# Is there a proper way of saying vagina other than vagina? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 23, 2001, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-proper-way-of-saying-vagina-other-than-vagina/55539 "2001-02-23T01:00:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![katiekilldare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/838e76/32.png) [@katiekilldare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/katiekilldare)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2001, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-proper-way-of-saying-vagina-other-than-vagina/55539/61 "2001-02-26T23:17:11Z")
I refer to mine as “my goodies”. My husband nicknamed it “Priscilla”, and I thought that was darling. Incidentally, I call his goody “Calusa”. It’s the name of an obnoxiously large crocodile housed at Busch (not “Bush”) Gardens. katie ---
**Author:** ![Edwardina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Edwardina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edwardina)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2001, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-proper-way-of-saying-vagina-other-than-vagina/55539/62 "2001-05-20T03:33:24Z")
I think it has a lot to do with context. I see ‘vulva’ as being nearly as clinical as ‘vagina’ . . . neither of which would I ever use in an intimate setting. Too bad, because vulva is actually a pretty word. For conversation in a non-erotic setting, I might use something light-hearted like ‘cootchie’ or ‘muffin’. For use by a lover, I do prefer ‘pussy’ to any of the other words listed. It’s more about how he says it than what he says, though. Sometimes things which might otherwise be offensive, when said reverently, take on a certain attractiveness. 🙂 But terms like ‘cunt’, ‘cooter’ and ‘fuck ditch’ are right out, no matter what mood or context. There’s disrespectful vibe to them that previous experience has imprinted on me to such a degree that I don’t think that even the most reverent tone of voice, or the most hot and heavy arousal, could mitigate my distaste. Hearing any of those words in an intimate setting would be like being suddenly splashed with ice water. ---
**Author:** ![Philosophocles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Philosophocles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philosophocles)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2001, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-proper-way-of-saying-vagina-other-than-vagina/55539/63 "2001-05-20T05:14:32Z")
You like tomato, I like to-mah-to You like potato, I like po-tah-to Tomato, to-mah-to, potato, po-tah-to Let’s call the whole thing off!!! You like Elijah, I like Elisha You like epistles, I like apostles Elijah, Elisha, Epistles, Apostles Let’s call the whole thing off!!! ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2001, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-proper-way-of-saying-vagina-other-than-vagina/55539/64 "2001-06-01T01:21:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Muffin \* > I have a niece whose nickname by her parents is Cunny. … Well, it’s not so bad. Just remember that “cunny” literally means “rabbit”, and in the 18th century was used as we use “girl” or “lady” today. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Mermaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@The\_Mermaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Mermaid)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2001, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-proper-way-of-saying-vagina-other-than-vagina/55539/65 "2001-06-01T02:28:54Z")
When this thread first came 'round, I completely forgot my newest favorite word for the female anatomy… punani, (poononi?) I love it. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2001, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-proper-way-of-saying-vagina-other-than-vagina/55539/66 "2001-06-01T03:18:46Z")
There was a thread on this very topic recently, [Terminology for the female reproductive area, or, What do YOU like to call it?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=70879). I posted the list of names from the _Perfumed Garden_ as well as a long list of words for it in many different languages. Please, _please, **please** _ do not confuse the vagina with the vulva. They are two different things. I wish people wouldn’t say “vagina” when they mean “vulva.” The vulva is what you can see from outside: the labia, clitoris, and all that. The vagina is the inner passageway. You can’t even see the vagina without going all gynecological. Vulva sure is a nice sounding word, all soft & moist & cuddly, just like the real article. Being into Tantric yoga, I love to call it the **yoni**. ---
