# What does "Vagina" mean to you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 28, 2003, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-vagina-mean-to-you/198245 "2003-08-28T18:32:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-vagina-mean-to-you/198245/21 "2003-08-29T04:55:40Z")
Good points **Legend**! Love your story!!! And in church no less!! LOL. I’ve had a similar one in church, only thankfully without the body parts!! I’d gone to visit my dad, and visited his church while we were there. My son, three was acting up horribly. My dad leaned over and whispered “there’s a nursery downstairs, if you want to take him”. I’d had enough of his orneriness, so I picked him up and carried him, or started to carry him off. All the way down the aisle and all the way down the stairs, everyone in the church was treated to his anguished, “save me from torture” cries of “NO mommy NO, NOT downstairs, PLEASE don’t take me down THERE”!!! I also agree with your take on the no TMI, so to speak. I remember a funny story, could be an UL, but deal with a child who asked his/her mom what sex was. After a long detailed explanation to the curious tot about the birds and bees, etc. The child, looking a bit suprised, said "well, the reason I asked is because it’s one of the questions on my papers I’m supposed to fill out for the nurses office. Meaning the blank for gender! So, need to know basis I say. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Orange\_Skinner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3be4f8/32.png) [@Orange\_Skinner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orange_Skinner)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-vagina-mean-to-you/198245/22 "2003-08-29T05:24:49Z")
Vagina encompasses the whole area when I say it. When referring to the area, that’s usually what I call it…if not something a little more…crude. If I need to be more specific as far as location, I’ll either name it by the medical name, or, if I’m in the company of those who don’t know all the medical names and the location they correlate to (you’d be amazed at how little most other teenaged girls know about their own bodies, it’s rather frightening), I’ll describe it the best I can. When I have kids, they’ll know the proper names for what’s what, and what it’s there for (as they reach an age that they’ll need to know about it). A couple weeks ago a friend of mine called me up, and said she needed my help regarding sex (keep in mind, this girl is almost 18). She proceeded to describe this “deformity” on her vagina…her boyfriend was going to go down on her for hte first time, and she’d always thought there was something wrong with it, and she needed to know if it was normal or not. I ask her a few questions about where it’s positioned. “That’s your clitoris, Jane.” I’m met with dead silence. Then, "Oh…_oh_…but it’s not…_inside_. I mean…oh. my. God. The poor girl. I proceed to tell her that a lot of the “good stuff” is on the outside, and tried to fill her in as best as I could…what does what, how it’d feel, what to expect. But still. Eighteen? I’m never going to allow my children to be that unaware of the function of their own bodies. (Although hopefully I won’t be met with the same situations as **InternetLegend**. That was a great story, BTW). ---
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-vagina-mean-to-you/198245/23 "2003-08-29T05:52:06Z")
‘Vagina’ has such an ugly ring to it. Its not the definition that makes me cringe, its the word itself. There’s something oogy about it, like the words membrane, and esophagus. ---
**Author:** ![TeaElle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8491ac/32.png) [@TeaElle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TeaElle)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-vagina-mean-to-you/198245/24 "2003-08-29T05:55:39Z")
The vagina is the vagina, the vulva is the vulva. I’m terribly irritated by the co-opting of vagina as the catch-all term for everything because of situations like **Orange Skinner** described. The labia aren’t in the vagina. The clitoris isn’t in the vagina. There is no hair on the vagina. And if you want to look at a woman’s vagina, get a flashlight. And a speculum. If we’re referring to someone’s face, we don’t say “head” instead. I don’t see the need to be so blatantly incorrect in the imprecision related to the female genitals. This is one of my hot-button topics, can you tell? ---
**Author:** ![Mudshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-vagina-mean-to-you/198245/25 "2003-08-29T05:59:10Z")
Unless I need or want to be specific, vagina is a general “cover all” term. If I want to be more specific, I will use more specific names of the parts. ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-vagina-mean-to-you/198245/26 "2003-08-29T06:06:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Isabelle \* > \*\*I call it my box, my china, cootchie, pussy, beaver, cunt, special place, flower and I think that about sums it up. Pretty disgusting huh? \*\* [ul]:eek: [sup] **WOW! This gives me a whole new slant on the expression _“Cootchie, cootchie, coo”_** [/sup][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-vagina-mean-to-you/198245/27 "2003-08-29T06:21:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Incubus \* > \*\*‘Vagina’ has such an ugly ring to it. Its not the definition that makes me cringe, its the word itself. There’s something oogy about it, like the words membrane, and esophagus. \*\* Oh, THANK you!!! I’m glad I’m not the only one who is a “word snob”(??) for lack of a better term? 🙂 But you said it much better. Some words just aren’t very “attractive”. For such an attractive place, it’d be nice if there was a more attractive word. Same with penis by the way. That word always makes me think of some sort of food that’s gone bad or something. Much prefer “tool”. Or some of the words men themselves have for it. ---
**Author:** ![auntie\_em](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@auntie\_em](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auntie_em)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-vagina-mean-to-you/198245/28 "2003-08-29T12:53:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CanvasShoes \* > \*\*There are just certain words, not necessarily sex related, that just “bug” me because they’re ugly words. > \*\* I feel the same way about the word “finger” (as a noun or a verb). 😃 ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-vagina-mean-to-you/198245/29 "2003-08-29T14:07:28Z")
Well, if I’m gonna use the technical terms, I’m certainly going to use them correctly. I can’t imagine telling my gyno, for example, that I have an itch in my vagina when it’s actually external. That would just be crazy. In general conversation, though, I tend not to use vagina or vulva much. If I for some reason feel the need to discuss the area (unlike **AuntieEm** , I don’t feel the need to discuss my vagina with casual passers-by 😉 ) I either use crotch for the whole area, or the proper term for the specific bit I’m talking about. And I really have to know: What kind of Googling _were_ you doing, **Auntie Em**? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-vagina-mean-to-you/198245.md?page=1)