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{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
|+Medical terminology<ref>{{harvnb|Edwards|2021|pp=165–167}}. {{harvnb|Rider|Caso|Czech|Karasic|2022|p=4}}. {{harvnb|Trans Care BC|n.d.}}, {{harvnb|Dinour|2019|pp=5–8}}.</ref>
|+Medical terminology<ref>{{harvnb|Edwards|2021|pp=165–167}}. {{harvnb|Rider|Caso|Czech|Karasic|2022|p=4}}. {{harvnb|Trans Care BC|n.d.}}, {{harvnb|Dinour|2019|pp=5–8}}.</ref>
! scope="col" | Term
⚫
![[Breast|Breasts]]
! scope="col" | Replacement(s)
|-
⚫
! scope="row" | [[Breast|Breasts]]
| colspan="2" |''upper body'', ''chest''
| colspan="2" |''upper body'', ''chest''
|-
|-
![[Clitoris]]
! scope="row" | [[Clitoris]]
| rowspan="2" |''erogenous tissue'', ''erectile tissue''
| rowspan="2" |''erogenous tissue'', ''erectile tissue''
| rowspan="3" |''external genitals''
| rowspan="3" |''external genitals''
|-
|-
![[Penis]]
! scope="row" | [[Penis]]
|-
|-
![[Labia]]
! scope="row" | [[Labia]]
|''lateral folds''
|''lateral folds''
|-
|-
![[Vulva]]
! scope="row" | [[Vulva]]
| colspan="2" |''external genital area''
| colspan="2" |''external genital area''
|-
|-
![[Uterus]]
! scope="row" | [[Uterus]]
| colspan="2" |''internal reproductive organ''
| colspan="2" |''internal reproductive organ''
|-
|-
![[Vagina]]
! scope="row" | [[Vagina]]
| colspan="2" |''internal genitals''
| colspan="2" |''internal genitals''
|-
|-
![[Vaginoplasty|Vaginal openings]]
! scope="row" | [[Vaginoplasty|Vaginal openings]]
| colspan="2" |''opening of the genitals''
| colspan="2" |''opening of the genitals''
|-
|-
![[Ovary|Ovaries]]
! scope="row" | [[Ovary|Ovaries]]
|''internal gonads''
|''internal gonads''
| rowspan="2" |''gonads''
| rowspan="2" |''gonads''
|-
|-
![[Testicle|Testicles]]
! scope="row" | [[Testicle|Testicles]]
|''external gonads''
|''external gonads''
|-
|-
![[Breastfeeding]]
! scope="row" | [[Breastfeeding]]
| colspan="2" |''chestfeeding''
| colspan="2" |''chestfeeding''
|-
|-
![[Breast milk]]
! scope="row" | [[Breast milk]]
| colspan="2" |''human milk'', ''parent's milk'', ''chest milk''
| colspan="2" |''human milk'', ''parent's milk'', ''chest milk''
|-
|-
![[Mother|Biological mother]]
! scope="row" | [[Mother|Biological mother]]
| colspan="2" |''gestational parent'', ''birthing parent''
| colspan="2" |''gestational parent'', ''birthing parent''
|-
|-
![[Menstruation]]
! scope="row" | [[Menstruation]]
| colspan="2" |''monthly bleeding''
| colspan="2" |''monthly bleeding''
|-
|-
![[Erection]]
! scope="row" | [[Erection]]
| colspan="2" |''physical arousal'', ''hardening of erectile tissues''
| colspan="2" |''physical arousal'', ''hardening of erectile tissues''
|-
|-
![[Pattern hair loss|Male pattern baldness]]
! scope="row" | [[Pattern hair loss|Male pattern baldness]]
| colspan="2" |''hair loss''
| colspan="2" |''hair loss''
|}
|}

Revision as of 02:20, 2 August 2024

A word cloud of how transmasculine people described their vaginas in the Ragosta et al. study (2021). Size corresponds to frequency of response.

Transgender people use a variety of terms to refer to their genitals and other sexually dimorphic body parts. While some may use the standard clinical and colloquial terms (e.g. penis, dick; vagina, pussy), others follow neologistic approaches. These serve as alternatives to existing names that are more associated with genders they do not identify as, which may trigger gender dysphoria.

