# penis or dick? [Explicit Language]



## dale (Feb 19, 2015)

so i'm writing my stories. and when it comes to naming sexual crap, i sometimes become like baffled about what to do.
i'm not an erotica writer...well...only once......but what should i do? sex is a part of my stories, even if they aren't technically
"erotica". should i use the word "dick' or "cock' or "penis" or what? and for me? it gets even MORE complicated with the female
anatomy. because to me? women are very sacred. so i don't like naming their "netherlands" as anything other than flowery.
but my point is...what word can a non-erotica writer use to label the dick and the "flower"? i like my writing to have an element
 of class to it, believe it or not. should i just say dick and cunt? in my previous works...i've skirted the issue by portraying the 
sex scenes as "musical" or "abstract coloration". even in my erotica story. the publisher emailed me giggling about how i actually
made violent sex "classy". anyway...i'm just posting this thread because i'm bored and drunk. i'm insane anyway, so who cares.


----------



## Sam (Feb 19, 2015)

Penis and vagina. 

I _hate _reading about 'manhoods' and 'lady parts' and all other euphemisms for genitalia. If you're going to have sex in your novel, have sex in your novel. Don't have euphemistic sex in it. Have the balls to use the proper terms. 

If it's good enough for encyclopaedias and medical volumes, it's good enough for the pages of a novel.


----------



## Pidgeon84 (Feb 19, 2015)

Idk, I guess it depends on the context or what you're trying to go for. I mean, I think you gotta be a little more colorful than penis and vaginal. If I was with someone and those were the only words they used, I'm pretty sure things in the sack would get boring awfully quick. But it also doesn't have to be porn talk. I guess you just have to find middle ground.


----------



## KJay (Feb 19, 2015)

It very much depends on the story. I absolutely agree with Sam that I hate it when people use words like 'manhood' etc, but on the other hand using the words 'penis' and 'vagina' just seems to clinical. 

If it is romance you are trying to achieve, penis and vagina are not the words you want to use. 

I also hate reading about dicks (mostly American) and cocks (English). 

I think to me a good sex scene leaves a lot to the imagination, so maybe you can avoid having to use specific body parts and suggest more.


----------



## Firemajic (Feb 19, 2015)

Use your imagination and be creative...makes for a good lover and a good writer...lol.. Peace...Jul


----------



## Gargh (Feb 19, 2015)

Good luck! Sex doesn't tend to figure much in what I write and I'm so glad, it's really tricky. So many words for the female genitals are really derogatory and a lot are derived from archaic terms for things like bucket and other such disposable terms that wouldn't give your female characters/readers any sense of agency in, perhaps, the way slang terms for male genitals do. I've seen people use 'vulva' before, which is a nicer word than 'vagina' and potentially more accurate? I personally dislike euphemisms and put one book down after the author kept referencing 'her sex' like the poor character's genitals were some mysterious unknown land of pleasure rather than an active body part (can't recall what it was). In your position, if I absolutely had to write sex in, I would probably stick to actions, name nothing unless I had to, and if I did then I'd tailor my words to fit what the characters would use... in fact, I may add that question to a couple of character questionnaires!


----------



## TJ1985 (Feb 19, 2015)

I'd say skip the terms completely. If you absolutely must mention the penis, then call it what it is: A penis. However, that's a corner I'd try to write myself out of before I got down to the fine details. When I'm dabbling in erotica I try my best to use as few terms like penis, vagina, or soldering iron as I can. Most folks have that one word that makes them melt, so I don't try to pick one hoping I get the right one. If my reader doesn't know the essential mechanics, I assume I'd only confuse the matter by bringing a lot of names into the mix. 

When somebody talks about making chili, I'm not thinking about whether the stove is gas or electric, I'm thinking about the *heat*.


----------



## Potty (Feb 19, 2015)

Sam said:


> If it's good enough for encyclopaedias and medical volumes, it's good enough for the pages of a novel.



Your pick up lines must be really astonishing.


----------



## Firemajic (Feb 19, 2015)

Potty said:


> Your pick up lines must be really astonishing.




LMAO...oh Dude....lol


----------



## Deafmute (Feb 19, 2015)

I can't even imagine a classy scene in any story that HAS to include words naming the genitalia. We did a challenge to write something like a 5 page sex scene and make it non pornographic and I don't believe any of us actually named the genitals, and the whole scene was sex. Sex is more than just the act. Its feelings, thoughts, emotions. If you are writing a classy story and sex comes up, then make it personal not physical. Don't write what they are doing so much as what they are feeling and thinking about each other. Write about their insecurities, their fears, write about how their partner helps them overcome that. Write about their confidence, what the other one does that make them feel like a man or woman. Describe the shaking of the bed. The sweat rolling off his shoulder. The moment they lose breath together and collapse gasping for air. 

