Over Half Of Men Are Uncomfortable Talking About Their Partner's Vagina

Has your boyfriend ever struggled uttering the words, “vagina,” “pussy,” “cunt,” “vulva” etcetera, instead opting for one of the hundreds of vulva euphemisms like, “hoo-ha” or the frankly pathetic “down there”? According to a telling new survey, he's definitely not alone.

The survey, published by the UK gynecological cancer charity The Eve Appeal, shows that only one in five of the 2000 male participants feel confident enough to mention a change in their partner's vagina, and more than half of them aren't comfortable discussing gynecological health at all. WTF, guys?

Of course, the lack of men's literacy surrounding the vag doesn't come as too much of a surprise – I mean, it's 2018, and still, many of them are totally confused by the clit. Then there's the distinction between the vulva and the vagina – in case you didn't know, the vulva is the external part of our genital system, which includes the labia majora and minora, the clit, the mons pubis, the urethral opening and the opening of the vagina, whilst the vagina itself is simply the internal muscular canal that connects the vulva to the uterus. How about that for a bite-sized anatomy lesson?

Beholding your partner's embarrassment and general lack of knowledge is all fun and games, until a) they don't know how the fuck to actually give you an orgasm, and b) more seriously, don't know your parts well enough to tell you if something's changed. "It's really concerning. Women need to be having this conversation with the men they share their bodies with," says Dr Tracie Miles, a gynecological cancer specialist nurse at the Eve Appeal to Broadly. "It's an age-old taboo, but boyfriends and husbands are really well-placed to help identify early warning signs of gynecological cancers and other sexual health issues," she adds. Twenty-one percent of men aged 18-44 said [the conversation] was “too embarrassing,” while just 17 percent felt they had a good understanding of how their partner's vagina works.

It seems it falls to us girls to open the initial conversation and start openly talking about our bodies with our partners to make them feel at ease in the conversation. If “vagina” still makes them coy, maybe you could even choose your own euphemism – what ultimately matters is that the conversation still takes place. Since we're probably not going to be looking at our vulvae as much as our men, let's actively encourage them to keep their eyes open for any potential changes – and there's definitely no need to kill the mood, the cuddly period after sex is a great time to be open about sexual health.