Sexual Health
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Terminology Explained: I Think You Might Mean Vulva When You're Saying Vagina.

It has become common to refer to the totality of a woman's sex organs, or reproductive organs as the vagina. But is this actually correct?

What is the vagina?

The only part of the woman's body that is the "vagina" is the fleshy, moist tube that leads from the outside of the body to the cervix. To have a baby, the sperm will need to be deposited deep in the vagina near the cervix, and our periods come through the vagina, as well as the baby coming out when we give birth. Feces and urine do not come out of the vagina. The vagina does not grow hair.

Terminology Explained: I think you might mean vulva when you're saying vagina.

What is the vulva?

What you see between a woman's legs is actually called the vulva, collectively. It is made up of several parts. Here is a diagram of the major parts:

Terminology Explained: I Think You Might Mean Vulva When You're Saying Vagina.

Calling a woman's vulva by the word vagina is about as sensible as saying the testicles are the penis. It's just a lack of understanding about the female anatomy that confuses people their whole lives. Think about it - we don't even teach women the correct names for their body parts. How strange is that?

Many women wonder what their own vulvas are supposed to look like, especially since our only exposure to the variety of vulva appearance may be through pornography, and porn producers are deliberately choosing women with small inner labia because it doesn't obscure the view of the penis in close-up shots. It is not the most "common" or most "popular" way for women to look. Our vulvas are as unique as our faces and may look many different while still being normal and beautiful.

This artwork captures a variety of ways that a (light complexion) woman's vulva may look:

Terminology Explained: I Think You Might Mean Vulva When You're Saying Vagina.

The size and appearance of the parts of the vulva do not relate to how "big" or "loose" a vagina is (for more on myths and truths of vaginal "tightness" read: https://www.girlsaskguys.com/sexual-health/a48115-the-rare-truth-about-tight-loose-women ). The labia do not increase in size due to sexual activity. They come in every variation of human skin color and may be darker, lighter or the same shade as the rest of the woman's body. Quite a bit of variation is normal. How close the vulva looks to what has been seen in pornography shouldn't be held up as a measure of how attractive a woman's vulva is.

Why do you think we keep using the wrong word to describe the vulva?

5 13

Most Helpful Guy

  • Definitely a growing problem. When describing health problems it is important to properly name the parts concerned. So often I see post on here about a rash on the "vagina", or itching "vagina", or questions about hair on the "vagina". Often I have answered a question about such things including that I am assuming they mean the vulva, and get a response from someone that vagina should be understood to mean the whole area. I get the impression that most people (male and female) have been taught the correct terminology, but choose to go with the popular, incorrect usage. That is confusing, and in discussions about sexual health, can be misleading and dangerous.

    I think that trying to get people to correctly identify what they are talking about is almost a lost cause. It must be terribly misleading and stressful to health care providers.

Most Helpful Girl

  • I blame lack of adequate sex education. All this abstinence only bullshit that doesn’t even teach proper anatomy ought to be a crime.

    • I agree

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What Girls & Guys Said

3 22

  • When I say vagina I mean washing machine. I put a load in my vagina just this afternoon. It came out all fresh :)

    Nice MyTake though, I agree with you 100%.

    • You're all about Info. This is info. I can see why you like it.

    • Yes, I do like the info. It also helps that I like the editor of said info though <3

  • This is one of my pet-peevs too. I wonder if some boys call it a vagina because to say vagina would imply that its more than a place to insert their penis.

  • oh no, i just mean vagina.

  • I'm pretty sure that most people actually mean vagina when they say vagina.
    I doubt anyone cares about the external anatomy of the female reproductive organ when they are referring to it, just like nobody opts to say "the foreskin" when referring to the penis.

  • Yes vulva is correct and most use vagina incorrectly because they can't see forest from a tree. But what difference does it make if it is bald most of the time? With porn spreading it all down to the cervix, little imagination is left for "vulva". They both start with a V, close enough, all you need is a good aim.

