In their groundbreaking academic research: Liability or asset? Women talk about the vagina, researchers Virginia Braun and Sue Wilkinson spent several months interviewing several women and men in New Zealand and Canada respectively to get their perceptions on the “vagina.”
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The 2003 study was published in the British Psychological Society Journal.
Most women, according to the study, did not even want to talk about it even if they all agreed that it was a vital body organ and the clearest symbol of their womanhood.
Why was this so? Most cited negative cultural stereotypes, some of which consider the vagina “a disgusting, dirty organ.”
One of them said she had been made to believe when she was young that the vagina was a just ‘blank space’ on her body. That it was useless.
Many women, however, agreed that having a vagina is a good thing and life is not worth living “without it.”
Interestingly, most of the male respondents interviewed for the study said they actually “loved it” and some described the vagina as “sweet” after sessions of oral sex with their female partners. Most said they were not bothered at all by its anatomy (physical appearance).
Which brings us to the current storm brewing in Uganda over Isaac Ssemakadde’s usage of word “vagina” while trying to score one over Jane Frances Abodo, the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Many women groups, prominent lawyers and other people have asked the Uganda Law Society (ULS) president to apologize for using a “derogatory” word to describe Abodo.
Some have threatened to take Ssemakadde to court if he does not withdraw the word.
What they have not explained is why they find the term “vagina” offensive. What is the basis of their moral stand? Is it culture? Is it religion? Is it formal education?
Like one of the analysts pointed out on X, some of the women calling for Ssemakadde’s head still identify themselves (according to their social media profiles) as free-thinking liberals and feminists.
Some of these liberals rightly attacked the government for “vulgarising the word vagina” when it banned the play “Vagina Monologues” in 2005.
Today, they are horrified by its usage to define one of them.
In biological terms, the vagina is a closed muscular canal that extends from the outside of the female genital area (vulva) to the neck of the uterus. One of its key functions is to provide a passageway during childbirth.
So why does such a vital body organ stir emotions, especially among the womenfolk? Why aren’t so many women offended when they are told they have a big booty? It is a body part. Isn’t it?