Naming your vagina could have an 'unlikely side effect' on your health

What do you call your vagina? Pussy, pussy, slit... — the list goes on. Actress Jameela Jamil recently revealed that she herself is a fan of the nickname "mouse."

To each their own, I guess. Anyway, for most of my teenage years, it seemed like society called the vagina pretty much everything except that nickname.

We started with childish pet names, and as we grew older, we were exposed to new ones, sometimes with dark connotations or harmful stereotypes. And some of these, whether we like it or not, stick with us as we grow into adults.

But the real question is: is the nickname we give our vaginas merely an arbitrary linguistic choice, or is there a deeper meaning we need to uncover? Fortunately, a team of academics has done the work for us.

Why is it important what I call my vagina?

For decades, academics have argued that the names we use for our genitals have much more to do with broader gender structures and social hierarchies than with personal preference.

And in October 2025, a group of scientists took this idea ten steps further with the publication of a report titled, "Vagina, Pussy, Vulva, Vag: The Names Women Give Their Genitals Are Differently Linked to Sexual and Health Outcomes."

The study, which collected data from 475 women in the US across various age groups, identified nine categories of genitalia names:

anatomical (vulva, vagina)
vulgar (pussy, cunt)
playful/childish (hoo haa, vajayjay)
euphemisms (down there, private parts)
gender identity (hair, girl)
clitoris (all terms related to the clitoris)
edible (cake, slice (of bread), muffin, plum)
nature (venus, pussy)
receptacle (hole, (frame)

These different types of names were then used to try to understand these women's perceptions of issues such as genital self-image (GSI), sexual pleasure, and genital health. The team also examined how both sexual and non-sexual contexts play a role in how these women consider different names.

What nickname do you use for your own genitals, and why? Comment now.

We spoke with one of the article's authors, Tanja Oschatz, a PhD candidate in social psychology and sexual sciences, to discuss the findings. According to Tanja, one of the key takeaways was the importance of avoiding playful/childish terms like "hoo haa."

These kinds of names were used by about 15% of the participants. The women who chose these terms generally reported more negative feelings about their genitals. "I think playful or childish terms can evoke a particularly strong association with shame, embarrassment, or emotional distance," Tanja explains.

These are often the terms people first encounter in childhood, when genitals are considered something awkward, secretive, or undiscussed. Therefore, such language can signal immaturity or discomfort rather than normalcy or acceptance.

Using these playful terms was also associated with lower perceptions of a partner's pleasure from oral sex, a greater likelihood of using vaginal cleansing products, and greater interest in labiaplasty.

Euphemisms can also reflect a negative self-image

Euphemisms are associated with shame. Just like childish or playful pet names, euphemisms like "down there" or "private parts" are still incredibly popular among adult women.

About a third of the participants in Tanja's study used these kinds of terms to describe their genitals, indicating a persistent shame surrounding female genitals.

An interesting comparison is how, while equivalent euphemisms exist for male genitals (such as "thing"), patriarchal structures have ensured that female genitals are euphemized on a much larger cultural scale. This aligns with society's historical attempt to trivialize and devalue the female body.