When I was 13 we were visiting another family (who were Canadian) & I was with the 5 year old in her room. She said "I hurt my little beaver" - I had no idea what she was talking about till she pulled her pants down to show me! If she'd said I hurt my vagina or privates, I would have said well tell your Mum or that's a private area. If you use the real term everyone knows what you're talking about.
To me fanny is confusing because the American definition is bottom. When Marge Simpson said something about her fanny pack I was like
Vagina & penis here as well. Juliette can't quite get the word out yet, so she says "giva" (pronounced like the second part of vagina) but when she says it we repeat, vagina so she learns to say it properly.
We'll be using penis and vagina here. When I was little we said penis and vulva. Lord knows why my parents decided "vulva" was better than "vagina" - none of my classmates knew what a vulva was, although it was anatomically correct as far as what I was referring to. At some point we started saying vagina when we were older. My MCHN referred to DS's penis as a "wee-wee" which I found unprofessional and irritating.
On the issue of abuse - I've read a few police interviews with alleged victims of abuse. When they refer to their genitals with ambiguous names ("flower," "lily," etc) the police have to try and get them to explain what they mean. Unfortunately, a three year-old won't understand the importance of using the "correct" language and also won't understand why they're being questioned about their private parts - which in itself can increase the trauma. The defence lawyers will have a field day with the interview once it gets to court because there's no proof that "lilly" means vagina, thus risking the abuse allegation and the charges to a "not guilty" verdict.
Reply With Quote
Registered User
Bookmarks