all things private

An intimate, personal, or private part is a place on the human body that is usually kept covered with clothing in public places and conventional settings, as a matter of decency, decorum, and respect.

Private parts get a lot of attention. Much of the conversation in our home revolves around bathroom habits. All this talk got me thinking about parents’ use of silly or spongy words to describe private parts. Sometimes a child can name his own genitals because he can’t pronounce the right word, and often the result is a quirky and even cute sound. But for many children, their moms and dads are responsible for their familiarity with “pee-pee,” “Willy,” or “hoohah,” and “pookie.” determined to teach her the correct language to describe her body. At a time when almost all my relatives and friends created pet names for their children’s buttocks, I emphasized the syllables for “penis” over and over again to my son. Doesn’t he mean the part of his body like a penis of his?” I thought defensively. “That’s what it is, after all!”

Then there are the private parts of the girls. While “vagina” is the clinically correct term, the use of the word remains fraught with apprehension; this has given rise to many variations, some considered more polite and appropriate for mixed companies and others downright unpleasant. In previous generations, children (especially girls) were encouraged to use “nicer” words like peach, flower, or kitty, but with increased awareness of child sexual abuse, almost all education experts stress that they are teach children the correct word “vagina”. and other parts of the body.

I have had an ongoing debate with my spouse for years about what is appropriate when it comes to referencing one’s private areas. As a child, my mother taught my brother and I to refer to our penis as our “Giggle” (perhaps because back then, they were so small that they made you giggle when you looked at them). I know the laughs and the teasing are coming, so let them fly.

My wife, on the other hand, was raised to refer to her private part as her “butt.” She also instilled this in our daughters. Both of our girls refer to her vagina as her “butt”.

To me this is very confusing as most of the general population would think that “butt” would refer to the rear or butt, not the more private part of the body.

I admit it, “Giggle” is kind of silly, but it was my childhood. It is what it is. I knew what he was talking about. My mom knew what she meant if there was ever a problem. I guess the same is true for my wife and the terms she met.

I agree that there are some street names for these areas that are offensive and I wouldn’t want my kids calling their nether regions, but personally, I think we should call things by their names. If it’s a penis, call it a penis. If it’s a vagina, call it a vagina. The silly words we make up to disguise these parts only confuse people. My wife says that hearing a young child say, “Mommy, my (penis or vagina) hurts” sounds silly, weird, and offensive. I feel that the words “scientific” are the most consistent. What are your thoughts?

I’m sorry if “Penis” and “Vagina” offend, but this is what the world knows as a reference.

Feel free to share, if you dare, what you called your private parts as a child. Please keep it clean.

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