bits, as that's a perfectly reasonable way of referring to them imo.

My husband grew up saying 'tuppence', but I'd never heard it before (he's Welsh, I'm not - he also says 'billy-bills' for willy sometimes which makes me lol).

So, you can stick your 'vulva's up your hoops quite frankly, and stop being so anatomically mundane!!

YANBU. I don't use it, to me it just sounds stupid. But then I don't say fanny or hairy banjo either so it never stood a chance.

I have only seen the word Fanjo on here. I don't know any women that say it.
It is twee, but doesn't sound offensive/awful to me. Something maybe kids would say, like Fanny. That is the first word I heard regarding female genitalia when I was in infant school. My mother was not amused when I repeated the word at home!

I knew a couple of women from Liverpool who used the term, 'me Mary'

I don't like the C-word! I never use it, no other woman I know uses it because it is used in such an offensive way. I know loads of MNers use it, fine if that is alright for them, I don't want to use it. Same with Gunt, which I had to google a couple of years ago, that sounds gross.

I say Vagina, Vulva reminds me of Biology lessons in school.

Mumu, is another twee phrase I have heard used, and some bloke I used to work with used to talk about 'beef curtains' with other male colleagues, which is revolting.

Do those of you who insist on saying "vulva" all the time to your DC also refer to excrement as "stool(s)" rather than "poo" and "urine" rather than "wee"?

I use 'vagina' rather than any thing else, because I wanted DD to know the proper word for it. I like fanjo though, it's funny. 'Cunt' always sounds violent to me so I don't use it, nor pussy, which is just wrong.

Jessie no - I don't use vulva (and I definitely don't "insist" on it) because it's medically correct, it's just the word I'm familiar with and it's natural for me to use it. Like for others it's natural to say fanny.

I'm not sure why there is such disdain towards people who use vulva and vagina! Perhaps sometimes it's an attempt to look intellectual - though a pretty odd one - but sometimes it's just what a person is used to.

FANJO is a great word.

Another is NORKS. Sadly not used much on here these days.

its not Scottish - fanny up here, minge works too. if anyone said gies a watch of yer fanny everyone know what you mean. if you said gies a swatch of yer minge then everyone would know also.

QOD

Haven't had a chance to ask DH where he got the word from, will update when I do! I just assumed it's a Scottish thing as never heard anyone else say it!

I have DSs so never had to think what to call girl bits, but theirs are/were winkies