From a Woman's charity, dedicated to women's health,
What a revolting name, for a vagina. Who thinks up this nonsense?🙄
Julie Bindell has written an article for the DM:
"As holes go, they are arguably the most important in the world. Every man and woman ever to have lived – except those born by caesarean section – has sprung forth into this world from one.
And yet a charity dedicated to women's health, Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust, is suggesting that the word 'vagina' could be referred to as the 'bonus hole' to avoid offending or excluding trans men or 'non-binary' people.
As a feminist campaigner, I am appalled. I've spent time over the decades trying to raise awareness among women about our bodies.
I've encouraged women to unlearn the shame associated with our biology.
So the idea that we should stop referring to the vagina by its name is grossly offensive.
I grew up absorbing the message that our bodies were dirty.
We would use euphemisms to describe its parts, because 'vagina' and even 'breast' were considered unpleasant.
I recall, back in the Eighties, buying tampons only to have the shopkeeper quickly put the box in a brown paper bag as if it were a porn magazine. But we feminists learned to take pride in our physical form.
I would shake the tampons out of the bag to make the point that I was not ashamed of menstruating. After all, it's a reality for half the population.
It's worth noting that this form of McCarthyite censorship is reserved for descriptions of female anatomy only. That's why this is nothing short of misogyny.
There is no such suggestion, of course, to swap words that men use to describe their biology.
Perhaps, to be fair, we should change 'penis' to 'flesh roll' to avoid offending trans women? I'm sure men won't object. Just a thought."
www.dailymail.co.uk/columnists/article-12278639/JULIE-BINDEL-says-womens-health-charity-guilty-short-misogyny-again.html
You’re right to question the impact of porn on the attitude of t-young men MOnica. There’s also the impact on girls who are led to believe strangulation, slapping and unsafe painful sexual practices are ‘normal’
There was a report published this week (I have searched but cannot find it) discussing the effect of teenagers, especially boys, watching porn onine and on their phones. The boys admitted that it affected their relationships with girls and what they expected, even while seeming to understand the exploitative nature of porn.
Reading the report on McDonalds, where both order fulfillers and the first couple of grades of supervisory staff are likely to still be in teens/early 20s, I do wonder the extent to which this diet of porn has led men, young and older, to see physical sexual aggression to women, as far more normalised behaviour than it was in the past.
When I and many many other women in the 1960s and 70s were confidently walking into what had been a mans world of careers and career progression and equality in so many areas, that the male fight back should come, through, then unknown new technology that would be to reduce us to no more than a physical kit of parts exclusively for male use and, as with part of the transgender movement to show how men could be women if they wanted too, thus demeaning us further, was beyond our wildest fears.
There was a very disturbing report on BBC Breakfast this morning about the abuse of young women working in McDonald's franchises.
Being grabbed and groped, some as young as 17 who despite reporting incidents, no action was taken. I agree that the link to child abuse with the casual abuse of women is an important one that needs to be acknowledged.
My DIL is adamant that all children should use anatomically correct terms so in the event of abuse, they can correctly identify where they were touched. Defence lawyers will try to confuse children in the court room so it is imperative that they cannot be tripped up to allow reasonable doubt to creep in.
The only place I remember as being "groping territory", years ago, was the London Underground.
People were packed in, and it led to many episodes of a stray hand appearing out of nowhere...🙄
MOnica is right to link the increasing sexual abuse of children to the casual abuse of women. The treatment and expectations of women in some reality tv shows normalises this.
Sadly, it doesn't surprise me. I have been thinking this for some time, but without any evidence to support it - and for the same reason.
I think the same applies to casual abuse of women. I spent most of my working life in a male environment and never experienced the quite gross sexual attacks that many women in the public eye have suffered, no one ever grabbed my breasts for example. Yes, the odd surreptious grope, standing so that they could try and stare down my dress. double entendres and, sometimes, quite gross remarks, but physical attacks, while not unknown were far less common for the same reasons.
Yes I agree Oreo!
Good point (if rather depressing) Iam
Slightly off piste but relevant. Research today confirms what I’ve long believed. Child sexual abuse is increasing. Yes, more are reporting but the research is clear, it’s increasing. Easy access to images and videos on line is causing some who started looking at images to find children to abuse.
It’s relevant because this bonus hole is yet another name with the potential to confuse children. If they’re being interviewed under best practice, they will be expected to identify the what when and were. When delivering training we identified multiple names, daisy, noonoo, flower etc etc.
Well, despite this lunacy, the government are taking action over prisons:
"Justice chiefs are clamping down on the number of transgender criminals caged in women's jails amid fresh concerns over prisoner safety.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has tightened up its rules on transgender inmates in England and Wales in the wake of the Isla Bryson scandal, with at least two trans prisoners having now been moved to men's jails or special trans wings.
It comes after sexual predator Bryson was sent to an all-female prison when she was convicted of raping two women while still a man.
