Lots of folks are confused about what words to use to talk about a girl’s privates. They want to use the correct anatomical names but aren’t sure if vagina or vulva is correct. Most adults use vagina and leave it at that. You may also wonder if it’s OK to use kid appropriate slang like “hoo-ha” or “down there” or “foofoo” or “twinkle” or “taco” or “flower” or “front bottom.”
Here are is the word to use to refer to your girl’s private parts:
Vulva.
You may be wondering what this means and of course why to use vulva instead of vagina. Vulva means “covering” in Latin. It’s the outside of the vaginal area and it’s what you can see: the labia majora (the big lips that look like…a taco).
It covers and protects the sensitive parts like:
- The clitoris (it’s one and only job is pleasure) *
- The urethra (pee comes out here)
- The opening to the vagina (where babies come out and things like penises go in)
Vulva is equivalent to using penis because it’s what you can see. Using vagina is kind of like using urethra to describe a penis. It makes no sense.
As for using vagina, last I checked it is pretty hard to see one. In fact, all you can see from the outside is the opening to the vagina and not the whole she-bang (see what I did there?). What you can say is:
“Females have a vulva and a vagina and sometimes people say vagina when they talk about this part of the body. We say vulva because it’s what you can see and it covers up the opening to the vagina.”
As for slang, once you are certain she knows all the correct names and is pretty comfortable using them, feel free to lighten the mood by using slang. I haven’t said the word “penis” to Milo in years and prefer the best-ever slang word for penis: tinkle-waggle.
*She has the right to know about this magical part because it is the main thing that makes sex feel good and she should know that sex, first and foremost should feel good.
