As we grow and explore our body parts, we need words to describe them. It is important to learn the proper, scientific names of the part of the body.

The proper names for body parts are the same names used by scientists and health care workers. The proper names, such as “testes” and “vagina,” are technical terms just like “liver,” “lung,” “leg,” and so on.

However, we often learn the slang terms instead. Slang names are words that people use instead of the proper scientific names. Slang name; may also be real words that are used incorrectly. Certain slang words are made by using a word we know in place of one we don’t know.

For example, when people speak of the testes, they may use the slang term “balls.” Another slang word for testes is “huevos,” which means “eggs” in Spanish. Because the testes are round, they may remind us of balls or eggs. Balls or huevos may seem more familiar, easier to remember, and easier to pronounce than “testes.” Another example is that of the slang words “tits” or “titties”—for women’s breasts. An animal’s nipples are properly called “teats.” “Teats” was changed to “tits” and “titties.” Other slang words seem to make no sense. For example, a penis is sometimes called a “Johnson.” We do not know who or what a Johnson is. Or having vaginal intercourse for the first time is often called “losing one’s cherry”—for both women and men. Obviously, there is no cherry or any other fruit inside our sex and reproductive structures. Yet “cherry” has become slang for “hymen.”

Slang is handed down from generation to generation. New slang terms are also created by the pop culture or media in each generation. Slang in one family or community is often different from the slang used in another family or community.

Some women and men agree to use slang during sex play to express and increase their excitement. Otherwise, the slang names of the sex and reproductive organs can create communication problems between men and women, people of different ages, cultures, and economic classes, and people of different professions. There are more slang terms for the sex organs and the sex acts than for any other body part or function. For example, it’s difficult to think of slang terms for “finger,” “toe,” or “elbow.”

Imagine being a doctor or nurse. To understand your patients, you may need to understand all of the slang terms that your patients use. Imagine being a patient who doesn’t understand the words the health care worker is using. A confusing situation for both people! Slang can be a real communication problem.

Respect is another reason to use the correct scientific names of our sex and reproductive organs. The person using a slang term may feel that the word is the right one to use, but the person hearing the term may be offended or hurt. For example, one person may think that “balls” is the right word to use for the testes. Another person may feel that “balls” is a very rude word. Slang names often cause strong negative emotions because many people find them rude, impolite, hurtful, or disrespectful of our own and each others’ bodies.

If using slang creates difficulty in communicating and risks the disrespect of others, why do people still use it?

Slang begins at home when parents and relatives teach a child that a “рее-pee” is a penis, “boobies” are breasts, and a “vaginy” is a vagina. These slang terms may seem harmless at the time. The terms may even seem easier for a young child to say. But learning and using slang continue as a child grows. Soon the child becomes an adult who is using a whole vocabulary of slang expressions that she or he passes on to another generation.

It is important for parents to know that children can easily learn the proper names at an early age. When they grow up, they will hand down to their children the correct names of the sex and reproductive organs. Using proper language can help people better understand their sexuality.

If everyone used the proper names for body parts, there would be fewer problems communicating with each other. No matter what family or community, age, sex, or culture, each person would be using the same terms. More important, when we use the proper names, we are showing respect for our bodies, others’ bodies, and both genders—male and female. Of course, when we use the correct names, we should use them correctly. Many well-educated people, for example, use the word “vagina” when they really mean “vulva.”

Positive Talk and Proud Bodies

The many reasons we have slang tell us something about ourselves. It shows that many of us are not comfortable talking about our bodies—especially our sex and reproductive parts. Slang shows that we may not even know much about our bodies. We create slang to hide our embarrassment. But embarrassment keeps us ignorant. Ignorance keeps us from becoming comfortable with our bodies.

A body is an incredible, fascinating structure. It is normal to want to learn about it. It is normal to ask questions about it. It is normal to be proud of it. Parents, relatives, and friends can help promote greater self-esteem among young children and teens by using the proper names of the sex and reproductive organs.

Talking to children positively about their bodies, puberty, and sexuality helps them develop a positive sexuality. Positive talk replaces embarrassment with pride. It replaces ignorance with knowledge and gives us comfort instead of discomfort. Positive talk also helps children learn to respect the sexuality of others.

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Primary Sex Characteristics

From the first day of our lives, as newborn babies, we have all the major sex organs and structures that we have as adults.

A baby has the same internal and external sex and reproductive organs that an adult does. These characteristics are called primary sex characteristics. We will have the primary sex characteristics with which we are born for the rest of our lives.

Secondary Sex Characteristics

As our bodies grow, our sex organs grow, too. As girls and boys grow, changes will happen to their bodies that make girls look more like women and boys look more like men. These changes happen during puberty and affect our secondary sex characteristics.

