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"  Vajayjay. Cooch. Cooter. Box. Tra la la. The list of nicknames for our lady parts (there&amp;#039;s another!) is endless, but according to Dr.Logan Levkoff, PhD, these cutesy euphemisms are hurting our sexual confidence, and our ongoing education about our bodies. &amp;quot;The problem with slang terms is they make it sound as if these parts are shameful, or that we shouldn&amp;#039;t feel good about them, says Dr. Levkoff, sexologist and author of Third Base Ain&amp;#039;t What It Used To Be. &amp;quot;And that&amp;#039;s the last thing we want, at any age.&amp;quot;  Dr. Levkoff is a staunch believer in teaching children\u2014right from birth\u2014that anatomical body parts should be called what they are: penis, vagina, vulva, etc. In fact, one of Dr. Levkoff&amp;#039;s biggest pet peeves is the lack of distinction between &amp;quot;vagina&amp;quot;\u2014the canal that connects our uterus to the outside world\u2014and &amp;quot;vulva&amp;quot;\u2014the external genitalia. She points out that many women, of all ages, are referring to their vulva as &amp;quot;vajayja,&amp;quot; a nickname for their internal organ. &amp;quot;The term &amp;#039;vajayjay&amp;#039; is not only just silly, it&amp;#039;s factually incorrect,&amp;quot; says Dr.Levkoff. Here&amp;#039;s looking at you, Oprah, and, once upon a time, the cast of Grey&amp;#039;s Anatomy. Slang like &amp;quot;lady parts&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;vajay&amp;quot; also signal a lack of respect for women&amp;#039;s most intimate parts\u2014the same we use to do vitally important things like have sex, and conceive and deliver our kids. &amp;quot;If we want women to speak up about their bodies, then they need to use these terms because they&amp;#039;re just too important,&amp;quot; says Dr. Levkoff. &amp;quot;You wouldn&amp;#039;t call your elbow some ridiculous slang name.&amp;quot; What of wangs, dicks, and peckers? Yes, there are penile slang terms, but the word &amp;quot;penis&amp;quot; has never been as avoided, or shrouded in slang, as &amp;quot;vagina.&amp;quot; Dr. Levkoff says there is a reason our male counterparts have an easier time with the word &amp;#039;penis&amp;#039; than we&amp;#039;ve ever had with the proper terminology.  &amp;quot;We unfortunately operated throughout history with a very significant double standard when it comes to sex, so we give more information to males about genitals and more freedom for them to explore their bodies,&amp;quot; she explains.  &amp;quot;There have always been a lot of inequalities,&amp;quot; Dr. Levkoff continues. &amp;quot;Not just on how to identify their bodies, but how to speak up and ask for pleasure and protection. If we just have slang or the absence of words, we&amp;#039;re not getting to know our bodies, either.&amp;quot; So call it like it is, guys. Vagina\u2014or bust. Want more stories from Carson? Follow her on Twitter. Photo Credit: lakeforestanatomicals.com "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.cosmopolitan.com/health-fitness/news/a12632/sexologist-vagina-not-vajayjay/>