Euphemisms in English Everyday Discourse Eufemismy V anglickém jazykovém prostředí

1.2.2 Taboos Used When Speaking About Sex and Bodily Effluvia 
Generally, sexual topics are taboo for public display where speaker uses 
figurative language, verbal play or euphemisms in order to avoid a direct naming. It is, 
undoubtedly, that a woman’s body and effluvia are more tabooed rather than the man’s 
one. This thesis is supported by Rawson (2010: 5) who claims that ”there are at about 
650 synonyms for vagina, most of them euphemistic, and about half that number for 
penis.” It follows that speaking about female sexual organ was, in most eras, a subject 
to censorship, which we cannot say about the male’s organ.

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14 
1.2.2.1 Naming Female Sexual Organ
As it is mentioned above, there are hundreds of synonyms for vagina and most 
of them have its euphemistic nature. The names for it differ according to the age of a 
woman and the period she lives in. In other words, a little girl would call her vagina in a 
different way than a teenager or an adult woman. Some names for this female sexual 
part are created on the base of shape and some are just random words sometimes made 
up by a woman itself and in comparison with synonyms for penis, these are softer and 
gentler.
There are also certain areas which serve as a source of inspiration for 
euphemistic naming vagina. One of these fields is fruit and vegetables that provide 
words such as c
abbage
, 
mushroom
, 
split fig, sweet potato pie
or 
papaya
. Animals and 
living creatures are another source of names, e.g. 
kitten, beaver
or 
snail
. Little girls 
usually refer to their vagina as 
half penny, peepee 
or 
cooch
whereas adult women prefer 
to name it with vague euphemisms for instance 
down below, downstairs, middle
or 
private parts
. 
Intouchit, pookalolly pie, the love cavern, squishi
and 
split knish
are 
euphemisms which were created by women and are naturally more colourful and 
playful. Nowadays, it is the naming of the female sexual organ that is affected by 
modern depilation. Thus we refer to it as 
wax line, bikini line
or 
bikini zone
. However a 
modern term 
vag
or 
vaj
is becoming more popular and universally acceptable in the 
society.