Changes That Occur in Puberty

Puberty is a time when hormones stimulate change in all parts of the body. The changes affect what happens to the body on the inside—girls begin to menstruate, and boys begin to produce sperm and ejaculate. The changes affect our bodies on the outside as well. Girls develop breasts, and boys develop facial hair. Every person goes through puberty, but when and “how quickly” puberty and secondary sex characteristics develop are different for every person. Puberty generally lasts for a couple of years.

Puberty doesn’t happen at the same time for girls and boys. Very often, girls begin puberty between the ages of eight and 14. Boys usually begin puberty about two years later, between the ages of 10 and 15.

During puberty, young people of the same age may look very different. In a group of three friends, all age 13, the first may be almost done with puberty, the second may just be starting puberty, and the third may not yet have started. These three people have very different secondary sex characteristics, and they will all be normal. The time puberty begins does not indicate whether children will be bigger or smaller than anyone else when they are adults.

Puberty may be embarrassing for young women and men. The numerous changes our bodies go through may feel awkward. Erections or periods may happen at unwanted times. Breasts may make one feel self-conscious. Sweat may be produced in large amounts. Body odor becomes stronger than it was in childhood. Acne—pimples on the face caused by bacteria and trapped oil—may make one feel unattractive.

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The penis gets a great deal of attention for several reasons:

• It is the most obvious sex organ because it extends out from the body.

• It gets handled often. Every time a boy or man urinates, he handles his penis. The penis is the organ through which urine passes out of the bodies of boys and men.

• The penis is the most sexually sensitive organ in boys and men. From the first moments of sexual excitement, the penis begins to enlarge and stiffen—become erect.

At the height of sexual excitement in adolescent and adult men, a fluid called semen spurts out of the penis.

The penis has two parts: the shaft and the glans. The shaft is the largest part of the penis. It is shaped like a tube. At one end, it is connected to the body; at the other end is the glans— sometimes called the head or tip of the penis. The glans is made up of softer, fleshier tissue than the shaft. It is highly sensitive and can be a source of sexual pleasure. It is equivalent to the clitoris of a woman. There is a small opening at the tip of the glans called the urethral opening. Urine and semen pass out of the man’s body through this opening. The sensitive area of skin that attaches the underside of the glans to the foreskin is called the frenulum.

At birth, all penises have a loose tube of skin called the foreskin that covers the glans. The foreskin protects the glans. Shortly after birth, the foreskin is removed from the penises of some boys. The operation to remove the foreskin is called circumcision. A penis that has no foreskin is called a circumcised penis, and one that has not had the foreskin removed is called uncircumcised.

Circumcision was popularized in the United States during the early part of this century in a misguided effort to decrease masturbation among boys. Religious and cultural beliefs and hygienic concerns are the reasons that parents now have their sons circumcised. The other common reason for circumcision today is that fathers want their sons to look like them.

The foreskin can easily be pulled back to allow a boy or man to urinate or clean himself. It is important to clean under the foreskin; otherwise, smegma forms. Smegma is a sticky, white substance that often has an unpleasant smell. It is formed by oils produced by the body and bacteria that feed on the oil. Proper cleaning of the glans and shaft of the penis is important.

The inside of the penis is made up of the urethra and two tissues called the corpus spongiosum and the corpus cavernosa.

The urethra is a very versatile structure within the penis. It is involved with both functions of the penis—urination and ejaculation. It is a long tube that passes from the bladder, through the center of the penis, to the urethral opening. Urine flows from the bladder through the urethra during urination. The male urethra is also connected to the reproductive system. It carries semen through the penis. The spurting of semen from the urethra is called ejaculation.

The shaft of the penis is formed of tissue called the corpus spongiosum and corpus cavernosa. These tissues form caverns and spongy areas. Normally, blood passes through these tissues and around the caverns and spongy areas, which remain empty. During sexual excitement, however, tiny muscles in the tissue relax and open, allowing the caverns and spongy areas to fill up with blood. As these tissues fill with blood, the penis becomes “tumescent.” It gets longer and thicker and becomes less flexible and more stiff. This is called an erection.

When sexual stimulation ends, the muscles close off the emptied caverns from the bloodstream, the erection ends, and the penis softens into its normal flaccid state.

Boys and men are often concerned about the size and shape of their penises. There is no standard penis size, shape, or length. Some are fat and short. Others are long and thin. There is no truth to the idea that a bigger penis is a better penis.

Size has little to do with any reproductive or sexual function. It is true that some people prefer that their partners have a certain size penis. Preferences for penis size can be compared to preferences about height—there are just about as many people who want tall lovers as want short lovers.

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The Sexual Revolution of the 1960s

The 1960s were marked by enormous political and social upheavals. President John F. Kennedy and civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., were assassinated. The Civil Rights Act was passed, the antiwar movement led to mass protests across the country, and the Equal Rights Amendment for women was debated in statehouses across the nation. The increasing availability of contraception allowed women and men to seek sexual pleasure with decreased fear of unintended pregnancy. A new “singles” culture developed among young people, and marriage was no longer seen as the only option in women’s lives.