A Government review has now said transgender women convicted of sex offences or jailed for murder and other violent crimes like kidnapping or attempted murder, pose a safety risk to other female inmates.
'We've changed the rules so transgender women who've been convicted of sexual or violent offences – or who retain male genitalia – cannot be held in a women's prison unless in truly exceptional circumstances,' a Government spokesman told the Telegraph.
'This Government is clear that biological sex matters and our common sense approach means well over 90 per cent of transgender women in custody are held in men's prisons,' the official added."
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12306317/Transgender-prisoners-moved-womens-jails-amid-protect-female-inmates.html
Doctors and nurses over the years have heard many and various names for all parst of the human anatomy and, ribably come across new ones frequently.
They will handle it should someone come into the surgery using this term.
A health professional wouldn’t know what someone was referring to, that’s the point.
Surely they would because they would though because they would be given the heads up first when the phrase came into usage with medical professionals.
Lathyrus
A health professional wouldn’t know what someone was referring to, that’s the point. Even if a lot of people used a term to mean one thing, it wouldn’t mean that the next person you saw meant that
My bonus hole could mean several different things to different people, especially if they weren’t sure if their own anatomy. As a professional you’d have to clarify exactly what bit they were referring to. It’s not unknown for women to believe the discomfort of a urinary infection is a problem in their vagina and complain of irritation there.
Other problems are the misconceptions that arise when euphemistic words are used. Hole for instance. It’s not a hole in any sense of the word. It’s not a gap in anything as in a hole in my stocking or an space with a closed end. You can’t stitch it up without consequences to the your health. It leads to other organs and you can’t rely on being able to take out anything that you might put in.
A medical organisation really, really shouldn’t be promoting terms like these.
A health professional wouldn’t know what someone was referring to, that’s the point. Even if a lot of people used a term to mean one thing, it wouldn’t mean that the next person you saw meant that.
👏👏👏
A health professional wouldn’t know what someone was referring to, that’s the point. Even if a lot of people used a term to mean one thing, it wouldn’t mean that the next person you saw meant that
My bonus hole could mean several different things to different people, especially if they weren’t sure if their own anatomy. As a professional you’d have to clarify exactly what bit they were referring to. It’s not unknown for women to believe the discomfort of a urinary infection is a problem in their vagina and complain of irritation there.
Other problems are the misconceptions that arise when euphemistic words are used. Hole for instance. It’s not a hole in any sense of the word. It’s not a gap in anything as in a hole in my stocking or an space with a closed end. You can’t stitch it up without consequences to the your health. It leads to other organs and you can’t rely on being able to take out anything that you might put in.
A medical organisation really, really shouldn’t be promoting terms like these.
I don't think it's necessary either - but if I was a health professional I might like to know what someone was referring to! 
lovebc Couldn’t agree more. Well said
I think the description 'bonus hole' is deeply offensive IMHO. An alternative to the perfectly acceptable word 'vagina' is not necessary at all.
We’ll have to disagree on this one. I don’t think anyone should be encouraged to use made up words for body parts when consulting medically.
I think it’s important for people to understand their bodies and be able to explain to medical staff exactly where the problem is and to understand exactly what bit of their body is being referred to and assessed for treatment.
A problem with vaginal bacteria is just that. It’s bacteria that only exist in the vagina and requires specific treatment.
Cancer if the cervix is a cancer that requires precise treatment. Cancer of a bonus hole? What would that mean?
And I do think, trans or natal, that using coy words for vagina etc contains within it an element of shame.
Lathyrus all words start somewhere.
As I said in thread "bonus hole" has been used for ages in this community.
It's not a term to displace vagina.
I really thought this had also been explained.
That would work👍
Misogynistic?
Well there isn’t a different anatomical word. Anatomy is precise if you are dealing with medical matters.
Privately people use all kinds of very non-specific terms and actually quite often ( especially with female anatomy) don’t really understand which bit they are referring to vagina, labia, cervix etc The ignorance of the female body and the shame that leads to it being called by twee euphemisms is known to lead misdiagnosis and dismissal of symptytgst are expressed in inaccurate terms.
Redressing that is an enormous issue, so for a Charity that purports to be promoting women’s health to use made up words is - actually I can’t think of the right word. Unhelpful. Ridiculous. Dangerous.
I should imagine there is a huge number of people who don't use the anatomical words out there. Along with the people who are embarrassed by them, regardless of gender, there are people who just don't use those terms because of a lack of education/decorum, etc, and that is fine if the medics understand them. I can see why a biological woman living as a man may find a "feminine" anatomical word an anathema (similarly gender neutral people) but I am sure there must be a more suitable "medical" word which could be used for those who have such difficulty over the parts they were born with. It is about being respectful to women and respectful to those who don't feel they are women.
My understanding is that it is an actual vagina that a female wishing to live as a man has retained. Just like a man wishing to live as a woman might retain his penis and testes.
In which case vagina, penis and testes are all the anatomical words needed.
Adults needing coy baby words for organs of sexual development just leads to confusion.
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