Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

Original poster

Mummy, why don't you have a willy?

48 replies

Greengage · 21/07/2005 21:24

My DD of 2yrs 8 months has started noticing the differences between herself and her brother (2 months). There are many different words for the male genitalia, e.g. willy, but I've been struggling to think of words for the female genitalia which are not crude or overly medical.

So if I tell her that her brother has a bottom and a penis, what would be the equivalent for her?

OP posts:
kid · 21/07/2005 21:25

My DS thought for a while that everyone had a willy!

He says minnie now!

Lonelymum · 21/07/2005 21:26

A vagina I suppose. I just said to mine, I don't have a willy because I am not a boy. I didn't feel the need to tell them of the female genitalia, but that is just me. Judging by a thread recently, most people do talk about little girls' vaginas and have a bewildering mix of words for it.

Aimsmum · 21/07/2005 21:28

Message withdrawn

Lonelymum · 21/07/2005 21:29

No no Aimsmum, the term front bottom (tentatively put forward by me as a term to describe it) was entirely rejected by many Mners!

Lonelymum · 21/07/2005 21:29

Twee, apparently.

collision · 21/07/2005 21:31

A friend of mine calls it her Tallulah Fallulah but could risk offending MNers with daughters called Tallulah!!

I would (if I had a daughter) call it a front bottom.

marthamoo · 21/07/2005 21:32

I call it front bottom too - but I don't have a dd. Friend's dd calls it a minnie - that seems quite popular!

Aimsmum · 21/07/2005 21:34

Message withdrawn

Lonelymum · 21/07/2005 21:36

Well, if you are using the word penis to describe a boy's tackle, it only seems right to use the correct word for a female's part.

batters · 21/07/2005 21:41

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

collision · 21/07/2005 21:42

Blimey Batters! She could get into a lot of trouble in a Mexican restaurant!!!!!

Aimsmum · 21/07/2005 21:42

Message withdrawn

OldieMum · 21/07/2005 21:44

We just say vagina and penis to DD (2.6). She asked me today whether I have penises and whether daddy has penises. I explained that he doesn't really need more than one.

collision · 21/07/2005 21:47

My ds (3yrs) has decided to grow me a willy as he thinks it is sad that Daddy and he and his baby brother all have one and I dont.

Sometimes he 'pulls' his off to let me 'borrow' it .

So sweet and so funny and I do wonder what is going through his head!!!!

spidermama · 21/07/2005 21:49

It's tricky. I say 'fanny' but you're right, culturally we haven't settled on a word yet.

My MIL thinks 'fanny' is to sexual. I don't, but it worries me that she does.

I think 'front bottom' is too euphemistic.

Batters, 'vagina' would seem right but do you know it means 'sheath' .... so implies a 'sheath' it's a holder of some sort (ie for the penis).

The hindi word 'yoni' is good for women but not girls as it means 'female genetalia regarded as a divine symbol of sexual pleasure and matrix of generations'.

A bit more impressive than 'sheath'. Shame I'm not Hindi though.

Original poster
Greengage · 21/07/2005 21:51

DH says:
OK, now I understand the problem: female genetalia is either medical, lewd or embarassing, wheras male genetalia is either macho or humorous.

I think that we, as the people shaping the thoughts of the next generation, need to stop and think about that for a while.

OP posts:
trefusis · 21/07/2005 21:54

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

frogs · 21/07/2005 21:59

But surely the problem with 'vagina' is that it only refers to the, well, vagina. Whereas when little girls refer to their bits, they generally mean the externally visible bits. Dd1 was quite shocked when, aged 7 or so, she realised that there was a bit that went up inside. Fanny or minnie covers all the external genitalia, wee-wee bits and so forth, which is more useful in the day-to-day life of a small girl, IYSWIM.

ks · 21/07/2005 22:09

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

SenoraPostrophe · 21/07/2005 22:13

but fanny is rude

Lonelymum · 21/07/2005 22:15

Ks are you serious? What goes where? My mother referred to front bottom. I always thought she meant where the wee comes from. I don't remember ever knowing I had a third opening until I read about it when I was about 9. I wasn't shocked or horrified, or confused. Children are constantly learning new things and are very good at assimulating this new information. Why does a small girl need to know about her vagina anyway? Unless she happens to ask where babies come from and you feel the need to give her a blow by blow account, I can't think why she needs to know about it. I have no name for those parts as my dd (aged 5) has never asked about it or babies (even though I have a younger ds3). When my older boys asked me why I had no willy (if indeed they did ask this) I simply said because I am a woman and only men/ boys have willies. Nothing more needed to be said. Am i alone in thinking this way?

Aimsmum · 21/07/2005 22:24

Message withdrawn

Caligula · 21/07/2005 22:26

My dd used to call it her bum for ages, because she didn't make the distinction between the front and the back.

But we've now settled on girlie bits, though my mother calls it her willy! She might be confused...

Lonelymum · 21/07/2005 22:27

Caligula, now that is bizarre!

Satine · 21/07/2005 22:31

My ds (2.10) refers to my "china" which always makes me smile.