# Paint A Vulva Picture: or Mansplaining Fail. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 8, 2019, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paint-a-vulva-picture-or-mansplaining-fail/830749 "2019-03-08T08:50:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2019, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paint-a-vulva-picture-or-mansplaining-fail/830749/121 "2019-03-09T00:55:38Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > I just generally assume that every word that starts with v has something or other to do with the female midsection. > [@begbert2](#): > > Vas deferens? Volvo? Verisimilitude? Eh, why not? Just to be clear, I didn’t choose bad deferens as a random word starting with V. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2019, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paint-a-vulva-picture-or-mansplaining-fail/830749/122 "2019-03-09T01:01:06Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Just to be clear, I didn’t choose bad deferens as a random word starting with V. I’m aware. Specifically, after a google I was aware. The term rang a faint bell in my memory, but I don’t have the medical terms for my piping memorized so I did a quick google to confirm that you were in fact being as smartarsed as I suspected you were. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2019, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paint-a-vulva-picture-or-mansplaining-fail/830749/123 "2019-03-09T01:26:06Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > It was in post 25 of this thread. [Here’s the direct link](https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:vjMBEtQP5iIJ:https://twitter.com/paulbullen/status/1100962216843440128+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=za). Ah. Stuff that got deleted. You linked the Google cache. I’m unsure how long it will survive, so I’ll include some extra info. They found a PDF written by him that he linked on his Twitter, and posted a [screenshot](https://twitter.com/Lisavipes/status/1101172011219349505)of part of it. It’s basic anti-PC stuff, like saying that, while he was willing to change from Negro to black, he won’t say African American. He also says he won’t say “undocumented immigrant,” “person with a disability,” or “enslaved person.” He considers the use of “vulva” instead of “vagina” to be the same issue. And yes, even though he thinks that, it’s still mansplaining. Being a bigot to others doesn’t change that he’s a bigot towards women. Funnily, he’s also changed his Twitter to say he’s Dr. [real name]. He also took it private. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2019, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paint-a-vulva-picture-or-mansplaining-fail/830749/124 "2019-03-09T03:37:48Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > I do need to add that before I read this thread I didn’t actually know what a vulva was. That’d make a good poll to see how many people actually know what that is without having to google it. When Google told you, did you then argue w/ it about how it must be wrong b/c it didn’t match what you know? B/c that’s what the subject of the OP did, only Google was a female GYN. It’s unfortunate for both men and women to grow to adulthood ignorant of each other’s bodies; maybe if we knew more basic things about each other, wanted to know even more - we might have more empathy and less ‘mansplaining’. ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2019, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paint-a-vulva-picture-or-mansplaining-fail/830749/125 "2019-03-09T04:40:53Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > Here’s a link to a [Guardian article](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/apr/23/allow-me-to-womansplain-the-problem-with-gendered-language)that touches on some of this issues raised in this thread. > > I make no comment about the body of the article but if you look into the comments section you will see many people (my assumption is that a lot are from the UK) commenting on alternative words for the female genitalia rather than “vagina”. It is notable that “vagina” seems to be generally accepted as referring to the genitals in general and that “vulva” is not a very commonly suggested alternative. This would be very much in line with my experience. i.e. that “vagina” gets used or one of the alternatives far more than “vulva” ever is. Newsflash: No one disputes or gives two shits that “vagina” is used colloquially. But the whole reason people are annoyed at this wanker is because he butted into a conversation where the correct term was already established and tried to correct the experts. Are you really so dense that you don’t realize that? ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2019, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paint-a-vulva-picture-or-mansplaining-fail/830749/126 "2019-03-09T04:44:17Z")
> [@Nawth\_Chucka](#): > > When Google told you, did you then argue w/ it about how it must be wrong b/c it didn’t match what you know? B/c that’s what the subject of the OP did, only Google was a female GYN. > It’s unfortunate for both men and women to grow to adulthood ignorant of each other’s bodies; maybe if we knew more basic things about each other, wanted to know even more - we might have more empathy and less ‘mansplaining’. I didn’t argue because I was truly puzzled. Then I asked my wife. I was like “yo! You know what a vulva is?” She knew. She didn’t even need to google it! You are correct the subject of the OP is an ass. More humility and empathy would go a long way. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2019, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paint-a-vulva-picture-or-mansplaining-fail/830749/127 "2019-03-09T05:09:38Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > You are correct the subject of the OP is an ass. The correct word is anus. