Anatomy is one of the most intriguing branches of biology. To see a 3D visualization of how the body is held together and all the various components that unite to create a fully functioning human being is astounding! However, one body seems to confuse and mystify people like no other. The female. 

The problem is in the fact that instead of educating oneself or at least making sure that what one has seen in a fever dream is at least 5% true, people take to social media to explain their views on how female anatomy should and should not work, what their preferences would be, and how said beliefs influence their actions towards women. 

Thankfully the r/badwomensanatomy community of Reddit shares these findings with the rest of its 556k members and Reddit users alike, to critique and point out the glaring issues in their arguments. Created in 2014, it seems like the content just keeps on coming… Their quirky bio reads: “Women are made of sugar and spice and all things nice. Except their vaginas which are squeaky and attract bears and sharks.”  

But if we are to get a little bit serious for a little moment, the fact that these misconceptions exist in the first place is a massive red flag for society. So where did it come from and how did we allow it to get this bad? A survey conducted by NewGov in Britain revealed that less than half of those surveyed could not identify or describe the function of the urethra, labia, or vagina. 

Breaking those results down by gender, they found that six in ten men (59%) and half of women (45%) could not even label the vagina. The only part of the female genitalia which the majority of both genders labeled correctly was the clitoris; guess it’s not that difficult to find in the end, is it? Identifying parts is one thing, but what concerned researchers was the lack of knowledge about how female genitalia worked.  

Perhaps the lack of knowledge stems from the way female genitalia has been described by scientists and medical personnel throughout history. Allison Draper, in her first year of medical school at the University of Miami, was incredibly excited to delve deeper into her favorite subject. She could look up the Latin term for almost any body part and get an idea of where it was and what it did, yet when she came across female organs, she was appalled by what she found. 

For example, the pudendal nerve, which provides sensation to the vagina and vulva, is derived from the Latin verb pudere: to be ashamed. The shame nerve. The Latin term for the vulva—including the inner and outer labia, the clitoris and the pubic mound—was pudendum. Translation: the part to be ashamed of. There was no equivalent word for male genitals.

Anatomy as a science had its start in 16th-century Italy and ever since those terms had been given to female genitals, no one batted an eye until the 21st century. That included anatomy professor, Doug Broadfield, who had been showing the pudendal canal, nerve and artery to students for 14 years. “I never really gave it a second thought,” he said. “You just don’t really think about that kind of thing.”

In the beginning, shame knew no sex. First-century Roman writers used “pudendum” to mean the genitals of men, women and animals. But it was women to whom the shame stuck. As a general rule, anatomical terms are supposed to be informative and descriptive. “Pudendum” was neither. “This is the only term which has a moral context to it,” said Dr. Bernard Moxham, head of anatomy at Cardiff University in Wales.

Although the debate is still ongoing in the medical community, back in 2019 it was agreed that “Pudendum” would no longer appear as an official term in the upcoming version of “Terminologia Anatomica.” However, the pudendal artery, canal and nerve would remain relatively unchanged “because the use of the word pudendalis in terms for structures present in both sexes cannot be interpreted as sexist.” 

When it comes to medical research and innovation, men's health has long gotten more attention than women's health. It was only in 1993 that Congress mandated that women and minorities be included in clinical research, although it’s still vastly understudied. “Essentially we’ve ended up with a healthcare system, among other things in society, that has been made by men for men,” Dr Kate Young, a public health researcher at Monash University in Australia. 

“Because women can bear children, medical discourse associated women with the body and men with the mind,” she continued. Sadly, this notion seems to have permeated in day-to-day society as well. But not only is it cringeworthy to hear and read completely ludicrous accounts of female anatomy, it is also dangerous as this medical misinformation influences women’s fertility and reproductive rights.