Feminine Word Soundings

WindSock

Words that I don't like;


Sanitary Towel - Eww
Smear Test - Particularly nasty
Vaginal Discharge - Mank
Pregnant - Eee. Just don't like the word at all. Same with 'Maternal'

What are yours? :pac:

Das Kitty

Some pregnancy related ones!

Mucus Plug
Leaking Fluid
Pregnant (as you said, manky word, the t at the end does it for me. I usually say Pregnato or a Pregnacious state for the laugh)

Others:

Menstruation
Tampon

Think it's mostly the associations rather than the words themselves.

WindSock

Mucous Plug! That's a good one.

I remember in the science book in school it looked like a little ball of snot that held all the fluid in :pac:

Vagysil. There's a rotter!

xzanti

Thrush

Whispered

Ladies I think mods should make this thread viewable to women only, lest we loose some of our feminine mystery. Throwing around words like Mucus Plug
and Vaginal Discharge where the boys can see them. :eek::p

Personally I hate the word Mastitis, it reminds me of cows

eviltwin

helena.ryan wrote: »

Ladies I think mods should make this thread viewable to women only, lest we loose some of our feminine mystery. Throwing around words like Mucus Plug
and Vaginal Discharge where the boys can see them. :eek::p

Personally I hate the word Mastitis, it reminds me of cows

Ditto on mastitis..I actually did think it was some kind of farming term until my sis in law got it, horrible word so it is

I must say I like the word "pregnant" its a darn site better than saying "up the pole" or "up the spout" or any of those other horrible slang terms you hear

Whispered

eviltwin wrote: »

I must say I like the word "pregnant" its a darn site better than saying "up the pole" or "up the spout" or any of those other horrible slang terms you hear

or as my granny misquoted "up the stick"

almostnever

Just googled mucus plug. Regretted it

Danniboo

Hate when some skank uses the term "on the rag", it's the worst expression ever. Or the word C U Next Tuesday, can't stand it.

The Big Red Button

"Placenta".

Hate the word, and also hate the fact that I always get that and the word "placebo" mixed up ... embarrassing!

Also hate the word "vulva" ... not sure why, but I do!

Nevyn

Funny how the words are mostly to do with menstruation and the functions of the female genitals I wonder how much of the stigma is to do with the cultural christian moral revulsion of women being 'unclean'.

Joey the lips

Ah ladies I though prefered feminine words would be

Kind

Sensativity

Understanding

Reasoning


You know..... All the words us men are not..




# Dont worry no hope i will sub to this thread... Some things are best mysterious.....Mucus Plug...... Shudder.....

Nevyn

Joey the lips wrote: »

Ah ladies I though prefered feminine words would be

Kind

Sensativity

Understanding

Reasoning


You know..... All the words us men are not..




# Dont worry no hope i will sub to this thread... Some things are best mysterious.....Mucus Plug...... Shudder.....

:rolleyes:

Slapper
Shrew
Slut
Nag
Scold
harridan
Spinster
Bint
ball buster/breaker

Jules

Ah Bint... not read that in years.

Personal hate - MINGE!

spurious

So much 'disgust' at our own bodies and their functions.

Crumble Froo

i can handle all the feminey body ones, the one that just makes me shrivel up inside is 'clucky'.

*shudders*


edit:

chatterpillar wrote: »

"Placenta".

Hate the word, and also hate the fact that I always get that and the word "placebo" mixed up ... embarrassing!

Also hate the word "vulva" ... not sure why, but I do!

almostnever

Thaedydal wrote: »

Funny how the words are mostly to do with menstruation and the functions of the female genitals I wonder how much of the stigma is to do with the cultural christian moral revulsion of women being 'unclean'.

In all fairness though, anything with mucus in its name makes me feel sick,as does any suggestion of blood of any description. I'm just a very squeamish person.

"Placenta" is a good one too,maybe it's the harshness of the t or something.

Ickle Magoo

I have no issue with some of the more technical terms; minge and twat just conjure up an image of flea infested yuck-ness and I think that's why I don't like them!

Nevyn

I don't like the G words, as in Gee, Gash and Gowl.

Das Kitty

spurious wrote: »

So much 'disgust' at our own bodies and their functions.

Ah now! You'd be hard pressed to find anyone enamoured with their excretory functions (outside of AH anyway! ).

Nevyn

Hey I am pretty damn impressed with the mucus of the vagina and the vulva,
it's a natural barrier and part of a woman's immune system as well lubricant and an indicator of fertility, the whole system is pretty wonderfil and facinating when you start to learn more about it.

Stella777

spurious wrote: »

So much 'disgust' at our own bodies and their functions.

Seriously...It's kind of sad actually. I don't think I've felt that way about those words since I was age 14 and embarrassed to buy :eek: SANITARY TOWELS:eek: in a store.

Stella777

Das Kitty wrote: »

Ah now! You'd be hard pressed to find anyone enamoured with their excretory functions (outside of AH anyway! ).

I'm not enamoured with these functions...I don't joyfully shout out the word "mucus plug" at the top of my lungs when I'm in the street, but I just see them as normal and natural.

Jules

Stella777 wrote: »

Seriously...It's kind of sad actually. I don't think I've felt that way about those words since I was age 14 and embarrassed to buy "sanitary towels" in a store.

Oh come on it's all in the name of a bit of a laugh!

The Big Red Button

Thaedydal wrote: »

Funny how the words are mostly to do with menstruation and the functions of the female genitals I wonder how much of the stigma is to do with the cultural christian moral revulsion of women being 'unclean'.

spurious wrote: »

So much 'disgust' at our own bodies and their functions.

To be honest, I don't think it's anything really to do with that!

It's just that a lot of the words mentioned have an "odd" or "funny" sound, or else they sound way too clinical, or something.

It's the exact same with boy bits - I think words like "penis" and "testicle" are weird too. I'm not being immature, at least I don't think I am!

I know in my own experience, say when you're talking to the doctor, it's hard to describe things - because the proper terms sound so formal and cold and clinical, and the slang terms don't sound right at all in that context.

It's so much easier if you're trying to describe a sore knee or arm or neck or whatever, nothing funny or complicated about those words!

Das Kitty

Thaedydal wrote: »

Hey I am pretty damn impressed with the mucus of the vagina and the vulva,
it's a natural barrier and part of a woman's immune system as well lubricant and an indicator of fertility, the whole system is pretty wonderfil and facinating when you start to learn more about it.

I'm impressed with all the functions of the human body tbh. It's damn cool, not going to make me think mucus is a pretty word though! I prefer to use technical terms personally and don't think you should feel funny saying them but they do sound weird especially as people don't say them out loud too often.

Don't mind sanitary towels personally but my gripe with tampon is down to Charles and Camilla (urgh!)

Anyway I don't think that by disliking a word related to your bodily functions means you disrespect your body in any way. I know I have the utmost respect for mine and all the amazing things it can do.

Walls

Jules wrote: »

Oh come on it's all in the name of a bit of a laugh!

No, it's not. Do you think men have a problem with their biological functions? Hell, they revel in it, build statues to it, invent pyschological mental illnesses around it (penis envy, anyone?). While we develop a childish squemishness to the idea of our menstral blood, etc.

The reason I'm coming back to you is that it was pointed out in the sixties that language is used to create a 'them and us' attitude. Words matter. Words dictate how we feel about things; the exact phrase used was a 'centrifugal force', a way of keeping what we like in and what we dislike out. So that's why it is not a laugh, it is more important than that.

'Feminine Words - Bleurg' is anti-woman written all over it.

WindSock

Ah for flip sake, they are just words that I don't like the sound of. I am having a childish moment. There are plenty of feminine words that I do like. For example;

Vagina (not vag, that's icky)
Fallopian Tubes
Polycystic Ovaries (again, not the function but the word combo I like)
Uterus
Urethra

As for men, I think the word Scrotum is ming. Scrote is worse

WindSock

Title changed.

Nevyn

I think a lot of the issue is with the fact that really for the most part we don't talk about
"Down There" and so we are not used to using certain words and the dislike of those words is about the uncomfortableness of what they are about rather then the words themselves. Such conversations as Taboo [1. A ban or an inhibition resulting from social custom or emotional aversion.] then extends to the words themselves.

While we have made a fair bit of progress with the thread on breast check and smear tests it's still called the 'bits and bobs' thread, which baffles me and we still have a staggering amount of young women and men in this country who think the vulva and vagina are freaky and gross and so is everything associated with them.

Walls

WindSock wrote: »

Title changed.

I'm not trying to argue with you, and I can see you're just having a laugh. But even with that in mind, words matter.

WindSock

So lets post what words make us feel uncomfortable and work through it then. There's no need to get all high horsey if you are perfectly comfortable using these words and others aren't. I don't mind saying cnt for example, but I accept that others do.
Pussy on the other hand...:(

But anyway, those are slang words. This is more about the clinical 'proper' words.

The Big Red Button

Thaedydal wrote: »

While we have made a fair bit of progress with the thread on breast check and smear tests it's still called the 'bits and bobs' thread, which baffles me and we still have a staggering amount of young women and men in this country who think the vulva and vagina are freaky and gross and so is everything associated with them.

Well I don't know anyone like that - and no one who has posted on this thread has said anything about the bodyparts themselves being "freaky and gross" - just that the names of some of them are funny or just don't roll off the tongue very easily.

"Tongue". There's another unisex, not necessarily sexual word that just has a weird name!

Walls

But you showed no intention of working through them. The thread was aobut posting about the words that were disliked, and asked for others to post words that they hated too. It didn't work through it, but continued the association of womens' body being something to hide or something to be disgusted about.

But sure, I think working through them would be a good thing. Why are "Sanitary Towel / Smear Test / Vaginal Discharge / Pregnant " mank and eww? Why are they not?

I think I'm being a bit mean at this stage....

WindSock

Well, get them out in the open and explaining why they don't sound nice. It is the word, the sounding and/or the association.

Ok, I'll hop on the sofa and you can deconstruct WindSocks brain through word associations;

Sanitary Towel - It's the clinicalness.

Smear Test - Really, is smear a nice word?

Whereas vaginal discharge is a bit of a mouthful, it has a bit of a ring to it but it's not something I would say often to a stranger or collegue.

Pregnant - Again, just a word I don't like the sound of. I think it's the Preg part. Preggars is another. Oh and Pram. And buggy.

Maternal - I meant Maternity. Maternal is a nice word. MAaernity makes me think of frumpy maternity clothes and being immobilised.

Nevyn

I don't think challenging =|= being mean.

The Big Red Button

Walls wrote: »

But you showed no intention of working through them. The thread was aobut posting about the words that were disliked, and asked for others to post words that they hated too. It didn't work through it, but continued the association of womens' body being something to hide or something to be disgusted about.

But sure, I think working through them would be a good thing. Why are "Sanitary Towel / Smear Test / Vaginal Discharge / Pregnant " mank and eww? Why are they not?

I think I'm being a bit mean at this stage....

OK. They wouldn't be the worst ones for me, to be fair! But ...

Sanitary Towel - It sounds like you're going to shove a big fluffy towel into your panties! And the "sanitary" bit too - it's not like you're dirty to begin with!

Smear Test - Again, it's the vision that it suggests. Everyone knows that smear tests are not the most pleasant procedure - but the idea of having your cervix "smeared" is a bit weird! And yeah I know that's basically what's being done, but I think there are less intimidating ways of describing it.

Vaginal Discharge - I know some posters are saying that we're afraid of the natural functions of our bodies. Well, I would see vaginal discharge as being something totally normal and natural and it doesn't bother me a bit - but giving it a big scientific, cold, medical name like that makes it sound somehow nasty and wrong - again, may I stress that I know that it's normal and natural and that there is absolutely nothing wrong with it!!!

Pregnant - I remember reading a really good description of this in Lionel Shriver's "We Need To Talk About Kevin", about why she doesn't like the word. Unfortunately I don't have the book to hand, but I wish I did, she described it really well. Basically how it's such a "full" "heavy" sort of word, and there's nothing happy or joyful-sounding about it. Or say, the phrase "a pregnant pause" - it's not a positive sort of word in that context. But I'm only discussing "pregnant" as a word. Just because people don't like the word "pregnant" doesn't mean that they have a fear of pregnancy, just that they might prefer to use the words "expectant" or "with child" or whatever instead.


Edit - Oops, Windsock got in there faster and much more concisely!

Walls

Thaedydal wrote: »

I don't think challenging =|= being mean.

It is if you know well what you're asking for is not really going to happen...

Walls

WindSock wrote: »

Well, get them out in the open and explaining why they don't sound nice. It is the word, the sounding and/or the association.

Ok, I'll hop on the sofa and you can deconstruct WindSocks brain through word associations;

Sanitary Towel - It's the clinicalness.

Smear Test - Really, is smear a nice word?

Whereas vaginal discharge is a bit of a mouthful, it has a bit of a ring to it but it's not something I would say often to a stranger or collegue.

Pregnant - Again, just a word I don't like the sound of. I think it's the Preg part. Preggars is another. Oh and Pram. And buggy.

Maternal - I meant Maternity. Maternal is a nice word. MAaernity makes me think of frumpy maternity clothes and being immobilised.

chatterpillar wrote: »

OK. They wouldn't be the worst ones for me, to be fair! But ...

Sanitary Towel - It sounds like you're going to shove a big fluffy towel into your panties! And the "sanitary" bit too - it's not like you're dirty to begin with!

Smear Test - Again, it's the vision that it suggests. Everyone knows that smear tests are not the most pleasant procedure - but the idea of having your cervix "smeared" is a bit weird! And yeah I know that's basically what's being done, but I think there are less intimidating ways of describing it.

Vaginal Discharge - I know some posters are saying that we're afraid of the natural functions of our bodies. Well, I would see vaginal discharge as being something totally normal and natural and it doesn't bother me a bit - but giving it a big scientific, cold, medical name like that makes it sound somehow nasty and wrong - again, may I stress that I know that it's normal and natural and that there is absolutely nothing wrong with it!!!

Pregnant - I remember reading a really good description of this in Lionel Shriver's "We Need To Talk About Kevin", about why she doesn't like the word. Unfortunately I don't have the book to hand, but I wish I did, she described it really well. Basically how it's such a "full" "heavy" sort of word, and there's nothing happy or joyful-sounding about it. Or say, the phrase "a pregnant pause" - it's not a positive sort of word in that context. But I'm only discussing "pregnant" as a word. Just because people don't like the word "pregnant" doesn't mean that they have a fear of pregnancy, just that they might prefer to use the words "expectant" or "with child" or whatever instead.


Edit - Oops, Windsock got in there faster and much more concisely!

Okay, what I'm seeing here is that the reason these words are disliked and thought of as distasteful, is because the body itself is distasteful. These are just words, just sounds in a person's mouth, they don't have any inherent value in of themselves other than what we give them.

And the value you give them is to devalue them, to dislike them and insist that they are nasty, dirty things. These values suggest that the body a woman has fosters on her slime, uneasiness, things that keep her down and keep her unpleasant to others. These words have no value at all other than what we say they have, and the value that they have in this thread is that woman's body is really stank.

WindSock

Wow. I guess this thread has taken a nasty turn. Thanks, I thought it would be interesting but instead it has turned into something a bit more unpleasant.
I am now put off from posting any more here at the moment. I didn't see it as being 'sad' or 'anti-woman', I could come up with plenty of male or neutral terms to post but, whatever.
I hope it isn't the same for anyone else. Toodles.

