I am interested in what others have to say about this topic, too. This is
the third quarter that we have had a specific health literacy class where I
work. I taught one the first quarter and found that it was sometimes
difficult to use or teach words associated with body functions or specific
male or female body parts, even when it was in the context of helping people
fill out forms. We could discuss in general like urinary tract infection,
breast cancer, prostate cancer, cervical cancer etc. But to discuss
specifics in terms of body parts associated with them was another story.
People very quickly switched to common slang terms or said something like
"you know, your junk".
However, for another job where one of my tasks was to interview students
about their classes, there were a couple of instances where students told me
that they were glad that they got to learn the real names of some body parts
(those were not health literacy classes and I am not sure how specific body
parts got). So, I do think that students might appreciate learning the
appropriate words and when to use them. I am thinking, though, that this
might be one of those times when we should separate classes based on gender,
or maybe just offer workshops that would be separated by gender. I am not
necessarily saying that the topics would have to stay gender specific, but I
do think it would be a more comfortable, especially for women.
ryan



On 7/18/08 12:12 PM, "Daphne Greenberg" <ALCDGG at langate.gsu.edu> wrote:


> In the past, we have talked on this discussion list how the word "vagina"

> seems to be a taboo word in our society, and that this taboo creates

> discomfort in health literacy classes when it is necessary and appropriate at

> times to discuss the vagina. A word that is even less frequently mentioned is

> "vulva." In fact, many of us don't even know what the vulva is. The vulva is

> the word that is used to label all of the external female genitalia, such as

> the labia and the clitoris. It is not the same as the vagina which is the

> internal structure. Harriet Lerner in Lilith, Spring 2005, page 30 writes:

> 

> "The persistent misuse of the word 'vagina' impairs a girl's capacity to

> develop an accurate and differentiated 'map' of her internal and external

> genitals. And if sexual violations occur in childhood, inaccurate labeling

> increases shame and complicates healing."

> 

> Do you any of you teach health literacy classes? How easy is it for you and

> your students to use accurate terminology to label female body parts?

> 

> Daphne

> 

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