Besides wanting Newsweek to publish me, I've always wished that magazines would print my letters to the editor. I haven't written a lot, but still; I think that what I have to say offers such brilliant insight (yes, my tongue is firmly planted in my cheek.) that they should print my letters. Now, thanks to the blogisphere, I no longer care, much.
I once wrote a letter to some parenting magazine about their article on what to tell children to call their various genitalia. (Is various the word I want there?) Of course the magazine was all about saying, "Boys have a penis and girls have a vagina." Fine, no cutesy names, no acting embarrassed, whatever. I get all that. I had a different issue altogether and it's been bugging me ever since.
Why is vagina the automatic counterpart to penis? When you are three or four years old, or when ever the heck this comes up, (go for the pun if you must, we'll all wait for you....) what do you most frequently use that area of you anatomy for? To pee, of course. And I don't know about you, but I have never peed with my vagina. Not once. So it seems to me, that when you are little what's more important than a vagina is a urethra. Unfortunately that's a tough one to say, but it is what you pee with and that's what little kids want to know. Grownups should try thinking like little kids every now and than; it's less complicated if nothing else.
2 comments:
I think it's only "various" if your child is a hermaphrodite. (Which none of yours are, as far as I'm aware.) I'd never really given it much thought, but I've never peed with my vagina either. Wouldn't THAT be a party trick? And sort of on the same subject... why are men so proud that they can write their names in the snow? Dude, you're communicating via urine. Ewwww!
i completely agree and have even used the Tonia language version when talking to my kids. sometimes it's nice having preview privledges into Tonia's brain.
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