Vagina...The Other Four Letter Word.

Recently it has been all over the internet that vagina is a filthy dirty word that should not be said in mixed polite company. (If you don't know what I am talking about go Google Michigan + Vagina).

Putting my opinions of this aside it started me thinking...why I am so comfortable saying the word Vagina?

The natural assumption is that I grew up saying the word. That my mom made us so comfortable that we view the word as just the name of a body part...like our knee or heart. Not to criticize mom but I am not sure that is the case. (My mom doesn't like the word vagina and doesn't like when me and my sisters start saying it...which we then do repeatedly. Even though we are ages 26, 31 and 36 we think its funny to torment our mom this way. I'm feeling a little sad for her).

Growing up I don't recall saying vagina but I don't recall having an other word for it either. It was just something we didn't talk about any more than me talked about our knees.

In college I spent some time studying Anatomy & Physiology. I remember thinking that the girls who would blush/giggle were silly...we weren't studying how to have sex just the anatomy of the reproductive organs that included the vagina and penis. But I dont  recall saying the word or discussing it...maybe with girlfriends when we were talking about sex but beyond that no.

So then why am I a little militant about saying the word vagina? Why do I freak out when other people refer to it as a vay jay jay or some other word? I become upset and demand that you say the correct word...vagina.

Maybe its because I just don't get what the big deal is any way!!! I don't refer to my heart as the blood pumping device in my chest or my brain as my thinking box. Maybe because so many people try and use ugly words that are meant to degrade the female anatomy. Maybe I just think  you should call something by its proper name to avoid confusion.

Then I started to wonder why are other people so freaked out/don't like the word vagina? I don't know that answer but I would love to know the answer.

Please don't think I say vagina every day (although I have lately because I have been thinking about the word). But that's because I don't talk about my vagina every day not because I am embarrassed to say the word. I also don't go up to completely strangers and talk about my vagina any more than I would my lungs (my appendix is a different matter). I don't discuss any issues regarding my vagina with the store clerk any more than I would my bouts of depression...I will probably blog about it though.

I guess my point is its just a word* describing a body part.

*I feel the same way about the word penis but people seem to be less offended by that word...I wonder why.