Just don't write about how big the guys ()*&(* was.


----------



## Sam (Feb 19, 2015)

Potty said:


> Your pick up lines must be really astonishing.



I don't use pick-up lines.


----------



## TJ1985 (Feb 19, 2015)

Sam said:


> I don't use pick-up lines.



I've never had luck with lines. Seine nets are far more reliable.


----------



## JustRob (Feb 19, 2015)

Personally I'm very happy to use "manhood" exactly because it is an expression of the essence of the subject which allows the reader to substitute their own word and there are only two ways to go at any point, pure concept or pure physicality. I'm quite happy to caress the reader with "manhood" and then hit them with a resounding "dong" shortly after. Doesn't that reflect the essence of the act itself, waves of tender words and hard-hitting words alternating. As I keep mentioning, there is a group where such matters can be explored in depth, if that isn't a euphemism in itself.


----------



## Boofy (Feb 19, 2015)

Now it's time for prude hour! Sex in novels? All of my nope. .___.


----------



## KJay (Feb 19, 2015)

When I write a 'sex scene' I tend to work towards the sex bit and then skip the actual nitty gritty. Most of the time it is simply not necessary to explain. We all know what it's like! 
If I do write about the actual sex I prefer to concentrate on the emotions rather than what the characters are using their parts for  But then, for me sex and emotions are inseparable. That does not mean it always has to be about love though...


----------



## Mistique (Feb 19, 2015)

dale said:


> so i'm writing my stories. and when it comes to naming sexual crap, i sometimes become like baffled about what to do.
> i'm not an erotica writer...well...only once......but what should i do? sex is a part of my stories, even if they aren't technically
> "erotica". should i use the word "dick' or "cock' or "penis" or what? and for me? it gets even MORE complicated with the female
> anatomy. because to me? women are very sacred. so i don't like naming their "netherlands" as anything other than flowery.
> ...



Did you seriously call it 'their netherlands'? I do not have 'netherlands' I live in the netherlands  Did you seriously just turn my entire country into an erotic zone?


----------



## Deleted member 56686 (Feb 19, 2015)

I think the proper term would be "nether regions" :lol:


----------



## JustRob (Feb 19, 2015)

Mistique said:


> Did you seriously call it 'their netherlands'? I do not have 'netherlands' I live in the netherlands  Did you seriously just turn my entire country into an erotic zone?



That would be unreasonable. It's only how Amsterdam is regarded, isn't it?  Actually we have friends who live in Amsterdam. Perhaps I shouldn't have said that.


----------



## JustRob (Feb 19, 2015)

mrmustard615 said:


> I think the proper term would be "nether regions" :lol:



In our case that would be the highlands of Scotland. I think upsetting them is even more hazardous than upsetting the Dutch, or should I say Netherlanders? No, that's where this started. Is it worth mentioning at this point that I like Edam cheese? I don't think they do cheese in Scotland. So, can we get back to the cheesy terms for genitalia. Now that's a word to flaunt, or do I mean regalia? I suppose it depends how demonstrative your sex scenes are.

I think the words chosen should be the ones that the characters involved might use. It's no use referring to the lingam, phallus, vulva or labia if the people involved wouldn't know what the words meant. In my own writing I try to match the narrative style to the character whose POV is in operation. This means that a pack of cards may become a deck of cards in my narrative because the character is American even though that isn't a phrase that I would ever use myself. This is part of my philosophy from my days designing computer systems. Don't build yourself into the system. If they are having sex use their words for it.


----------



## Mistique (Feb 19, 2015)

JustRob said:


> That would be unreasonable. It's only how Amsterdam is regarded, isn't it?  Actually we have friends who live in Amsterdam. Perhaps I shouldn't have said that.



Well, if you have friends there, and I am going to asume that this means you have actually been there (but perhaps I am mistaken in this) then you would know that the red light district is only a few streets in the entire city. It's not all sex industry there.... there is always the coffee shops too


----------



## JustRob (Feb 19, 2015)

KJay said:


> When I write a 'sex scene' I tend to work towards the sex bit and then skip the actual nitty gritty. Most of the time it is simply not necessary to explain. We all know what it's like!
> If I do write about the actual sex I prefer to concentrate on the emotions rather than what the characters are using their parts for  But then, for me sex and emotions are inseparable. That does not mean it always has to be about love though...



