Love, Love, Love Your Vagina

Quick: what do “honey pot,” “thatchy snatch” and “Mary Lou” have in common?

It’s OK if you’re having trouble figuring out the connection between these words, because they are just a few of the many names for that special place down there. You may call it something else, like “va-jay-jay” or “cooch,” but in the end, these are all just popular ways to describe the vagina (or in most cases, the vulva—a girl or woman’s external sexual organs).

There are a lot more terms floating around, and 25 of the most common ones are mentioned in the “Love Your Vagina” video. With its catchy tune and unusual lyrics, this song spotlights your “little man in a canoe” and reminds you to always “love, love, love your vagina.”

I’ll be honest: I blushed a little when I heard this song for the very first time. And I made sure to turn the volume all the way down. Even then, I couldn’t help looking around the room every few seconds to ensure that no one was looking over my shoulder, because the truth was, I was flustered. Just a teensy bit.

I knew that the technical term for the “little man in a canoe” was “vulva” and “vagina” (depending on the part it’s referring to). I had grown accustomed to using these anatomically correct words, but I still wasn’t quite ready to start singing along with the lady in the video. Although the message was cute and harmless, its boldness caught me off guard. I’d never heard anyone crooning so proudly about her genitalia before! Most people get nervous just talking about it.

In that moment, I realized something: Yes, it’s important to know the correct names for our body parts, but it’s OK to have some fun with slang sometimes, too. Especially if you’re going to blast “Love Your Vagina” all the way up, so that the whole neighborhood hears you.

—Cynthia Lam, 17, Staff Writer