can i call my vulva a penis? (or words similar to it)

[SillyMcGoof_]

hi! this is a bit of an extension of a previous post i made. basically i’ve been trying to find different terms for my anatomy that give me more gender euphoria. one of the terms i’ve thought about is penis, and the other words for penises.

in regards to that, i wanted to ask a few questions and address some concerns i have relating to it.

1) to put it bluntly, can i do that? can i call my (what technically is a) vulva a penis even though i *technically* dont have one?

2) related to the previous question, i guess i feel this sense of guilt? because like idk calling my anatomy a term that isn’t technically my anatomy makes me feel a bit guilty for some reason.

3) im worried that if i do call my genitals those things, that it’ll confuse people and make me have to over explain things

idk hopefully this all makes sense bc its pretty hard to explain how i feel. i know that if i did call my genitals a penis that it would make me feel more comfortable and give me gender euphoria but i guess for all these reasons and probably more i feel a bit hesitant. mainly because of anxiety and probably internalized transphobia but yeah. any advice/answers for all this?

thanks!!

[Sam W]

Hi SillyMcGoof_,

The short answer is: yes. You get to refer to your body parts in the way that makes you feel most comfortable or euphoric. There's a long tradition of trans folks using words for their body parts that aren't "technically" accurate, but are affirming to them and their gender.

The longer answer is that this is one of those times where it's important to differentiate between an individual ask an a society level one. You're not demanding that vulva and penis be used as interchangeable terms by everyone; you're just saying that for you, personally, this is the word you'd prefer to describe that area of your body.

As far as causing confusion, I can only really think of a few times you'd even need to clarify what you meant. One would be in some medical contexts, like dealing with a yeast infection or UTI, where saying "vulva" from the get-go might expedite the process. Another is with a sexual partner, but honestly conversations about what is/isn't okay to call certain body parts is an important part of sexual communication for anyone, not just trans folks. Does that make sense?

[SillyMcGoof_]

ok yeah that makes sense!!! thank you! :)

would i for example be allowed to call my genitals my penis here in posts, or would that be to confusing?

[Sam W]

You're welcome!

I think since we have context for it, including the post you made here, that'd be totally fine!

[SillyMcGoof_]

ok cool!!