Today my 9 year old has been taught that as she grows older, hair will grow on her vagina!

[Ziggyzoom]

I raised this in year 1 when they sent a work sheet home. I can't decide whether to keep ploughing on or satisfy myself with the knowledge that at least my daughters know the correct names for their anatomy.

or pudantic as the case may be

It's the hall lamp, Whirlpool.

Fallen Madonna I am a Science teacher BTW. I don't just have sex organ powerpoints - I almost spat coffee everywhere laughing at that one..

I quite like fanjo - it is comical like willy, it's not a word that can confuse people or that people like me have grown up taught to vaguely disapprove of.

Should my kids ever grow curiosity and ask why I don't have a willy I shall consider using that.

I've never heard Fanjo except in the MN context - has anyone else?

I thought pubic hair was a big No no these days?

Don't they just teach girls that if they find any body hair growing anywhere they must remove it all immediately...

How do waxers explain pubic hair to their dc if they don't have any themselves?

Fanny would never catch on either where I live or in London. It is a vague insult. It's not at all comparable to willy.

I can't remember what my sex ed said. It probably did refer to the whole area as a vagina until human biology, where we learnt all the "proper" words.

LOL Micah

Repeat - "fanny" SHOULD be equivalent to willy, it's exactly the same kind of word. The fact that it isn't is probably due to, I dunno, greater sensitivity talking about female genitalia than male?

We use the word nuni (pronounced noo-nee). Seems to work but of course the right word is vulva. But I would always say vagina because that is what I was taught and it kind of sticks. Also because most of the organ is out of sight and I might be talking about things to do with the whole vagina (as you do) I would say vagina.

I like foof - on the same snigger level as willy.

I'm 29, we were shown the vagina is on the inside and wed grow pubic hair on the pibic region where the proceeded to use a big stick to point at a massive hairy noon to show us where. There was also talk of the size of the labia minora growing bigger on some ladies than others. We were all like ????at nine years old.

As part of my work I am required to take an account of sexual assault from female victims. This requires me to establish exactly what bit has gone where etc.
The amount of grown women who have no idea how to describe their own genitalia is astounding.
I appreciate there is an element of embarrassment but its more than that - they just don't know the words.

Pubic area and halfway to your knees sounds good to me. Covers it all.

As part of my work I am required to take an account of sexual assault from female victims. This requires me to establish exactly what bit has gone where etc.
The amount of grown women who have no idea how to describe their own genitalia is astounding.
I appreciate there is an element of embarrassment but its more than that - they just don't know the words

Are you as snippy and judgemental with them? I don't think it can be terribly difficult to find words that every one can understand. I'd guess most girls and women can easily tell if they were touched inside or not.

I suppose at least they are being taught something.

I am in Scotland and my (nearly 11 yo) has yet to do any of this at school.
It has simply not been covered. At ALL.

We have had chats at home and got books from the library in the traditional manner, but at school - nada!

Lass - your post shows how CRUCIAL it is that we all 'know the words' to describe our bodies accurately.

Thank you for posting it.

Well as my Mum was a nurse and Health Visitor I was brought up with the correct terminology! I have found the misuse of the term vagina a tad irritating but actually, thinking about it properly for the first time after reading the comments above, it occurs to me that they are very different things and women do need to understand their physiology! Also with medics having a tendency to judge patients one does oneself few favours by showing ignorance. Anyone who has given birth must appreciate what an amazing organ the vagina is! The vulva is just a neat pad that is rather simple and elegant. It is a pity the medical terms are not really...

It was SinclairSpectrum, not Lass who takes accounts from women following sexual assault. I don't think she sounded snippy or judgmental at all Lass.

I have a friend who is a women's health Physio and she also comes across similar issues of women who have almost no vocabulary to describe where they are experiencing symptoms.

I am far from snippy and judgmental and I don't think I have been today.
I was remarking that I think its imperative that girls are educated and given the correct words so they know what to call areas of their own body.
Not sure how that can be seen as a negative?

A friend of mine's Mum once worked as a sexual counsellor or some such thing. She met many, many grown women who didn't know what their clitoris was, where it was, or what it did.

Different parts of the human anatomy do different things - being able to name them and understand what they do is important and, I think, sexually empowering. There are very serious issues relating to being able to name different parts of your genitalia (in reporting symptoms to a healthcare professional, or in reporting a sexual assault), but I think there's also a pleasure issue. If women are raised to vaguely view everything as a vague single term, this engenders a sense of it being somewhat shameful and ill equips them for communicating to partners about what gives them pleasure...

Eh? I think you're overthinking things a bit

I'd bet that most men wouldn't know the proper names for various parts of their genitalia either. I don't think this is restricted to women.

Was that to me, SirC? I don't think I am, though I possibly phrased it a bit poorly. I can't remember the exact circumstances but I know my friend's DM was talking to people who had problems with their sex life - often it was the women who only knew of their genitals as a single thing (be it 'down there' / 'vagina' / 'fanny') who reported a lack of pleasure in sexual activity. It's not just about the lack of vocabulary but the attitude that caused that lack of vocabulary, IYSWIM....

Your last sentence hit the nail on the head. It's attitude not vocabulary that empowers. I am guessing that your DM's friend was counselling people with far greater issues than not being able to direct their DH/P to their labia minor, for example.

minora

Exactly, SirC! I guess what I was trying to get at is that (in my experience at least) society views women's bodies and sexual activity as less openly acceptable than men's. Not using or teaching specific vocabulary for the female genitalia is both a symptom of that and contributes to maintaining it. So not having the words to direct your DH/P to your labia minor might (in not necessarily straightforward ways!) be tied in up in also lacking the sense that this is something you can or even should do...