Transgender people use a variety of terms to refer to their genitals and other sexually dimorphic body parts and bodily functions. While some may use the standard clinical and colloquial terms (e.g. penis, dick; vagina, pussy), others follow neologistic approaches. These replacement words serve as alternatives to existing names that may conflict with a person's gender identity and trigger gender dysphoria. In medical contexts, providers may use traditional clinical terms, may mirror patients' preferred terms, or may use alternate terms such as internal genitals and external gonads.
Common approaches include using terms associated with analogous body parts (e.g. penis for a clitoris or vice versa), modifying conventional terms to mark for gender (e.g. or ), and novel terms that do not relate to existing terminology (e.g. for a vagina). Some words are humorous, like hen for a transfeminine penis (contrast cock) or chesticles for a transmasculine breast.
The naming of body parts is an important component of transgender sexuality. Trans people may pick different words for different contexts. In both colloquial and medical contexts, experts emphasize deferring to individual preference.
Context
Prior to the 2010s, there was little research on the social aspects of transgender bodies. Elijah Adiv Edelman and Lal Zimman's 2014 article "Boycunts and Bonus Holes: Trans Men's Bodies, Neoliberalism, and the Sexual Productivity of Genitals" observed that while scholarly literature often cast transgender men as "female-bodied",, referencing . trans men—including those non-operative with respect to bottom surgery—had increasingly come to see themselves as male-bodied., citing . Edelman and Zimman associate this shift with trans men's willingness to refer to their genitals with both male and female terms, sometimes at the same time.. Quoting, by way of example, a Craigslist personal ad: you're wondering what this transman has to offer ... / You get to play with a trannie cock ... / Testosterone tightened up my cunt a little, which provides a cozy ride" (pp. 684–685). Often, from this perspective, the difference between a cisgender man's penis and a non-operative transgender man's clitoris is merely one of size, not of kind.
Replacement words for body parts vary widely, and almost none approaches the currency of the word it replaces: In a 2021 study of transgender, nonbinary, and gender-expansive people, only two replacement words (chest for breasts and cum for sperm) were used by more than 50% of respondents, while 23% of the replacement words and phrases provided were unique.
Terms also exist to differentiate cisgender body parts without othering transgender parts, for instance factory-direct dick to refer to a cisgender man's penis.
Colloquial terminology
Many trans people refer to body parts with words for comparable cross-sex body parts based on (the finding of "sufficient similarity") with those body parts. For instance, some transfeminine people choose to refer to their anuses as vaginas, pussies, or cunts. Some transmasculine people refer to their clitorises as a dick or cock. Hybrid terms also exist: Dicklet (also diclit, dicklit, or dic-clit). . is attested since the 1990s for transmasculine clitorises, although the popularity of this term was waning due to it being perceived as too feminine at the time that Zimman documented its usage in 2014.. single individual in my data who used the word dic-clit was only just reconnecting with trans communities after a long period of absence—which took place precisely during the time that this shift [away from the term] occurred. His use of dic-clit [in an online forum] was quickly objected to by a commenter who found the blend inappropriately feminizing, writing that 'there is no reason to use female terms to refer to trans men, pre-[testosterone] or not.' The movement among trans speakers away from dic-clit and toward dick has occurred in lockstep with the growing tendency for trans men to describe themselves as male-bodied, and with the diminishing acceptance of describing non-trans men as biological men, a term that occurred only once in my data despite its relative prominence among trans people in the past."
More colorful terms include bussy for the anus; , (contrast strapon), or (contrast ) for the transfeminine penis; , or for the transmasculine vagina; and for the transmasculine breast.. . Generic euphemistic terms are also used, such as down there, , and for transmasculine genitals and for transfeminine.. .
