VULVA
Why is this word so taboo?
The word vulva is taboo for several reasons, rooted in history, culture, and society’s relationship with female sexuality and the body. Here are some of the main reasons:
1. Patriarchal control and shame
In many cultures, there has been strong control over women’s bodies and sexuality. Female genitalia have often been seen as something that should be hidden, mysterious, or shameful. As a result, the word vulva has not found the same natural place in language as words for other body parts.
2. Lack of knowledge and language
Many people confuse vulva and vagina, which highlights how little attention female anatomy has received in education and medical discourse. The vagina refers to the internal canal, while the vulva includes the external genitalia (clitoris, labia, etc.). When we lack precise language, the taboo is reinforced.
3. Sexualization and objectification
Women’s bodies are often presented in a sexualized context. The word vulva is rarely used in everyday language because it is associated with something sexual rather than a natural part of the body. At the same time, crude slang terms have become more normalized, while neutral and medical language has been overlooked.
4. Historical suppression of female pleasure
The clitoris, which is part of the vulva, has been ignored for centuries in medical literature and societal discussions. This is connected to a historical fear of women’s sexual autonomy. By making the word vulva invisible, women’s own experience of their bodies is also erased.
5. Lack of normalization in language and media
We learn early to say penis, but the word vulva is rarely used in children’s books, school curricula, or everyday speech. When the word is not used naturally, it becomes harder for people to say it without discomfort.
ME: I was very afraid to show that I had a vulva; I felt ashamed because the message was that this area is only for having sex to conceive children. You are not supposed to enjoy it but endure it. The same applies to menstruation...
Have you heard or experienced the same?
At school, we were only taught how to use different contraceptive methods like birth control pills with and without hormones, contraceptive injections, IUDs, and other methods. And if you experience pain, it's important to take painkillers instead of looking at the reason why we have menstrual pain.
Have you ever considered that the cause might be stress, the influence of others' energies, pain, frustrations, sorrow, fears, and that these settle in the body until the body finally says:
HELP, STOP!
TAKE A BREAK NOW!
We haven't listened to the signs that it's time to rest and slow down. For so long, I felt like I wasn’t good enough because my body seemed to be working against me every month. But in reality, my body was trying to tell me to listen and take breaks.
It took me a long time to understand this—I had to take courses to grasp it, but even then, it took me another five years before I truly understood that the key is to listen to the transitions between the phases of the cycle. It’s not easy; it takes time to learn to know yourself—the fun sides, the dark sides, and the wounds and scars of the past. Maybe it takes a lifetime.
I am on a journey myself, but I feel that this topic is worth diving into, and I have done so over the past 5–10 years. There is a need to see all levels and understand them.
The way forward: Normalization and ownership
To break the taboo, we need to start using the word vulva more often, both in medical, educational, and everyday contexts. When we reclaim the language about our bodies, we also reclaim power over them.
What do you think? Have you ever experienced difficulty using the word vulva openly?
Alot of love,
Gunhild Torleivsdotter