Common approaches include using terms associated with analogous body parts (e.g. penis for a clitoris[a] or vice versa), modifying conventional terms to mark for gender (e.g. girldick or boy cunt), and novel terms that do not relate to existing terminology (e.g. strapless for a penis or front hole for a vagina). Some words are humorous, like hen for a transfeminine penis (contrast cock) or chesticles for a transmasculine breast. Trans people may pick different words for different contexts, and word choice is a matter of personal preference. The wellness guide Trans Bodies, Trans Selves advises, "Find language that makes you feel good, use it, share it with [sex] partners, and have fun."[1]

Context

One way many of us show our bodies love is by rewriting the language we use to describe them. Many of us have body parts that feel gendered in ways that do not match our sense of self. This can make it difficult for some of us to hear these body parts called by their standard names.

Trans Bodies, Trans Selves[2]

Prior to the 2010s, there was little research on the social aspects of transgender bodies.[3] Elijah Adiv Edelman and Lal Zimman's article "Boycunts and Bonus Holes: Trans Men's Bodies, Neoliberalism, and the Sexual Productivity of Genitals" reconsidered the matter in the context of transgender men. They observed that while scholarly literature often cast trans men as "female-bodied",[4] trans men—including those non-operative with respect to bottom surgery—had increasingly come to see themselves as male-bodied.[5] Edelman and Zimman associate this shift with trans men's willingness to refer to their genitals with both male and female terms, sometimes at the same time.[6] Often, from this perspective, the difference between a cisgender man's penis and a non-operative transgender man's clitoris is merely one of size, not of kind.[7]

So-called "replacement words" for body parts vary widely, and almost none approaches the currency of the word it replaces: In a 2021 study of transgender, nonbinary, and gender-expansive people, only two replacement words (chest for breasts and cum for sperm) were used by more than 50% of respondents, while 23% of the replacement words and phrases provided were unique.[8]

Terms also exist to differentiate cisgender body parts without othering transgender parts, for instance factory-direct dick to refer to a cisgender man's penis.[9]

Colloquial terminology

A cock and hen. "Hen" is used as wordplay to refer to transfeminine penises, extending from the use of "cock" to mean men's penises.

Many trans people refer to body parts with words for comparable cross-sex body parts based on adequation (the finding of "sufficient similarity") with those body parts.[9] For instance, some transfeminine people choose to refer to their anuses as a vagina, pussy, or cunt. Some transmasculine people refer to their clitorises as a dick or cock.[10] Hybrid terms also exist, such as dicklet (also dicklit or dic-clit), although this term has waned in popularity.[11]

More colorful terms include bussy for the anus, strapless, clit, or hen for the transfeminine penis; front hole, man cave or bonus hole for the transmasculine vagina; and chesticles for the transmasculine breast.[10] Generic euphemistic terms are also used, such as down there, peepee, schlong, and lady bits.[12]

Some trans people are less uncomfortable with their body or do not associate their sexually dimorphic body parts with their gender assigned at birth.[13] For instance, in contrast to a cisnormative definition of vagina as belonging to a woman, a transmasculine person might use the term to refer simply to that structure without gendered connotations, either on its own or in constructions such as boy cunt or (somewhat humorously) mangina.[14] Similarly, a transfeminine person might refer to a girldick or shenis.[15]

Attested replacement words[b]
Term Replacement(s)
Anus back hole,[16] bussy,[16] cunt,[16] man hole,[16] pussy,[16] vagina[10]
Breast and chest[c] breasts or chest,[16] chesticles[16]
Clitoris cock,[17] dangle,[18] dick,[18] dicklet (also dicklit or dic-clit),[11] package,[18] peepee,[18] penis,[18] prick,[18] schlong,[18] the little guy,[18] weenie[18]
Inguinal canals cunts[19]
Menstruation bleeding,[20] shark week[20]
Penis clit or clitoris,[21] girlcock,[22] girldick,[15] hen,[16] junk,[16] lady bits,[15] shenis,[15] strapless,[16] strapoff[16]

(See also Thesaurus:trans woman's penis on Wiktionary.)

Vagina bonus hole,[16] boy cunt,[23] boy pussy,[14] boy snatch,[14] front hole,[24] genitals,[20] mangina,[14] man cave,[16] man cunt[14]

(See also Thesaurus:trans man's vagina on Wiktionary.)

