At last people are beginning to wake up to what I’ve been saying for many years: we would all be healthier (mentally and physically) if we were OK with talking about body parts, bodily functions and sexuality.

In a Guardian article last week Nicola Heath says Our collective reluctance to say “vagina” shrouds women’s bodies – and their sexuality – in shame. The article goes on to say:

How are women supposed to talk about their health or sexuality if the anatomically correct words used to describe their body parts are taboo?
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A 2015 survey in the UK revealed that 66% of women aged 18 to 24 avoided going to the doctor to talk about gynaecological issues altogether.
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[Doctors] have to spend valuable consultation time trying to get [women] to specify which bit of their genitalia they are [actually] talking about.
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Our unwillingness to correctly label female anatomy contributes to other problems, including a “pleasure gap” that sees men’s sexual needs prioritised over women’s.
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[T]eachers admitted they were willing to say the word “penis” and talk about male masturbation, but none were comfortable talking about vaginas and female pleasure in the same way.
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It’s also essential for kids to know how to talk about their bodies. Sexual health educators argue that teaching children anatomically correct terms for their body parts – genitals included – helps reduce shame and gives them the language they need …
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So, familiarise yourself with the correct terms for the human body’s reproductive bits … After all, knowledge is power.

And actually also because this is in everyone’s interest.