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2019, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paint-a-vulva-picture-or-mansplaining-fail/830749/128 "2019-03-09T06:07:07Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > I fail to see the relevance of this particular idiot being a man. > > Many, many people of all genders get the distinction between vagina and vulva wrong, for certain there are stupid women out there making exactly the same mistake as this goon did. > > “Mansplaining” is a stupid term that is unnecessary when “wrong” is perfectly serviceable and has the benefit of being applicable to men and women alike. Please tell me this is a “whoosh.” Tell me that you did not just mansplain the significance of mansplaining. :smack: :eek: :smack: ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2019, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paint-a-vulva-picture-or-mansplaining-fail/830749/129 "2019-03-09T06:30:24Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Ah. Stuff that got deleted. You linked the Google cache. I’m unsure how long it will survive, so I’ll include some extra info. > > They found a PDF written by him that he linked on his Twitter, and posted a [screenshot](https://twitter.com/Lisavipes/status/1101172011219349505)of part of it. It’s basic anti-PC stuff, like saying that, while he was willing to change from Negro to black, he won’t say African American. He also says he won’t say “undocumented immigrant,” “person with a disability,” or “enslaved person.” He considers the use of “vulva” instead of “vagina” to be the same issue. > > And yes, even though he thinks that, it’s still mansplaining. Being a bigot to others doesn’t change that he’s a bigot towards women. > > Funnily, he’s also changed his Twitter to say he’s Dr. [real name]. He also took it private. Heh. So my hunch was right that he thought “vulva” was some genteel euphemism. Scary that I could get into his head. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2019, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paint-a-vulva-picture-or-mansplaining-fail/830749/130 "2019-03-09T08:30:46Z")
> [@Anny\_Middon](#): > > Do you really believe that there are people out there whose sole experience (presumably second-hand) of menstruation was with a woman who had her period only nine times a year, and who had no other data to corroborate that? Did said person nap during sex education class? I don’t know about your classes but mine certainly encompassed the possibility of menstrual periods of that nature. Heck, the first google result that comes up for me states “adults should have at least 9 periods a year” that’s on the low side but not freakish. So, given the general level of education that most men have about such things and an unwillingness on the part of many to have discussion about it I pretty much guarantee that there are men out there with a data-set that small that “9” will seem a reasonable place for them to start. > [@](#): > > I mean, for Goddess’s sake, the word “menstruation” comes from the Latin word for “month.” If they were so inattentive in the sex-ed classes and so incurious about their female partners bodily functions then how much time do you think they spend on etymology? ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2019, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paint-a-vulva-picture-or-mansplaining-fail/830749/131 "2019-03-09T08:40:27Z")
> [@SmellMyWort](#): > > Newsflash: No one disputes or gives two shits that “vagina” is used colloquially. You may have missed the flow of this, but this was a response to two posters who were saying that in their experience, “vagina” is never used to refer to anything other than the vagina. I said that was not my experience, from a UK perspective, and I linked to the Guardian article comments that give some weight to that. > [@](#): > > But the whole reason people are annoyed at this wanker is because he butted into a conversation where the correct term was already established and tried to correct the experts. Are you really so dense that you don’t realize that? You’ve clearly missed the part where I called him a “goon” and an “idiot” twice in my very first posts on the thread. He was in the wrong and the post you are complaining about was not a defence of him nor even about him. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2019, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paint-a-vulva-picture-or-mansplaining-fail/830749/132 "2019-03-09T08:49:47Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Please tell me this is a “whoosh.” Tell me that you did not just mansplain the significance of mansplaining. > > :smack: :eek: :smack: Is it possible to “mansplain” when you don’t know the gender of the person you are speaking to? But your post proves my general point. Further upthread I was responding to **Stanislaus** about the balance of risk/reward with using such words as “mansplaining” (note - it is the word and use of it that bothers me, men talking down to women in a condescending manner is something that I am against…if you’ve read my posts you’ll know that) and the way in which they might be used to shutdown discussion. And blow me down. Here you are trying to do precisely that. I am a “mansplainer” for even voicing my concern about the use of the word “mansplainer” Q, E, fucking D. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2019, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paint-a-vulva-picture-or-mansplaining-fail/830749/133 "2019-03-09T10:34:22Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > I left this thread at Page 1, but in case no one’s said it already, Awesome thread title! Now carry on, you sycophantic slags! It’s good that it wasn’t completely wasted. Here, have this tacky badge! ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2019, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paint-a-vulva-picture-or-mansplaining-fail/830749/134 "2019-03-09T12:37:56Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > It’s good that it wasn’t completely wasted. Here, have this tacky badge! It was duly noted and appreciated, We also segued into domestic abuse which, tragically, is rather apt regarding the suffering of little children , girlfriends in comas and ultimately, cemetery gates. As a teenager I wallowed happily in the misery of moany manc, Morrisey but as middle age and children intervene I find it very difficult to find a suitable mood in which to listen to it. ---
