Recently, I read an article in the New York Times about a young medical student, Allison Draper, who is bringing more awareness to a small campaign to change the anatomical terminology for female genitalia. The article chronicles the origins of the word ‘pudendum,’ the medical term for vulva, which comes from the Latin word ‘pudenda’ or ‘pudere’, translated as, and, I kid you not, “(parts) to be ashamed of.” According to the article, the term dates back to the 16thcentury, and was used for both male and female anatomy up until the early 18th century, at which time only the “pudendum femininum’—eventually simply shortened to “pudendum’—remained.
Today, again according to the article, the term and its related cousin ‘pudendal’—as in the pudendal artery, canal and nerve—are found in medical textbooks and used regularly by practitioners all over. Recently, a couple of physicians in Wales were successful in removing ‘pudendum’ from an international dictionary of anatomical terms. But, the use of the word and related terminology remains—something Ms. Draper hopes to change. The article points out this is not about semantics, but about the impact of words on our society. In this particular case, it is about addressing shame as a factor in why women, transgenders and nonbinary people receive poor or delayed healthcare.
Like Ms. Draper, I love words, and am fascinated by their origins. I, too, believe words matter—not only in their meaning, but also in how we use them. I am inspired by Ms. Draper’s desire to understand the origin of the vocabulary she will use in her chosen profession. I am inspired by her courage, as well as that of others, to challenge antiquated terminology—no matter how entrenched—that perpetuates sexist, gender-bias and harmful perspectives. Most of all, I am inspired by the author of this article to open an informed and respectful public dialogue on an important, yet potentially uncomfortable, topic. More of us must be willing to do so if we wish to be catalysts for social change.
Source: Gross, Rachel E. “Taking the ‘Shame Part’ Out of the Female Anatomy,” New York Times, September 21, 2021 - https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/21/science/pudendum-women-anatomy.html
