Karen Jones wants to raise the bar for how guys talk about what they’ve got down below.
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Men—can you please stop using this term for your genitals?
I mean, they’re yours, and you can call them anything you want, but …
… I’m the woman who wants you to pay attention to words, not because of how they impact me, but because of how they impact you.
Junk (from Dictionary.com)
Noun: anything that is regarded as worthless, meaningless, or contemptible; trash.
Verb: to cast aside as junk; discard as no longer of use; scrap.
Adjective: cheap, worthless, unwanted, or trashy.
Synonyms: rubbish, litter, debris, refuse.
My heart feels like it gets stabbed with a sharp object every time I hear someone refer to men’s genitals as “junk.”
And here’s the thing: it’s usually men who are using the term.
Why denigrate what should be celebrated?
Why use a term associated with garbage for something of great beauty?
Why use junk when there are so many wonderful alternatives (none new) such as:
Family jewels (think: precious, treasure, valuable)
Package (think: gift, surprise, unwrap), or
Basket (think: goodies)
Johnson (sounds like a solid guy, right?)
Big Jim and the Twins (those guys are fun!)
And of course, you may have your own favorite term …
So, there you have it; my simple request, and some recommendations for other ways you can refer to your genitalia and start treating them with the respect they deserve.
Photo—Mike Burns/Flickr
There is one name for a man’s genitals that men and women both can agree on. It’s called: Cock
Go lecture someone else. We can call it whatever we want to call it prude. MYOB.
Jesus dude, she literally says, right at the beginning:
“I mean, they’re yours, and you can call them anything you want, but …”
I really appreciate every article you publish on this site, Karen. Please, by all means, flood the place with them!
Thank you, 8ball – I appreciate your comment!
I think it’s partly because throughout history (including now) female body has been in demand much more than male body is. Unless a man has a muscular body and/or with a large size genital, his body is viewed as something always available, very ordinary and cheap. It has been assumed and perhaps practiced that it’s usually the man who wants and approaches for sex. Men’s sexuality has been seen as something that is always desiring, approaching and chasing women for its needs. And women’s sexuality as something unattainable who can choose among many offers and desires she receives. If an… Read more »
I agree with the author.
Thanks, John Trybulec.
I can’t stand hearing people refer to my genitals as “junk.” It makes me feel distinctly undesirable. No part of me or anyone else is worthless.
True, true, Chase!
Would you rather I called it my “majestic Chinese sailboat”? ;D
Adrian, now you’re talkin’!
Karen, I honestly think that we use the term “junk” in order to minimize how terribly important our genitals are to us. We don’t really want to admit that so we say “junk” when what we are really feeling is more along the lines of “treasure”.
Gavin, I’d say go with “treasure”!
I think you’re exactly right, Gavin. And Karen, it’s nice to hear appreciation from a woman. I think it’s easy to get the sense as a man that women don’t much care for our “goods,” really, except for when they’re in the right mood, in the right place, at the right time, and even then they don’t want to see it, just feel it. I’d like to believe that women really are more interested/curious/turned on than they let on, and that they only hide their appreciation out of modesty and decorum. But I’ve heard from heterosexual women that “men’s bodies… Read more »
Yeah, it’s more common for us gals to feel more of an inhibition when it comes to admiring/enjoying men’s bodies openly. I do see it shifting, though.