**Author:** ![Modesty\_Blaise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Modesty\_Blaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Modesty_Blaise)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2019, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paint-a-vulva-picture-or-mansplaining-fail/830749/135 "2019-03-09T15:27:33Z")
If there was ever an example of mansplaining - this is it. It’s perfect. If you can’t see this as mansplaining then you are just as clueless as the hapless moron who decided to jump in to correct some females about their own body parts. Painfully, embarrassingly clueless. ---
**Author:** ![Anny\_Middon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc79bd/32.png) [@Anny\_Middon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anny_Middon)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2019, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paint-a-vulva-picture-or-mansplaining-fail/830749/136 "2019-03-09T17:04:57Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > I don’t know about your classes but mine certainly encompassed the possibility of menstrual periods of that nature. Heck, the first google result that comes up for me states “adults should have at least 9 periods a year” that’s on the low side but not freakish. > > So, given the general level of education that most men have about such things and an unwillingness on the part of many to have discussion about it I pretty much guarantee that there are men out there with a data-set that small that “9” will seem a reasonable place for them to start. > > If they were so inattentive in the sex-ed classes and so incurious about their female partners bodily functions then how much time do you think they spend on etymology? That’s odd. My first Google hit on “menstruation frequency” is a Mayo Clinic site. The excerpt on the search results page says that “menstrual flow might occur every 21 to 35 days.” That’s 10 to 17 times per year. It takes a special kind of stupid to calculate how many tampons a woman might need without first researching whether the presumed 9 cycles per year is actually typical. ---
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2019, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paint-a-vulva-picture-or-mansplaining-fail/830749/137 "2019-03-09T17:12:14Z")
> [@Anny\_Middon](#): > > That’s odd. My first Google hit on “menstruation frequency” is a Mayo Clinic site. The excerpt on the search results page says that “menstrual flow might occur every 21 to 35 days.” That’s 10 to 17 times per year. > > It takes a special kind of stupid to calculate how many tampons a woman might need without first researching whether the presumed 9 cycles per year is actually typical. My first Google result is the same site. Weird, huh? ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2019, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paint-a-vulva-picture-or-mansplaining-fail/830749/138 "2019-03-09T17:15:57Z")
> [@Anny\_Middon](#): > > That’s odd. My first Google hit on “menstruation frequency” is a Mayo Clinic site. The excerpt on the search results page says that “menstrual flow might occur every 21 to 35 days.” That’s 10 to 17 times per year. Well google doesn’t give the same results for everyone, plus, I’m in the UK and that makes a big difference. [This is the first link](https://youngwomenshealth.org/2010/04/21/menstrual-periods/) for me when I google “how often menstruation occurs” [Here’s the search I did](https://www.google.com/search?q=how+often+menstruation+occurs&rlz=1CASHAN_enGB827&oq=how+often+mens&aqs=chrome.3.69i57j0l4.13352j0j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8), just in case I’m being accused of lying again. > [@](#): > > It takes a special kind of stupid to calculate how many tampons a woman might need without first researching whether the presumed 9 cycles per year is actually typical. Not that special I’m afraid, human nature being as it is. There is a reason we have the saying “a little knowledge is a dangerous thing” ---
**Author:** ![Anny\_Middon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc79bd/32.png) [@Anny\_Middon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anny_Middon)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2019, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paint-a-vulva-picture-or-mansplaining-fail/830749/139 "2019-03-09T17:27:24Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > Well google doesn’t give the same results for everyone, plus, I’m in the UK and that makes a big difference. > [This is the first link](https://youngwomenshealth.org/2010/04/21/menstrual-periods/) for me when I google “how often menstruation occurs” > > [Here’s the search I did](https://www.google.com/search?q=how+often+menstruation+occurs&rlz=1CASHAN_enGB827&oq=how+often+mens&aqs=chrome.3.69i57j0l4.13352j0j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8), just in case I’m being accused of lying again. > > Not that special I’m afraid, human nature being as it is. There is a reason we have the saying “a little knowledge is a dangerous thing” Did you read the site for your first link? Because the first sentence under the topic “How often should I get my period?” is “You should get your period about once every month.” In fact, the results page for the link on the search you did includes that very sentence. ---
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2019, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paint-a-vulva-picture-or-mansplaining-fail/830749/140 "2019-03-09T17:45:06Z")
All righty: > [@](#): > > You should get your period about once every month. A typical menstrual cycle is about 28 days. This means that there should be about 28 days from the first day of your period to the first day of your next period. 28 days is an average number, but anywhere between 21 and 35 days is normal. From the linked Google search, of course. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paint-a-vulva-picture-or-mansplaining-fail/830749.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paint-a-vulva-picture-or-mansplaining-fail/830749.md?page=8)