I go along with most of that but I do particularly agree about avoiding the nitty gritty. Getting a dose of scabies on a sandy beach doesn't appeal to me at all. My angel used to work in a nursing home and it was infected by scabies which spread throughout the staff and their families -- twice. So I was applying the curative lotion to my entire body as the instructions said and they'd also mentioned that one might experience a tingling sensation. In fact I ended up writhing in agony on the bathroom floor after applying it to my -- what do we call those bits again?


----------



## Kyle R (Feb 19, 2015)

dale said:


> so i'm writing my stories. and when it comes to naming sexual crap, i sometimes become like baffled about what to do.
> i'm not an erotica writer...well...only once......but what should i do? sex is a part of my stories, even if they aren't technically
> "erotica". should i use the word "dick' or "cock' or "penis" or what? and for me? it gets even MORE complicated with the female
> anatomy. because to me? women are very sacred. so i don't like naming their "netherlands" as anything other than flowery.
> ...



It's an interesting thing, this erotica genre! I own a few "how-to" books on the subject, and one thing I've noticed all erotica authors talk about is the use of genitalia-specific language. 

There are actually different approaches authors are advised to take when writing for male readers versus female readers.

*(Language Disclaimer!)*

*When writing for male readers:*

For female genitalia, male readers generally prefer more blunt and (arguably) crass terms, like "slit", "gash", "hole", "cunt", and the most popular of all, "pussycat" (minus the "cat").

To describe male genitalia, male readers generally prefer "cock" and "dick" and the occasional "hard-on" and the more juvenile "boner."

*When writing for female readers:*

To describe female genitalia, female readers generally prefer more indirect terms, like "core", "wetness", "sex" ("my sex quivered with anticipation..."), and "center."

To describe male genitalia, female readers generally prefer "erection", "manhood", "member" and—an overlap here between male and female readers—female readers also are comfortable with the word "cock", though usually in more erotic (and less romantic) scenes.

The more clinical terms like "penis" and "vagina" rank low on the popularity scale, for whatever reason.

Of course, not all male readers like crass terms and not all female readers like euphemisms, so take those generalizations with a grain of salt. 

As Christina Palmer mentions in her book, _How to Write Erotic Short Stories that Sell_, *"The basic rule as to how and what audience you will gear your story towards is 'use your own judgement.'"*

So, one approach you could use is to figure out the gender of your intended audience, then write to them. Or just wing it. Whatever works! :encouragement:


----------



## JustRob (Feb 19, 2015)

Mistique said:


> Well, if you have friends there, and I am going to asume that this means you have actually been there (but perhaps I am mistaken in this) then you would know that the red light district is only a few streets in the entire city. It's not all sex industry there.... there is always the coffee shops too



No, we haven't but hope to one day. Our Dutch friends come to us and now are going to move to Manchester for occupational reasons. They reckon that getting from Manchester to Kent will take as long as it takes from Amsterdam, rather a substantial overshoot problem in their residential choice there. Manchester may well have as active a red light district as Amsterdam, but I wouldn't know or care. I have an angel to keep me warm. I've never asked her what angels call those personal bits although they're quite conventional, I assure you.


Update: I did try asking my angel but apparently angels just laugh about the way that humanity worries about such trivia. I'm with her on that all the way.


----------



## LeeC (Feb 19, 2015)

No slight meant to anyone here, but to me getting overly explicit unnecessarily (which is by far the use in fiction) is a cover for lacking wordsmith skills, seeking shock attention, or personal fantasying. Each to their own views ;-)


There are so many ways to convey things that even in character definition just a scattering of milder terms gets the idea across. This reminds me of explaining a situation just experienced. I've been off starting another big pot of southwestern chili and I like it hot. Trouble is that after I prepared the peppers, I forgot to scrub my hands thoroughly before going to the restroom


----------



## Kevin (Feb 19, 2015)

I like those flowery terms... but then all my current fantasies are set in 18th century Scotland, red haired beauty with young mushcular  guy that speaks Hungarian or some such other (can't understand a lick... Honey, what's the name of that show we watch? _Outback, Outhouse, Outreach_.... I don't know). Setting, it has to do with setting.