Some trans people are less uncomfortable with their body or do not associate their sexually dimorphic body parts with their gender assigned at birth.. . For instance, in contrast to a cisnormative definition of vagina as belonging to a woman, a transmasculine person might use the term to refer simply to that structure without gendered connotations, either on its own or in constructions such as or (somewhat humorously) . Similarly, a transfeminine person might refer to a . The transmasculine usage of slang terms for the penis and the transfeminine girl-prefixed variants are observed particularly, but not exclusively, among those undergoing gender-affirming hormone therapy, which changes the appearance and function of sex organs.Variously: Defining both girlcock and girldick as "a transfeminine person’s penis, especially one changed by hormone use". . "My suggestion is that this is part of a broader tendency among trans men to use vernacular—rather than medical—'male' language when talking about their (usually hormonally-enlarged) phalluses. To account for this fact, it seems to me important to remember the way that many trans men invoke scientific discourses to legitimate their emphasis on the continuum between penises and clitorises, as I have discussed. Some of these individuals may not be willing to dismiss scientific and medical authority all together, and might feel that claiming a penis, rather than a dick, is a riskier assertion, open to rebuttal from authoritative sources."
Trans people use such terms as part of expressing their sexuality. Replacement words can serve as a micro-affirmation of a partner's identity during sex, as this can be an environment of heightened gender dysphoria. The wellness guide Trans Bodies, Trans Selves advises, "Find language that makes you feel good, use it, share it with [sex] partners, and have fun." + Attested replacement words Anus , bussy, , , , Breast and chestbreasts or chest, Clitoris cock,. dangle, dick, dicklet (also diclit, dicklit or dic-clit), package, peepee, penis, prick, schlong, the little guy, weenie Inguinal canals , citing , regarding muffing. Menstruation , Penis or clitoris,. . . . click,. , . ,. , junk, , , , Vagina , ,. . , boy snatch, ,. . . . genitals, , , Uterus duderus
This list encompasses only those terms that differ from those used by cisgender people. In Ragosta et al.'s 2021 study, the majority of respondents sometimes or always used the clinical term, and many used slang synonyms, such as using cunt instead of vagina.
Medical terminology Although some medical authorities recommend mirroring the terminology transgender people use to describe their own genitals, this can seem unfittingly intimate, as many transgender people use different terms in medical contexts than they would in personal settings; however, patients may also be uncomfortable with anatomical terms they perceive as gendered.Variously:
. "An issue with mirrored language is that if people create names for their genitals, those names are much more likely to be names they use with intimate partners, not medical providers." . "For others, using clinical language is most comfortable because we feel it describes the body part that we have, not the gender we are. ... Whatever we want to call our body parts is up to us. You might want to use different words in different contexts. Talking to medical providers and talking to lovers may call for different communication styles." . TGE respondents noted that the term 'vagina' was either 'too clinical' or that they would only use 'vagina' in a medical context. ... For 'period', [one] wrote, 'I use both; "period" to doctors that don’t understand transgender, or use "shark week." Specialists recommend using, or being open to using, sex-neutral terms for organs, such as external genitals or lateral folds for the labia, internal reproductive organs for the uterus and ovaries, and chest for the breasts. Others recommend terminology that can be used to refer to genitals regardless of sex, such as erectile tissue for either the penis or clitoris and gonads for either the ovaries or testes, as well as using unlabeled anatomical charts.. .
Style guides such as the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association and AMA Manual of Style recommend using gender-neutral language and distinguishing between gender and biological sex, but do not give guidance on specific anatomical terminology. However, some specialist style guides such as that of the International Lactation Consultant Association do give recommendations in this respect. + Medical terminology Breastsupper body, chest. . Vaginainternal genitals genitals Peniserogenous tissue, erectile tissue,. glans (specifically for the head of the penis)external genitals or external genitalia. . Clitoris Labialateral folds Vulvaexternal genital area, external pelvic area, external pelvic region Vaginal introituscanal, introitus, opening, opening of the genitals Uterusinternal reproductive organs. Ovariesinternal gonadsgonads Testiclesexternal gonads Scrotum pouch covering gonads, skin covering gonads Breastfeedingchestfeeding Breast milkhuman milk, parent's milk, chest milk Biological mothergestational parent, birthing parent Menstruationmonthly bleeding Erectionphysical arousal, hardening of erectile tissues Male pattern baldnesshair loss
Notes
References
Citations
Sources