The Big Red Button

Walls wrote: »

Okay, what I'm seeing here is that the reason these words are disliked and thought of as distasteful, is because the body itself is distasteful. These are just words, just sounds in a person's mouth, they don't have any inherent value in of themselves other than what we give them.

And the value you give them is to devalue them, to dislike them and insist that they are nasty, dirty things. These values suggest that the body a woman has fosters on her slime, uneasiness, things that keep her down and keep her unpleasant to others. These words have no value at all other than what we say they have, and the value that they have in this thread is that woman's body is really stank.

Can I ask, exactly what was it that either myself or WindSock said that brought you to that conclusion?

WindSock

chatterpillar wrote: »

Can I ask, exactly what was it that either myself or WindSock said that brought you to that conclusion?

Okay, I'll bite... I think this poster and others already have their conclusions made up before you or me even posted. I already gave examples of words that I do like previously but were ignored. Funny that. Way to poison a potentially fun and interesting thread that may have benefitted a lot.

Walls

WindSock wrote: »

Wow. I guess this thread has taken a nasty turn. Thanks, I thought it would be interesting but instead it has turned into something a bit more unpleasant.
I am now put off from posting any more here at the moment. I didn't see it as being 'sad' or 'anti-woman', I could come up with plenty of male or neutral terms to post but, whatever.
I hope it isn't the same for anyone else. Toodles.

Please, don't do that. This is for me a conversation about Semantics, not an attack on a poster or posters.

Kooli

Walls wrote: »

Okay, what I'm seeing here is that the reason these words are disliked and thought of as distasteful, is because the body itself is distasteful. These are just words, just sounds in a person's mouth, they don't have any inherent value in of themselves other than what we give them.

And the value you give them is to devalue them, to dislike them and insist that they are nasty, dirty things. These values suggest that the body a woman has fosters on her slime, uneasiness, things that keep her down and keep her unpleasant to others. These words have no value at all other than what we say they have, and the value that they have in this thread is that woman's body is really stank.

Wow that's quite a conclusion to draw.

I agree with the 'ick factor' on a lot of the words mentioned.

I also don't like the word 'smegma' - am I anti-man? I don't like 'mucus' or 'phlegm' either - so am I being anti-human?

I do actually find vaginal discharge (both the word and the thing itself) pretty gross. That's not to say that I don't find the female body wonderful and amazing in what it can do, I just don't have to enjoy the by-products of it.

Snot is a naturaly by-product of our wonderful human body and all it can do. I genuinely mean that, the body is amazing. My dislike of snot - the word and the thing itself - does not take away from that fact.

Nevyn

WindSock wrote: »

Well, get them out in the open and explaining why they don't sound nice. It is the word, the sounding and/or the association.

Ok, I'll hop on the sofa and you can deconstruct WindSocks brain through word associations;

Sanitary Towel - It's the clinicalness.

How so? that a sanitary towel it's self looks like a bandage? how is a word clinical?

WindSock wrote: »

Smear Test - Really, is smear a nice word?

Yes I love to smear jam on a scone or smear nutella on toast or smear honey on toast and seeing my kids with chocolate smeared on their face makes me smile.

WindSock wrote: »

Whereas vaginal discharge is a bit of a mouthful, it has a bit of a ring to it but it's not something I would say often to a stranger or collegue.

It's not, but that part of the point if we don't used those words much at all we end up feeling awkward with them, again they become taboo.

WindSock wrote: »

Pregnant - Again, just a word I don't like the sound of. I think it's the Preg part. Preggars is another. Oh and Pram. And buggy.

The sound of the words or the idea and emotion they provoke of being pregnant of having to face being pregnant and having to face pushing a pram?

WindSock wrote: »

Maternal - I meant Maternity. Maternal is a nice word. MAaernity makes me think of frumpy maternity clothes and being immobilised.

Which goes back to the dislike of the word being pregnant and what the evokes for you.

WindSock wrote: »

Wow. I guess this thread has taken a nasty turn. Thanks, I thought it would be interesting but instead it has turned into something a bit more unpleasant.
I am now put off from posting any more here at the moment. I didn't see it as being 'sad' or 'anti-woman', I could come up with plenty of male or neutral terms to post but, whatever.
I hope it isn't the same for anyone else. Toodles.

I don't think it is nasty or unpleasant and I think it is a shame that you are so quickly out off looking at the reasons and emotions behind your dislike of such words, I don't think you are anti woman, I do think that we all have a lot of cultural re thinking to do when it comes to getting rid of what is still Victorian ideas about women, our bodies and the cultural attitude that women's bodies are still as per christian dogma some how 'unclean'.

Did you know that women were not allow to know about the female reproductive system? that dr could now and men and husbands but women were not allowed? That mystic and taboo stops women form talking about 'down there' in an open manner which encourage education and women being empowered to talk to their drs and partners properly.

If we don't look at why we dislike certain words and understand why and challenge some of the ideas and attitudes that they spring from then things won't change.

Walls

Thaedydal is the closest to what I was trying to convey. You folks were putting values on words, not finding words with inherent values.

Seriously, did not mean to upset or offend anyone. But you have to wonder at a thread in the Ladies Lounge that proclaims that the words dealing with womens' bits are ewww. That seems wrong to me and I remain convinced about that. But it is a question of the semantics for me. Why are these words disgusting to folks? Why?

Silverfish

I think, in all fairness, if the OP truly believed these words were taboo and nasty, they wouldn't have even started the thread.

I believe you are reading this as 'Gross women's parts' rather than 'Gross words applied to women's parts'. Slight difference.

Nevyn

Kooli wrote: »

Wow that's quite a conclusion to draw.

I agree with the 'ick factor' on a lot of the words mentioned.

I also don't like the word 'smegma' - am I anti-man? I don't like 'mucus' or 'phlegm' either - so am I being anti-human?

I do actually find vaginal discharge (both the word and the thing itself) pretty gross. That's not to say that I don't find the female body wonderful and amazing in what it can do, I just don't have to enjoy the by-products of it.

Snot is a naturaly by-product of our wonderful human body and all it can do. I genuinely mean that, the body is amazing. My dislike of snot - the word and the thing itself - does not take away from that fact.

The sticky by products of the human body can be gross and I think that there are health reasons why we are adverse to them, like snot and mucus and feces due to them carrying germs and contact with them not being as a result healthy. And the same can be same of smegma cleanness and health reasons personally I dislike the term knobcheese more, ewwwwwh, but I know why I don't like it.

Morgase

There's certain words to do with female anatomy that I just don't like. For example I hate "smear test" but have no problem with "cervical check". I think it's the onomatopaeia (sp?) of smear, that eeeeee sound.

I hate the word "tits"; it makes me think of cows being milked! "Boobies" however is great.

I'd love for there to be positive-sounding slang words for all the different ladybits - vulva etc is too clinical, cnt etc too harsh sounding (to me at least).

Nevyn

I like yoni(yo neeee).
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Yoni

this is kinda related to the tread ...my daughter needed sanitary towels late one evening so i took her to a local garage that opened late ..she went in and picked up the pack of sanitary towels which had no price on them... and went to pay for them ...behind the counter working were two young lads of about 17 ... the first young lad went red with embarrassment when she asked how much they were then he mumbled to his companion how much do you this these are his companion who was as equally as red in the face said i think there 50c!!!!....she came out to me laughing about this and she ended up getting a 20 pack of sanitary towels for 50c..

i don't like any work that i consider vulgar ..tits for example...i think there a way of putting women down ... ..mucus plug is horrible because of the image it congers up ...some thing sticky and slimy ..