----------



## KJay (Feb 19, 2015)

JustRob said:


> I go along with most of that but I do particularly agree about avoiding the nitty gritty. Getting a dose of scabies on a sandy beach doesn't appeal to me at all. My angel used to work in a nursing home and it was infected by scabies which spread throughout the staff and their families -- twice. So I was applying the curative lotion to my entire body as the instructions said and they'd also mentioned that one might experience a tingling sensation. In fact I ended up writhing in agony on the bathroom floor after applying it to my -- what do we call those bits again?



I used to work in Dermatology - I know all about scabies... Not fun, but at least it was not me they were treating! 

And of course I have no idea which bits you might be referring to... (ignoring thread name of course)


----------



## Pea (Feb 19, 2015)

I couldn't think of much worse than flipping through and enjoying a novel only to find the word 'cock' or 'dick', even 'penis' on the next page. It would ruin it. There are far more creative and romantic ways to describe sex than giving the reader a biology lesson. I think skirting the issue by portraying sexual scenes in a more musical or abstract sense, as you say you've done before, is definitely the route to go down. 

If indeed you must go down that route at all, I've always preferred to hint to the reader that that scene is going to occur, and leaving it at that - they don't need the gory detail (unless it's an erotic novel, in which case, I should be ignored completely).


----------



## dale (Feb 19, 2015)

oh my god. i love mornings like this. you should read my facebook private messages. i am amused and astounded with myself. 
i guess a good blackout brings out the internal retard in me. fun thread, i guess. a shame i don't remember writing it.


----------



## Mondestrunken (Feb 19, 2015)

KJay said:


> I think to me a good sex scene leaves a lot to the imagination, so maybe you can avoid having to use specific body parts and suggest more.



This is typically what I've done and what I was going to suggest. Unless your story calls for a super explicit sex scene, most of the time it feels out of place and jarring to just switch over to using words like dick and cock, and then acting like it never happened after the scene. There are ways to finesse a sex scene without having to mention any specific parts at all, much less give them stupid petnames. Focus on the emotions of your characters during the act, or the sensations, instead of exactly what is doing what to someones other what.


----------



## Gamer_2k4 (Feb 19, 2015)

Sam said:


> Have the balls to use the proper terms.



I think you mean "testicles."



Kyle R said:


> For female genitalia, male readers generally prefer more blunt and (arguably) crass terms, like "slit", "gash", "hole", "cunt", and the most popular of all, "pussycat" (minus the "cat").



It's strange to me that you were willing to write the c-word but not the p-word.  The former is universally considered far more obscene than the latter (many would rank it as the most obscene word in the English language).

To be clear, I'm not concerned that you used the word to begin with - you had the language warning and all.  It's just an unusual implied ordering.


----------



## Kyle R (Feb 19, 2015)

Gamer_2k4 said:


> It's strange to me that you were willing to write the c-word but not the p-word.  The former is universally considered far more obscene than the latter (many would rank it as the most obscene word in the English language).
> 
> To be clear, I'm not concerned that you used the word to begin with - you had the language warning and all.  It's just an unusual implied ordering.


Lol. My wife hates it, so that's probably why I did it. Of all those words, "gash" is the most distasteful to me. Sounds likes a stab wound from a horror movie. :grief:


----------



## KJay (Feb 19, 2015)

Kyle R said:


> Lol. My wife hates it, so that's probably why I did it. Of all those words, "gash" is the most distasteful to me. Sounds likes a stab wound from a horror movie. :grief:



I agree. Horrible horrible word.


----------



## dale (Feb 19, 2015)

Kyle R said:


> Lol. My wife hates it, so that's probably why I did it. Of all those words, "gash" is the most distasteful to me. Sounds likes a stab wound from a horror movie. :grief:



lol. my 1st wife really hated the c-word. which is of course, why it became my pet name for her anytime we had a fight.


----------



## Kyle R (Feb 19, 2015)

*Language Warning!
*
Lol. I can see it now.

"Quit being such a cunt!"

"Oh, Dale, you always know the way to my heart."


----------



## TKent (Feb 19, 2015)

Do you know how hard it is to explain to my husband why I keep getting emails talking about dicks and penises? LOL.


----------



## J Anfinson (Feb 19, 2015)

I believe in being true to my characters. One I'm working with now is a crude and rude Vietnam veteran. I don't think he would be half as real to me if he used clinical terms for anything. This guy says what's on his mind and doesn't care what you think about it. I think some readers will love him and some will hate him.


----------



## Kevin (Feb 19, 2015)

TK- you mean difficult


----------



## PiP (Feb 19, 2015)

Mistique said:


> