“Down there.”

fuckyeahsexeducation:

kyrianne:

itsjustaperiod:

[TW: use of correct and slang terms for male and female genitalia, ideas of male dominance over women]

Stop for a second. Think. What do you call your genital area?

This blog is supposed to be breaking the boundaries around menstruation, showing you it’s not necessarily some dirty, unspeakable hell that you go through once a month. Yet here we stand with our followers, and those who come to us for advice, unable to use the proper terms.

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This is a good post — to an extent.

Sometimes, I really hate the fact I have a vagina.

No, not in a self-hating way, not because oh woe is the life of a woman, but in an honest to god gender dysphoria kind of way.

So any reference to my genitalia is “down there” because then I don’t have to reference the specific anatomy that’s bugging me.

It’s not because I feel dis-empowered as a woman. It’s because I currently do not feel like a woman.

I’m fine with the word vagina on days I do feel more feminine. I just don’t feel that way every day.

That actually brings up a really good point. I think it’s different for people who don’t identify as cis-gender or do have some sort of gender dysphoria. At that point it’s okay to call your genitalia whatever makes you comfortable. It’s just when you DO identify as having a vagina but you feel so uncomfortable with the word because we’ve been taught that our genitalia is a disgusting thing that we need to train ourselves to call it a vagina.

fyeahsexeducation put it into exactly the words I would. 

The post wasn’t really meant to be cis-sexist at all. Turthfully, sometimes it has to be taken with a grain of salt that I am a cis woman, was born as a woman, and I am writing from the perspectives I have. I’m lucky in that I was born into a body that is me. I can’t put myself into the shoes of someone with gender dysphoria because I don’t feel that way.

The article really is meant more to apply to people who are flat out afraid of their vagina. If you are uncomfortable with calling it a vagina because you think it’s “icky” that’s a problem. If you are uncomfortable calling it a vagina because you feel is doesn’t apply to you or makes you feel devalued at the gender you express yourself as (awkward wording is awkward) then that’s totally fine. :)

The post was also written after getting several messages from people referring to the area as “down there” in the sense of being afraid of the true terms.

So, again, no offense! We try to keep our blog as gender-neutral as possible.

:)