# You say vagina, I say vu-vulva **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 4, 2008, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-vagina-i-say-vu-vulva/475634 "2008-12-04T04:39:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-vagina-i-say-vu-vulva/475634/41 "2008-12-04T15:41:28Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#): > > I want to correct this before you or any other non-Yank come over here and accidentally embarrass the crap out of yourself: > > No. No, it most certainly does not. > > Doh-LORE-es. > > CLIT-ter-is. > > Someone was pulling your leg. Random House Dictionary gives several various pronunciations. Some of them do rhyme with Dolores. Some don’t. FWIW, my Webster’s Collegiate (Ninth Edition) and Webster’s Unabridged confirm this. At least in American English there is hardly anything as a single, standard correct pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![Hamadryad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6de8d8/32.png) [@Hamadryad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamadryad)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-vagina-i-say-vu-vulva/475634/42 "2008-12-04T15:49:08Z")
Around here we call it a vulva. And by “we,” I mean my 10-year-old daughter and me. When we’re noting genitalia (which really doesn’t happen that damned often), boys have a penis and girls have a vulva. Now, technically, we know that boys have a head, shaft, base, scrotum, testicles… and women have a mons, labia majora, labia minora, clitoris… DUH. But we’re not having an anatomy lesson; we’re saying “Girl needs a female sports jock to protect her vulva, just like you have one to protect your balls.” I’m trying to encourage my boys to talk about kicking someone in the _crotch_, rather than kicking them in the _wiener_,\* but that’s mostly because when I hear “kicked in the wiener”\*\* it makes me giggle like an idiot. The vagina is the tube that attaches the outside bits to the inside bits. It seems silly, to me, to choose that part to symbolize the whole (no pun intended) in speech. - Usually in a “we never ever ever do that, RIGHT?” context. \*\* Particularly in a little kid’s voice. They draw it out. “Kicked in the WEEEEEEEEEEner.” ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-vagina-i-say-vu-vulva/475634/43 "2008-12-04T15:56:49Z")
> [@Hamadryad](#): > > I’m trying to encourage my boys to talk about kicking someone in the _crotch_, rather than kicking them in the _wiener_,\* but that’s mostly because when I hear “kicked in the wiener”\*\* it makes me giggle like an idiot. My son had a great one for that area. A couple of years back the kids were taking turns doing wacky jumps into the pool, going for maximum splash effect. On one he jumped with his legs apart. He came out of the water groaning. “Are you okay?” “Yes”, he said, holding his crotch, “I just landed on my ‘weak spot’”. We also refer to his athletic cup as his “shame shield”. It’s sort of an old Simpson’s reference. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-vagina-i-say-vu-vulva/475634/44 "2008-12-04T16:21:29Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > Random House Dictionary gives several various pronunciations. Some of them do rhyme with Dolores. Some don’t. They rhyme perfectly in my speech. duh-LO-ris, cli-TO-ris. A lot of westerners merge unstressed short \* and [e], as here, and a lot of us pronounce “foreign” words with a penultimate stress, even if there’s no good historical or etymological reason to do so. \ ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-vagina-i-say-vu-vulva/475634/45 "2008-12-04T16:32:39Z")
I’m with Ruby, this usage has always seemed odd to me. A person who injured his knee probably wouldn’t say “I injured my ankle” because the knee and ankle are relatively close together, and both are associated with the general concept of a leg. That doesn’t make any sense at all. I’m not outraged about it or anything, but I do notice people who use it incorrectly. ---
**Author:** ![Carl\_Corey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Carl\_Corey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carl_Corey)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-vagina-i-say-vu-vulva/475634/46 "2008-12-04T16:51:20Z")
> [@NinjaChick](#): > > Seriously, unless you’re in an anatomy class, why does it matter? It’s all gross down there anyway. You are _so_ wrong. It is not gross. Unless something is very, very, wrong. In which case I say get to a doctor now. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-vagina-i-say-vu-vulva/475634/47 "2008-12-04T16:53:13Z")
Personally, I think “vagina” is an ugly word. When I was a kid and thought it was “VAG-in-uh” it was better. ---
**Author:** ![Uvula\_Donor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e19adc/32.png) [@Uvula\_Donor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uvula_Donor)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-vagina-i-say-vu-vulva/475634/48 "2008-12-04T17:06:19Z")
WTF? _“Vuvula?”_ ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-vagina-i-say-vu-vulva/475634/49 "2008-12-04T17:12:01Z")
Growing up, I was taught to call it “The Chasm Of Infinite Sorrow”. Is that weird? ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-vagina-i-say-vu-vulva/475634/50 "2008-12-04T17:13:32Z")
Uh… Maybe its like Walmart? Its the fact you are trying to get “inside” to the “good stuff” rather than the doors themselves? So, you refer to the concept of whats inside rather than the doors? that should set walmart, feminism, and just plain good taste all back 50 years Sorry…couldnt help myself ---
**Author:** ![Monstera\_deliciosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monstera_deliciosa/32/109_2.png) [@Monstera\_deliciosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstera_deliciosa)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-vagina-i-say-vu-vulva/475634/51 "2008-12-04T17:20:44Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#): > > I want to correct this before you or any other non-Yank come over here and accidentally embarrass the crap out of yourself: > > No. No, it most certainly does not. > > Doh-LORE-es. > > CLIT-ter-is. > > Someone was pulling your leg. Some people do pronounce it that way. The self-same boyfriend I mentioned in my earlier post did. (By the way, despite the way he is coming off in my posts, said BF was a very intelligent guy. He was just having a particularly obtuse moment.) Quite a few people of a certain age have probably never heard the word pronounced (really, how many people have you heard going on about clitorises?) and just make a up a pronunciation in their head. And in Bette Midler’s Mermaid stage routine, part of the lyrics were: “The question before us, Is where the hell is her clitoris?” ---
**Author:** ![Long\_Time\_Lurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/2bfe46/32.png) [@Long\_Time\_Lurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Long_Time_Lurker)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-vagina-i-say-vu-vulva/475634/52 "2008-12-04T17:27:34Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > Only if you mangle either/both pronunciations. > [@Jenaroph](#): > > No. No, it most certainly does not. > > Doh-LORE-es. > > CLIT-ter-is. > > Someone was pulling your leg. They rhyme just fine in my natural speech, too. Dolores pronounced as above, and the second pronunciation of clitoris here: [CLITORIS Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clitoris) kli-ˈtȯr-əs ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-vagina-i-say-vu-vulva/475634/53 "2008-12-04T17:27:49Z")
Minor hijack: I remember in Latin class there was a picture in the textbook of a Roman soldier. Parts of his gear were labled, like _gladius_ for sword. The sheath the sword was put into was _vagina_, which vastly amused us ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-vagina-i-say-vu-vulva/475634/54 "2008-12-04T17:33:34Z")
> [@Monstera\_deliciosa](#): > > (really, how many people have you heard going on about clitorises?) Is this the proper plural? I’d have expected something more fun like “clitorii”. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-vagina-i-say-vu-vulva/475634/55 "2008-12-04T17:33:58Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > Uh… > > Maybe its like Walmart? > > Its the fact you are trying to get “inside” to the “good stuff” rather than the doors themselves? > > So, you refer to the concept of whats inside rather than the doors? > > that should set walmart, feminism, and just plain good taste all back 50 years > > Sorry…couldnt help myself Are you saying you’d trample someone just to get to the goods? I am so going to hell. ---
**Author:** ![Ichini\_Sanshigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/d9b06d/32.png) [@Ichini\_Sanshigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ichini_Sanshigo)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-vagina-i-say-vu-vulva/475634/56 "2008-12-04T17:37:20Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > Is this the proper plural? I’d have expected something more fun like “clitorii”. The correct plural is “clitorpods”. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-vagina-i-say-vu-vulva/475634/57 "2008-12-04T17:50:46Z")
> [@Ichini\_Sanshigo](#): > > The correct plural is “clitorpods”. 😉 The judges also would have accepted “happy buttons” ftw. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-vagina-i-say-vu-vulva/475634/58 "2008-12-04T17:54:24Z")
I usually use the word vulva, especially at work but then the client corrects me and says vagina, but I continue to call it the vulva. They usually relent when the doctor comes in and refers to it as a vulva but they probably still go tell their friends that the vet tech doesn’t know the proper name for their dog’s hoo-ha. Vulva sounds too much like Volvo or Uvula and you don’t want to confuse a vulva with a car or the thing that hangs down in the back of your throat. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-vagina-i-say-vu-vulva/475634/59 "2008-12-04T17:54:45Z")
What, this is an argument about what to call the thing in which a I guy puts his penis? Personally, I call it a “mouth.” Because “face cunt” is a little crude. ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-vagina-i-say-vu-vulva/475634/60 "2008-12-04T18:34:16Z")
> [@delphica](#): > > I’m with Ruby, this usage has always seemed odd to me. A person who injured his knee probably wouldn’t say “I injured my ankle” because the knee and ankle are relatively close together, and both are associated with the general concept of a leg. That doesn’t make any sense at all. I’m not outraged about it or anything, but I do notice people who use it incorrectly. That’s a poor analogy. I think it’s closer to saying “I hurt my mouth” when you mean “I hurt my lip,” or “I cut my eye” when you mean “I cut my eyelid.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-vagina-i-say-vu-vulva/475634.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-vagina-i-say-vu-vulva/475634.md?page=4)