Yup…I just read an article that explains how anatomists have described how a woman’s body has been a man’s world. WTAF you say? How is this possible? Ah, come on…don’t you realize how every frickin thing always comes back to men stickin their nosy little beaks into absolutely everything. Think mansplaining on steroids. So what the heck am I talking about? Well…here’s the skinny in no particular order regarding my research on this topic:

Shortly after the #MeToo movement in 2017, there was a small, little-known movement called the #AnatomyToo movement. This effort was designed to eliminate toxic anatomical labels for women’s genitalia. What? Yes, they were successful in renaming “pudendum,” a long-standing term in the medical community for the vulva. Why is “pudendum” a distasteful term? Well…“pudendum” is from the Latin word pudere, meaning “to be ashamed.” Anatomists named this most intimate part of a woman’s body as her most shameful. Why am I not surprised?
That isn’t the only unsurprising fact about the term pudendum, because for hundreds of years the name applied to both male and female genitalia, until, of course, it didn’t. In 1895, pudendum was still officially recognised, ie, the pudendal region existed in both men and women. However, fast forward 60 years, and only the “pudendum femininum” — the female part — was still listed, because, of course, we can’t shame the men.
A study was done in the UK finding 65 per cent of young women had a problem saying “vulva” or “vagina”. I say use those terms liberally and let’s take back gloriously celebratory terminology for our intimate bits!
In 2014, Bernard Moxham, collaborated with Susan Morgan, a colleague, to examine gender bias in anatomy teaching. Most medical textbooks, they found, showed the male body as standard and only brought out the female body to show the reproductive system, genitals, and breasts. Then, in 2016, those same researchers asked hundreds of medical students and anatomists if they had any concerns about the fact that the word “pudendal” stemmed from “to be ashamed.” Most did not. What I haven’t been able to find out is what percentage of those students were men versus women. I suspect the majority. Where were all the feminists?
What is completely unsurprising to me is that a look at 700 different body parts named after 432 people reveals that 424 were named after male physicians. The eight that weren’t male physicians were five gods (not goddesses), a king (not queen), a hero (not heroine), and just one woman: Raissa Nitabuch, named the Nitabuch Layer or Nitabuch membrane, which is a layer where the placenta separates from the uterus wall after delivery.
Why was I not surprised…well, most body parts were named by 1847, and women were not prominent in the medical field. They didn’t have the opportunity to get a look at our insides, including a woman’s reproductive system.
Gabriele Falloppio, an Italian priest and anatomist, is responsible for Fallopian Tubes. Skene’s glands, those important glands that secrete female ejaculate, are named after Alexander Skene. Rude! And for f@3k’s sake, that all-important “G” as in G-spot, which a lot of men can’t even find, is named after Ernst Gräfenberg’s. And finally, Bartholin’s glands that important place close to the vaginal opening that generate that glorious wetness and fluid necessary for sexual lubrication is named afer Caspar Bartholin the Younger. Double rude!
There are calls for renaming Bartholin’s glands to greater vestibular glands, Skene’s glands to paraurethral glands, and Fallopian tubes to uterine tubes. However, change is hard, and the older terms are still commonly used by doctors and the public. I, myself, have been guilty of this, not knowing the history!
Finally, vagina originates from the Latin word for scabbard. What is a scabbard, you ask? Per Merriam Webster, it is “a sheath for a sword, dagger, or bayonet.” How positively phallic. Like our vagina’s are only intended for your…well, you know! Triple rude! Unfortunately, there are no calls for vagina to be renamed. Any ideas for a better word?

The horse has already left the barn for me…I’ve used many of these old terms in my blogs and certainly in my books, but what are the alternatives, unless we start a more successful #AnatomyToo movement? I’m certainly not the only person to have never heard of this movement before. Hopefully, you’ll forgive my former ignorance and still consider checking out my books. You know the drill, just click the links below! Coming soon to Affinity Rainbow Publications…The Wheel…a chance to win a free ebook and other prizes. If you aren’t signed up for the Affinity Rainbow Publications Newsletter…what are you waiting for! Click here to visit the website: Affinity Rainbow Publications