**Author:** ![SpinneZiege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9e8a1a/32.png) [@SpinneZiege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpinneZiege)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2001, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-proper-way-of-saying-vagina-other-than-vagina/55539/67 "2001-06-01T03:57:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Mermaid \* > \*\*When this thread first came 'round, I completely forgot my newest favorite word for the female anatomy… > > punani, (poononi?) > > I love it. \*\* ‘Poonani,’ I believe is the correct spelling. This word actually originated in the ghettoes of California and ended up being marketed like the rest of black urban culture. I remembered reading in a magazine how some ghettoes had started forming their own disctinct dialects, and this word was mentioned. I thought it was something that only sociologists and linguists would discuss, but then I heard it on my friend’s Dr. Dre CD! Boy was I surprised. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2001, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-proper-way-of-saying-vagina-other-than-vagina/55539/68 "2001-06-01T04:12:29Z")
[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=70879](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=70879) My sincere apologies for not knowing the correct coding. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by GingerOfTheNorth \* > While we were growing up, my dad referred to our ‘pretty pink parts’ as ‘petunia’. > My sister and I couldn’t pronounce that, so we said ‘tuma’. > My neice couldn’t pronounce THAT, so it became ‘tutu’. > > Now, I live in the Northwest Territories in Canada (until tomorrow) and have several Inuit clients and colleagues. > > One of them has the last name Tootoo. To compound things, his first name is Hunter. > > I have a hard time keeping a straight face while talking to him. It’s a good thing I’m leaving. ---
**Author:** ![Ura-Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/51bf81/32.png) [@Ura-Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ura-Maru)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2001, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-proper-way-of-saying-vagina-other-than-vagina/55539/69 "2001-06-01T08:39:08Z")
“Womanhood” or “sex” are polite without sounding clinical or crude. And can be used romantically, which “vagina” really can’t. “I’d like to run my hand down the curve of your belly, and slowly trace my fingertips down to your vagina . . .” See? Dosn’t work. Though perhaps “romantic” is not the proper word in this context . . . “Chalice” was great in the middle ages, but sounds kinda dated and pretentous now. Same goes for “Orchid,” which is a pity, as I kinda liked both. Or “little sister” if you want to be cute, which has the advantage over most cute names in not sounding like baby-talk. I’ve never heard “butterfly” in that context, but I like it. I must find some reason to work that into a conversation . . . Never was able to find a suitible variant for ass, though. All the euphamisms all either sound goofy, forced, or crude. – “Is it glutal-maximal, tushical-cracular, bunular morning till night?” ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2001, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-proper-way-of-saying-vagina-other-than-vagina/55539/70 "2001-06-01T08:40:31Z")
Cooter. ---
**Author:** ![Ura-Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/51bf81/32.png) [@Ura-Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ura-Maru)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2001, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-proper-way-of-saying-vagina-other-than-vagina/55539/71 "2001-06-01T08:43:16Z")
Wasn’t Cooter one of the Doozles on Fraggle Rock? 🙂 Though admitadly, both Doozer and Fraggle sound like some kind of sexual euphamisms . . . ---
**Author:** ![malkavia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malkavia/32/5621_2.png) [@malkavia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/malkavia)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2001, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-proper-way-of-saying-vagina-other-than-vagina/55539/72 "2001-06-01T08:49:11Z")
I like Cunt. Its raw, its powerful, its a meal. =) Of course… after reading “Cunt: A Declaration of Independance” by Inga Musico… I cant help but like the word. Pussy makes me think of something dirty and not right. And hooh-ha/cha-cha/bunny/etc are cute but in the heat of the moment, I would roll offa the bed in a fit of laughter and it would end any chance of sex for the night. If you absolutely cannot embrace the word cunt, I’d go for sex. Though I think George Michael ruined it for the rest of us there. If someone tells me they want my sex, Im just gonna see George Michaels ass during the whole interlude. And thats just sick and wrong. Cunt. Cunt cunt cunt. Say it with me. c-u-n-t ---
**Author:** ![Dragon\_Phoenix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@Dragon\_Phoenix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragon_Phoenix)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2001, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-proper-way-of-saying-vagina-other-than-vagina/55539/73 "2001-06-01T08:49:54Z")
Pookee. Apparently it is a rather vulgar Malay expression for it. However, as Mrs Phoenix and myself are not Malay, we like to use it as in English it has something tender and endearing about it (imho). ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2001, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-proper-way-of-saying-vagina-other-than-vagina/55539/74 "2001-06-01T12:30:36Z")
Check out the list of languages on the [other vulva name thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=70879). > [@](#): > > \*Malay > apom; cibai; cipet; pepek; puki; tempek You’re right, _puki_ sounds nice. _Cibai_ and _cibet_ are borrowed from Chinese. ---
