You can't say that word on tv!

This is a recent Eros & Aphrodite that appeared in the argosy.  E&A is a sort of social gender and sex critique column done by a friend and me.  This is only my half, because her half belongs to her. 

If there was one sexual norm I could change it would be the utter fear of sex and the body that seems to permeate North American culture.  One can see it in so many contexts.  Think about the huge debate over breastfeeding in public, the continent wide hysteria that followed the Janet Jackson “event,” the shady way people seem to go about trying to obtain sex, and, worst of all, the existence of the word “vajayjay.”

It is easy to make fun of Ashcroft for his moment with the statue of justice, but how is he different than anyone else?  Most people cannot even say, with a straight face, the words penis or vagina.  Instead, most people use a slightly more vulgar term of their choosing, often unconsciously adding emphasis to the word or speeding it up a fraction of a beat.  This is, I believe, designed to offset the discomfort of referring to the genitals by making a sort of joke out of it.  Our discomfort level decreases when what discomfits us becomes something to snicker at.

Finally, there is the insane belief that somehow children are harmed by hearing references to genitals in any way that is not turned into a cute phrase or an inane euphemism.  This was used by a friend to justify the word vajayjay, whereby she claimed that it made sense because the show it appeared on was rated G (implication being kids will see it).  However, if the kid does not have actual knowledge of what a vagina is, he or she will still be left with questions that parents seem to be trying to avoid (because of their discomfort?).  On the other side, if the child already knows what a vagina is, is not the word just teaching them that the body is an object of scorn, ridicule, and discomfort?  The same argument goes for any euphemism for the penis, by the way.

I'm tired of our social phobia of sex and sex organs.  Through continued discussion and education, maybe some day things will change and the North American psyche will some day grow up.  Until then, I shall refer to the female genitals exclusively as the Pseudemys Concinna.  And yes, you should look that one up.