Jerking off, shagging, jacking off – we have plenty of euphemisms for masturbation for guys. But when we talk about masturbation and women, there are little or no words to describe this need.
When we talk about women’s sexuality, dialogues become whispers and necessity becomes a ‘bad’ habit.
To get people to start talking openly about masturbation, the Swedish Association for Sexual Education (RFSU) launched a contest asking people to come up with a word to address female masturbation last November. After receiving a series of responses, the word that has made the cut is Klittoris. Klittoris was chosen because it “highlights the importance of the clitoris for pleasure”. Other suggestions included words like pulla and selfa.
“Historically, women’s sexuality, and not least female masturbation has been a taboo. Women are not expected to have desires and be turned on in the same way as men, which is reflected in the lack of words [for masturbation],” an RFSU spokesperson told The Local.
While women the world over are celebrating the feat, some are worried if this will only alienate men from the cause that feminism stands for. Do we really need a set of jargon exclusively for women doing the same things that men do? Will Klittoris make masturbation for women a more open and ‘normal’ process? We leave it on you to decide.