**Author:** ![pink\_kitten](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9e8a1a/32.png) [@pink\_kitten](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pink_kitten)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2001, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-proper-way-of-saying-vagina-other-than-vagina/55539/75 "2001-06-29T09:12:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SpinneZiege \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by The Mermaid \* > > \*\*When this thread first came 'round, I completely forgot my newest favorite word for the female anatomy… > > > > punani, (poononi?) > > > > I love it. \*\* > > ‘Poonani,’ I believe is the correct spelling. > > This word actually originated in the ghettoes of California and ended up being marketed like the rest of black urban culture. I remembered reading in a magazine how some ghettoes had started forming their own disctinct dialects, and this word was mentioned. I thought it was something that only sociologists and linguists would discuss, but then I heard it on my friend’s Dr. Dre CD! Boy was I surprised. \*\* I just have to comment on this because it is so strange to hear that _that_ is the origin of **punani**. You see, I grew up on Maui, and while attending grade-school (kindergarten, I believe) I learned what my **punani** was, and no, this was not the start of self-discovery that it sounds like. There were no black children at my school and hardly any black people in the community. At the time I just assumed that it was a “local” word. It seems strange that the same word would for the same anatomical feature would evolve in to different places. ---
**Author:** ![Tenar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@Tenar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tenar)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2001, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-proper-way-of-saying-vagina-other-than-vagina/55539/76 "2001-06-30T04:14:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by wolfman \* > \*\*I have always felt it best to use a word made up for each individual one. preferably ending in -changa -atchi. > > kutininatchi. > runpachanga. > laroonachanga. > chulitachi. Reminds me of _Survivor_. ---
**Author:** ![Tenar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@Tenar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tenar)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2001, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-proper-way-of-saying-vagina-other-than-vagina/55539/77 "2001-06-30T04:20:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by foolsguinea \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Muffin \* > > I have a niece whose nickname by her parents is Cunny. … > > Well, it’s not so bad. Just remember that “cunny” literally means “rabbit”, and in the 18th century was used as we use “girl” or “lady” today. \*\* I though “rabbit” was “coney,” as in Coney Island. Isn’t “conejo” rabbit in Spanish? I guess it’s a case of regional pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![Sultan\_Kinkari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7bcc69/32.png) [@Sultan\_Kinkari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sultan_Kinkari)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2001, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-proper-way-of-saying-vagina-other-than-vagina/55539/78 "2001-06-30T04:38:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SpinneZiege \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by The Mermaid \* > > \*\*When this thread first came 'round, I completely forgot my newest favorite word for the female anatomy… > > > > punani, (poononi?) > > > > I love it. \*\* > > ‘Poonani,’ I believe is the correct spelling. > > This word actually originated in the ghettoes of California and ended up being marketed like the rest of black urban culture. I remembered reading in a magazine how some ghettoes had started forming their own disctinct dialects, and this word was mentioned. I thought it was something that only sociologists and linguists would discuss, but then I heard it on my friend’s Dr. Dre CD! Boy was I surprised. \*\* Forget all that bullsh\*t that he just said because most of it he yanked frometh his arse. The word in Hawaiian means “beautiful.” That is where the word originated. It may have been borrowed from the Hawaiian language, but it definitely did not “originate in the ghetto”. It is actually spelled **puanani**. Check this out, look at the girl’s name: www-scf.usc.edu/~rabanal/index2.html ---
**Author:** ![Sultan\_Kinkari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7bcc69/32.png) [@Sultan\_Kinkari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sultan_Kinkari)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2001, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-proper-way-of-saying-vagina-other-than-vagina/55539/79 "2001-06-30T04:39:18Z")
oops…“beautiful flower” ---
**Author:** ![boomvark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@boomvark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boomvark)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2001, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-proper-way-of-saying-vagina-other-than-vagina/55539/80 "2001-06-30T18:27:44Z")
WAH-gee-nah? Oh, you mean other _words_ for it, not other _pronunciations_. Never mind … 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-proper-way-of-saying-vagina-other-than-vagina/55539.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-proper-way-of-saying-vagina-other-than-vagina/55539.md?page=5)