    • Except, the vulva is where all a woman's sexually responsive parts are located, so not even having a word for it, or ignoring the word for it, is part and parcel of the attitudes that ignore our pleasure. So, it matters. Where you aim your penis has so very little to do with female pleasure. We're just trying to get seen and heard here. Simple.

    • Who is we wg? Do you have a mouse in your pocket? More women use it incorrectly on here then the men. I actually see more men use it correctly including myself than women. no bs. Not many use it correctly, granted but pinks are worse at it. They don't appreciate it as much as some of us do.

    • than

  • I don't know. Vulva just doesn't roll off the tongue as easily.

  • The vulva photo turned me on it gave me a boner 😶

  • Factually correct. While we are at it,
    Gender is really sex.
    Sex as commonly used, is intercourse
    Non intercourse sexuality is sexual intimacy.
    When I was a teen, I thought a Vulva was a stodgy Swedish car.

  • I'll always use the word vagina for a vagina.
    I might say 'pussy' to name a vulva.

    • A very useful take!

    • Yeah, the slang terms are pretty inexact so why even try to analyze them? The slang/affectionate terms have a charm and meaning all their own.

    • I don't feel the word 'pussy' as gross. What's nicer than a tiny cat?

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  • Yes, I needed to know this for my bridge game with my church friends.

  • It's probably to do with a lack of focus in sex ed. They only have anatomy for a short part, while a good portion tries to either teach abstinence or safe sex.

  • Hmm, there are lot of things that are named wrongly. Who knows, maybe the part of some electric device has its proper name but we give it another, it doesn't mean we should all learn the exact name to use it in our daily life. Should we call marihuana: Cannabis Sativa? It's good we know the scientific name of the plant but it shouldn't imply exchange the colloquial word for the scientific one.

    • Actually, you should be calling it cannabis. Marijuana has some negative implications and a rougher background. Lol

  • That is correct! Sorry, I use their Aliases..

  • Yeah, I'm annoyed when people say it's a vagina. The correct term is a vulva.

  • I liked the pictures

  • the reason it gets called that is its easy to say

    • So is elbow.

    • very true

  • I've had women mock me if I used the word vulva in sex talk.

  • I think we use bad terminology because functionally no one cares and it works.

    • Except, some people care, and it also doesn't work.

    • Who cares? Even women, en mass, the owners misuse the term. So functionally no one cares because if the owners don't care then what is the loss? As for it mattering I don't think the layman knowing the mechanics and the actual names of bits changes the game.

    • How would you know? Like really. How would you fucking know? It's not for you to say it doesn't matter. It's not for you to say no one cares. It's not for you to say "it works". It doesn't fucking work. And I'm not going to dumb it down for your convenience.

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  • What do you mean why? You're in the thick of people and ya don noo?

    Pop Culture.

    • I have my opinions. I was aking for other people's thoughts on it.

    • asking

    • This is why I haven't asked any questions. I know the answers. I can cruise around and tell what and how people think simply by their wording.

    • Show All

  • Why is it important that we know the difference between vulvus and vaginas? Or the looseness and tightness ratio of certain women's mid sections?

    Eventually, it will balance itself out and swap places sometimes. So knowing where it is one day, may not be where it is the next if it expands or moves.

    • You're right. How could we possibly think that accurate information about anatomy could improve the human experience on this planet. Jesus did not ask you to leave your brains at the door. "Swap places"? The vulva doesn't swap places. WTF are you even saying? The clitoris doesn't wander away. The labia do not end up located where her elbows are. It IS possible to know these things. they are not an unknowable mystery. You may not care if your someday wife ever has an orgasm. But you will probably care that her body is healthy so she can continue to provide you with sex and bear children, and some of this is just fundamental, basic, no value-judgment anatomical fact. Why should anyone "know" or "learn" anything? Because knowing stuff is how life moves. The less stuff you know, the fewer choices you have.

    • A man's sperm swaps places. What makes a woman's body so special that her fertility system stays virtually in place? So the Fallopian tubes don't move from left ovary to right ovary?

    • I'm getting married July 6th.

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