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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Am I the only person who can't stand the word fanny?

148 replies

Useruser1212 · 11/12/2023 00:05

I find the word fanny ick and uncomfortable. I really cringe when people use it. It just sounds vile and reminds me of like a big fat builder fanny or something weird like that (I know, what is wrong with me!?) But seriously is anyone else the same?

What other words make you cringe??

OP posts:
henrysugar12 · 11/12/2023 16:54

BigFatBuilderFanny · 11/12/2023 00:21

I am shocked and appalled at the content of this discussion.

😂

TippyToes123 · 11/12/2023 16:55

presentadvice · 11/12/2023 11:31

You've reminded me that it is actually a name. I think I remember a girl in an Enid Blyton book called Fanny.

Show quote history

Yes there was a Fanny in The Magic Faraway Tree and a cousin called Dick. They were changed to Franny and Rick in recent years 🙄

BigMandsTattooPortfolio · 11/12/2023 16:56

I’m none too keen on the Chaucerian ‘quim’ either.

CurlewKate · 11/12/2023 17:15

Jane Austen has a character called Fanny.

ArsenicInTheAppleTart · 11/12/2023 18:22

The 30 something actress who plays Camille in Call My Agent is a Fanny.

BoobyDazzler · 11/12/2023 20:27

I agree that fanny is the female equivalent to willly it’s what we use in our house and I don’t think it’s vulgar at all.

That said, cunt is my favourite word, and when my friends and I get drunk we pass many an hour calling each other genitalia names. The word Flaps is probably our favourite but growler is up there 🤣

CurlewKate · 11/12/2023 20:46

I hate that there's no word for the vagina/vulva that's not either a crude swear word or twee. Says a lot about the perception of women.

Babla · 12/12/2023 01:10

What about Fanny Craddock?!

steff13 · 12/12/2023 01:14

jemenfous37 · 11/12/2023 06:56

Don't mind fanny unless used in conjunction with 'pach'
Yes, I'm looking at you, USA 😀

I'm in the US, and I don't know what "patch" means.

Do you mean a fanny pack?

steff13 · 12/12/2023 01:14

Ugh, "pach!"

ThenAgain · 12/12/2023 01:21

BloominFlower · 11/12/2023 15:01

I’m not a huge fan per se, but it’s better than a lot of other demeaning words like ‘Snatch, Growler, cunt, twat’ etc. I don’t mind using the term fanny. When teaching my son I used vulva and willy

Talking of snatch - it makes me cringe when it’s used for a slim waist or contouring makeup - like ‘snatched’ ughhh.

Smallonesaremorejuicy · 12/12/2023 01:35

I’m a midwife & I don’t like it when colleagues say push down into your bum ! Makes me cringe. I prefer to use bottom .

chappoi · 12/12/2023 01:44

CurlewKate · 11/12/2023 20:46

I hate that there's no word for the vagina/vulva that's not either a crude swear word or twee. Says a lot about the perception of women.

Yep Fanny is aweful but how did that become an actual name. Yet we don't like vagina but even worse is the more correct term vulva, it's still not normal. But penis and testicles are standard now

CarolinaInTheMorning · 12/12/2023 01:58

I do know that Fanny= Ass in America.

Sort of but not precisely. "Ass" is a somewhat vulgar word, but "fanny" is just slang. A child can say fanny with impunity, but ass might raise some eyebrows.

Chipsahoyagain · 12/12/2023 02:08

Westfacing · 11/12/2023 00:12

I don't like it - sounds vulgar!

Do builders have fannies?

And if sounds stinky too.

Catsmere · 12/12/2023 02:38

I hate all the slang for vulva. Fanny's the least of them, probably because I hardly ever hear it (not really used much in Australia afaik). Cunt is a term of abuse and I loathe it. The one I hate most is pussy, because it's made a term of endearment for a cat impossible to say without some idiot sniggering or worse, making sleazy jokes.

marshmallowfinder · 12/12/2023 03:21

The casual slinging around of the word 'fat' as an insult is far worse. I've been fat all my life and it fucking hurts.

stepintochristmas1 · 12/12/2023 03:25

Years ago when we were at school it was called 'muff '.

IAmAnIdiot123 · 12/12/2023 03:38

Georgeandzippyzoo · 11/12/2023 00:27

My DParents were invited to friends (living in America)daughters wedding , at the rehearsal dinner they were sat next to some.of the grooms family. A lady asked my dad if they'd been somewhere nice sightseeing. My dad gave list of what they'd done, including Niagra Falls.and how tired they were . Lady said 'oh when we went to Niagra falls my fanny was done in....off all the cycling's my dad literally choked on his dinner.
Fanny=bottom. Dad loved telling that story

We went skiing in America when we were kids and the instructor kept saying things like 'move your fanny like this' and 'stick your fanny out'. Oh how we nearly died laughing.

Sausager · 12/12/2023 05:13

My middle name is Frances. Guess what I get called?

GymBergerac · 12/12/2023 06:00

I don't use it for genitalia, but thanks to years working with a group of Scottish folks, I regularly use "don't be such a fanny" and "stop fannying around" when people are dithering or messing about.....

Nonplusultra · 12/12/2023 06:22

Smallonesaremorejuicy · 12/12/2023 01:35

I’m a midwife & I don’t like it when colleagues say push down into your bum ! Makes me cringe. I prefer to use bottom .

Or as my midwife called it “front bottom”. Wtf is a front bottom?

MuchTooTired · 12/12/2023 06:39

CornflakesOnTheSolesOfHerShoes · 11/12/2023 07:27

I don’t mind adults using it, but my sister’s taught her small daughters to say it as a child-friendly equivalent to willy, and I find that quite uncomfortable (though I realise that’s not logical!).

I’ve taught my young DD the same 😳

Mainly because it’s the ‘friendly’ word I was taught as a kid, (vagina was the medical term even though I now know it’s vulva and vagina!) and if she ever has a reason to need to describe it to an adult it’s a widely known term and they know exactly what she’s on about. Prefer fanny than minnie, nunu, flower, petal etc which to my mind could be anything including a teddy!

RedheadRedBed · 12/12/2023 07:01

Minge is the one I can't t stand .

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