Thursday, January 15, 2009

reclaiming the cunt

I have found that a dominant voice in feminist discourse rallies women against using "pejoratives" and "objectifying" terms such as cunt, pussy, beaver, and the like.

I agree that there is merit in abstaining from using such nouns exclusively as insults and therefore asserting that the possession of such a part is in and of itself devaluing. However, this by no means should require that women give up words that slip so easily off the tongue and have such a useful place in everyday vernacular. Just as queer has been reclaimed, so too should the cunt, etc.

Despite the artificial and varying nature of social constructions, it is undeniable that having a vagina has shaped my experience as a human being, as well as the women around me. I therefore find it wholly appropriate that I may reference it as I please, and give it meaning beyond however it is that mainstream heteronormative males demean women by referring to them as orifices, and other men by calling them women.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I am all for reclaiming the word cunt.

While vagina refers to any "sheathlike structure" - meaning a penis is its partner

and vulva means "reproductive tract"- so baby-making is mandatory?

So...while I know that we don't use the word vulva on a regular basis-

Cunt, surprisingly has the least baggage- meaning only genitals.