Euphemisms in English Everyday Discourse Eufemismy V anglickém jazykovém prostředí

2.1.1 Naming of Women’s Private Parts 
“Honestly, I was taken aback. I grew up in the UK as part of the Somali diaspora, 
and I’d assumed the people of Jijiga would not be ready for 
vulva
cupcakes.” 
(Hussein, 2017)
“On 31 January I answered a problem from a reader asking what to call her 
daughter’s 
genitals
– something that wasn’t too twee, euphemistic or overly 
anatomical.” 
(Barbieri, 2009) 
“Ensler, a successful playwright, was surprised by the contempt with which a 
menopausal friend talked about her 
vagina
.”
(Gardner, 1999)
There are many ways of calling women private parts. One can refer to it by 
using clinical expressions as in the examples above. These words are usually of 
Greek-Latin origin and do not soften or conceal the real meaning as it provides the 
technical terms and therefore they are understood in a neutral or straightforward 
way. 

---

31 
“Patients round here do use the term 
‘privates’
or 
‘private parts’
or 
‘down 
below’
, but I agree these are more suited to adults than to small children.” 
(Barbieri, 2009)
Privates 
or 
private parts
seem to be very popular and commonly used 
euphemism in press. It is of a foreign origin, and its meaning is rather general as 
we do not name the organs properly but we use hypernym. The certain amount of 
avoidance is apparent, but still these euphemisms do not serve as a means of 
softening or concealing. As they are not too clinical or too twee they occur 
plentifully in medias or in adult’s conversation at a formal level.
On the other hand, 
down below
is purely an English phrase that only stands 
for private parts and it is rather a general term that evades direct naming. 
Although we can use it when speaking with a gynaecologist or any other 
physician it is considered less formal but still without any heavy colouring.
“On reflection, the fact that he recognised the icing decoration as vulvas was 
good – many men and women don’t know what women’s genitals look like. I hope 
he enjoyed eating those red velvet 
pussies
.“ (Hussein, 2017)
Another way of referring to the woman's genitals is the use of various 
animal names when the most common is 
a pussy
. The word was derived from a 
pussycat and the meaning remains the same. Although this term often serves as 
euphemism it has also its vulgar connotations. Thus, it is extremely important to 
be careful when using it in order to avoid ambiguity. In this case the function of 
this euphemistic alternative is to soften the naming and avoid any neutral or even 
clinical terms. As the connotations of the word are not only gentle but also sexual, 
pussy is not used in children’s talk when referring to women private parts.
 “I am trying to spread the use of the term ‘