Uterus duderus[20]

This list encompasses only those terms that differ from those used by cisgender people. In Ragosta et al.'s 2021 study, the majority of respondents sometimes or always used the clinical term, and many used slang synonyms, such as using cunt instead of vagina.[20]

Medical terminology

Many transgender people use different terms in medical contexts than they would in personal settings.[25] However, discomfort surrounding terminology can create issues between healthcare providers and transgender patients. Specialists recommend the use of sex-neutral terms for organs, such as external genitals or lateral folds for the labia, internal reproductive organs for the uterus and ovaries, and chest for the breasts. Others recommend terminology that can be use to refer to genitals regardless of sex, such as erectile tissue for either the penis or clitoris and gonads for either the ovaries or testes, as well as using unlabeled anatomy charts.[26]

Medical terminology[27]
Term Replacement(s)
Breasts upper body, chest
Clitoris erogenous tissue, erectile tissue external genitals
Penis
Labia lateral folds
Vulva external genital area
Uterus internal reproductive organ
Vagina internal genitals
Vaginal openings opening of the genitals
Ovaries internal gonads gonads
Testicles external gonads
Breastfeeding chestfeeding
Breast milk human milk, parent's milk, chest milk
Biological mother gestational parent, birthing parent
Menstruation monthly bleeding
Erection physical arousal, hardening of erectile tissues
Male pattern baldness hair loss

Notes

  1. ^ For the sake of clarity, this article uses clinical terminology to refer to all body parts, drawing a use–mention distinction from the colloquial terminology it describes. As documented in this article, many transgender people describe their bodies in the same way.
  2. ^ Not all of these terms have the same level of currency, or may have become dated since their usage was documented. Some may be considered offensive in some or most contexts.
  3. ^ Clinically speaking, both males and females have both a breast and a chest. In colloquial English, however, the former term is more associated with women's breasts and the latter with men's chests.

References

Citations

  1. ^ Hill-Meyer & Scarborough 2014, p. 356.
  2. ^ Hill-Meyer & Scarborough 2014, p. 355.
  3. ^ Edelman & Zimman 2014, p. 676.
  4. ^ Edelman & Zimman 2014, p. 680, referencing Cromwell 1999.
  5. ^ Edelman & Zimman 2014, p. 680, citing Zimman 2014.
  6. ^ Edelman & Zimman 2014, p. 682. Quoting, by way of example, a Craigslist personal ad: "[I]f you're wondering what this transman has to offer ... / You get to play with a trannie cock ... / Testosterone tightened up my cunt a little, which provides a cozy ride" (pp. 684–685).
  7. ^ Edelman & Zimman 2014, p. 682.
  8. ^ Ragosta et al. 2021, p. 709.
  9. ^ a b Zimman 2014, p. 16.
  10. ^ a b c Hill-Meyer & Scarborough 2014, pp. 355–356. Fielding 2021, p. 96.
  11. ^ a b Zimman 2014, pp. 14–15. Fielding 2021, p. 96.
  12. ^ Zimman 2014, p. 15. Duck-Chong 2023.
  13. ^ Hill-Meyer & Scarborough 2014, p. 356. Zimman 2014, p. 17.
  14. ^ a b c d e Zimman 2014, p. 17.
  15. ^ a b c d Duck-Chong 2023.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Fielding 2021, p. 96.
  17. ^ Hill-Meyer & Scarborough 2014, p. 356. Zimman 2014, pp. 14–15
  18. ^ a b c d e f g h i Zimman 2014, pp. 14–15.
  19. ^ Fielding 2021, pp. 94, 96, citing Bellwether 2013, pp. 15–25, regarding muffing.
  20. ^ a b c d e Ragosta et al. 2021, p. 712.
  21. ^ Zimman 2014, pp. 14–15. Steinbock 2017, p. 31. Fielding 2021, p. 96. Duck-Chong 2023.
  22. ^ Steinbock 2017, p. 31.
  23. ^ Zimman 2014, p. 17. Fielding 2021, p. 96.
  24. ^ Hill-Meyer & Scarborough 2014, pp. 355–356. Zimman 2014, pp. 14–15. Fielding 2021, p. 96. Ragosta et al. 2021, p. 712.
  25. ^ Variously:
    • Hill-Meyer & Scarborough 2014, p. 356. "For others, using clinical language is most comfortable because we feel it describes the body part that we have, not the gender we are. ... Whatever we want to call our body parts is up to us. You might want to use different words in different contexts. Talking to medical providers and talking to lovers may call for different communication styles."
    • Edwards 2021, p. 165.
    • Ragosta et al. 2021, pp. 712–713. "[F]ive TGE respondents noted that the term 'vagina' was either 'too clinical' or that they would only use 'vagina' in a medical context. ... For 'period', [one] wrote, 'I use both; "period" to doctors that don’t understand transgender, or use "shark week"'."
  26. ^ Edwards 2021, pp. 165–167. Rider et al. 2022, p. 4.
  27. ^ Edwards 2021, pp. 165–167. Rider et al. 2022, p. 4. Trans Care BC n.d., Dinour 2019, pp. 5–8.

Sources

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