Second-Wave Feminists: The Women’s Movement of the 1960s and 1970s

Since the beginning of the century, women had gained the right to vote, they were more competitive in the workplace, and they had made many strides in gender equality. But American culture remained dominated by men. Women’s share in positions of political and economic power was still small. In 1966, Betty Friedan founded the National Organization for Women to support the Equal Rights Amendment, end sexist discrimination in the workplace, and make abortion safe and legal.

Women began to meet in consciousness-raising groups to talk about sexism, gender roles, and the oppression of women. Out of this work came the understanding that “the personal is political”—that the sexual double standard, motherhood, and marriage had become elements in a system of gender roles that made women subordinate to men.

Women of the 1960s demanded the right to control their own bodies and broke the silence that concealed the crimes of rape, sexual abuse, and domestic violence. Hundreds of women’s groups and organizations were formed focusing on issues from pornography to prostitution, from lesbian rights to sexual pleasure, from child support to domestic violence.

Black Feminism

African-American feminists found unacceptable levels of sexism in the often male-centered civil rights, Black Nationalist, and Black Panther movements. Many also felt excluded from the mainstream women’s movement. In 1973, Audre Lorde and other black feminists formed the National Black Feminist Organization to address the combined effects of oppression related to race, gender, class, and sex-al orientation. In recent years, the black feminist movement has generated a variety of organizations that address specific concerns of the African-American community.

Third-Wave Feminists

For many young women, the term “feminist” has become suspect. Many, however, still speak out for increased gender equality and for the recognition of the many other problems women yet face in our culture. The 1990s ushered in a new era of young feminists. Rebecca Walker founded an organization for young feminists called Third Wave. Diversity is the hallmark of this chapter in the history of the women’s movement. It addresses the dynamics of ethnic, racial, class, and sexual diversity.

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Soldiers, away from home, want sex. That’s why sex workers flock to military camps. During World War I, sexually transmitted infections among soldiers were viewed as undermining the efficiency of the military. At home and abroad, soldiers lost nearly 7 million days of work as sick days because of sexually transmitted infections. Infection was also seen as a moral issue.

The Committee on Training Camp Activities was formed a few days after Congress declared war in 1917. It provided recreation to keep off-duty soldiers busy so that they would not succumb to sexual temptations. The committee also provided sex education for the soldiers. The teachers used fear tactics and advocated abstinence. Condoms were not discussed. Of all the soldiers in Europe during World War I, Americans had the highest rates of infection. They were the only ones who were forbidden the use of condoms.

Social hygienists volunteered to aid the committee’s moral reform effort. They urged soldiers to avoid infection for the good of their country and to protect the virtuous women at home from infection.

A law enforcement division of the committee was also formed to clear prostitutes out of cities near military camps. Most cities in America had “red-light districts” of brothels in which sex workers entertained customers. The committee closed these districts all across the country. Despite the shutdown, rates of infection remained unchanged. Sex workers simply moved to other neighborhoods. As brothels were closed, working the streets became common, and the risk of violence against prostitutes increased.

Although prostitutes were working-class women with few other employment options, many were stigmatized and blamed for the spread of infection and moral decay Men who hired them, however, were neither arrested nor blamed.

As brothels near military bases closed, soldiers turned to young women who were hanging around looking for excitement, adventure, and love. Soon these young women were being called promiscuous and blamed for infection rates among the soldiers. Public health campaigns were mounted that suggested it was women’s responsibility not to arouse the passions of men. Health messages suggested that “easy” women were usually infected and were not trustworthy.

Treatment centers, called prophylaxis stations, were set up in the camps to kill any infection a soldier might pick up before it got into his bloodstream. The social hygienists disapproved. They thought prophylaxis encouraged soldiers to have “illicit” sexual contacts.

Soldiers were supposed to be treated within three hours of sexual intercourse. Unsanitary conditions, long waiting lines, and embarrassment discouraged many of them. A man had to urinate, then wash his genitals and have them inspected by an attendant. The attendant injected a liquid solution into the penis that the man had to hold in his urethra for five minutes. He wasn’t to urinate for four or five hours after expelling it.

To encourage prophylaxis, men were threatened with court-martial if they became infected. Their pay was docked as well.

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• GAMES FOR HYSTERICAL COUPLES – GAME 5: TALK DIRTY TO ME (INTRODUCTION)
• GAMES FOR DEPRESSED COUPLES – GAME 4: HOPELESS SEX (PART 3)
• GAMES FOR PASSIVE-AGGRESSIVE COUPLES – GAME 3: NUDE HAMLET (PART 1)
• GAMES FOR BORED COUPLES – GAME 1: SEDUCTION SURPRISE (BY THE WIFE) (PART 3)
• JUNK SEX VS. LOVING SEX – INTRODUCTION
• PROSTATITIS
• GENITAL ANATOMY: SCROTUM
• PROSTATE CANCER
• MALE ANATOMY: PENIS
• BENIGN PROSTATIC HYPERPLASIA (BPH)