I have a vagina.Or, maybe that scares you. Would you prefer “twat”? Or, how about “cooter”? Perhaps those are too obvious; I have a “hoohaa,” a “snatch,” a “slit.” Sorry, did those offend you as well? Well, I have a “pussy” or maybe you prefer derogatory words? I have a “cunt,” a “fanny,” a “naff.”

Why do we have so many variations on a word that rhymes with Carolina and China? And out of all the words listed, vagina is seen as being the most vulgar word of them all. Why is it that the word vagina is dirty?

Eleven years ago, Eve Ensler wrote the episodic play “The Vagina Monologues,” which is a world-renowned off-Broadway play, winning numerous awards including the Obie award and has starred celebrities such as Jane Fonda, Teri Hatcher, and Oprah Winfrey.

It celebrates women, raises awareness about female abuse, domestic abuse, and rape – all things that happen to hundreds of women daily, and yet it uses the word vagina.

Oh no!

Recently in Atlantic, Fla., at the Atlantic Theater, the production studio changed the name of “The Vagina Monologues” to “The Hoohaa Monologues” after a woman became upset because her younger niece had to see the word vagina on the theater marquee.

If you are a woman, you have a vagina. There is nothing wrong with having one and using the word vagina, its proper name, is in no way vulgar, distasteful, or gross. I feel that by using the word vagina with younger children it creates more mature, comfortable and respectable adults for the future.

I honestly do not understand why we can say, in our society, that a man has a penis and yet when we say a woman has a vagina, everyone cringes!

My schoolteacher would say, “Oh no, sweetie, you can’t say vagina.” And she would whisper, “It’s the crotch region.” As if by using the word “crotch,” she made it less vulgar.

Even in famous TV shows such as “Grey’s Anatomy,” scriptwriters were told not to use the word vagina anymore. It became the “vajayjay.” Whom are they trying to protect? Women know they have a vagina, and men know women have a vagina. Get over your juvenile sniggering and come to terms with the word.

So again, why is it that our society acts juvenile when the word “vagina” is tossed around? Obviously, the word does not come up in conversation very often; otherwise, I would not be a bit concerned.

However, when the word does roll off the tongue, sometimes it hits you like a thousand bricks. People get uptight, “You mean the ‘vajayjay’?” It is not as if the word “vajayjay” implies a soda can; it is the vagina, obviously. Some people get uncomfortable with the word and have to have little pet names to get through the awkward conversation.

Now this is not always the case. Sometimes people are mature and can use the word vagina without sniggering or even busting a smirk. However, some people cannot help but giggle or even get defensive. “Don’t call my vagina a vagina!”

The vagina is not bad. It gives life, engages in sexual activity, and is a by-product of reproduction.

Maybe it is because it starts with a “v” or because when one says vagina there is no beating around the bush, it means that area between your thighs that is the vagina.

I do not see anything wrong with nicknaming your vagina; maybe you are kinky. But when someone says vagina, and you get all uncomfortable with the word, I do see a problem. It means that you are immature and that you have little respect for the female anatomy.

Get over yourself. It is a vagina not a “hoohaa.” Stop being so damned conservative and come to terms with the fact that someone at some point named that region the vagina. It is what it is. Know it, love it, use it, but do not abuse its name.