i had to say the word
vagina
i know - Eve Ensler already said it a million times
but the other day
i was talking to some friends
who have vagina's of their very own
and i shared the story of how i finally said that word
vagina
to my son
who is three and a half
penis was not hard to say
i never had a problem telling him he had a penis
but when he asked me what i had
i said
something else

and when i told my friends this
the ones who have
vaginas
between their legs
they asked why it's a hard word to say
what so uncomfortable about it
what is a better word?
pussy?
No, too insinuating
you know
of porn, or something
cunt?
too vulgar
what other words are there?
made up ones
made up to get away from that feeling of discomfort
which seems to be fairly universal

i don't say those other words
often, that is
i say vagina
in all its clinical glory
in all its embarrassing
so-not-making-me-proud-to-have-one
glory

my friends and i
and all of our vaginas
joked about how we would be sure
to inject the word
daily into conversations
because if its so easy to say
penis
dick
cock
prick
member
rod
shaft
(there's a million more, right?)
without that squirmy feeling in my stomach
then it should be just as easy
to say VAGINA

no?

alright, so somebody say it with me now

ok, somebody just say it for me

actually, maybe someone can say it instead of me



�2007 by Cinnette Wilder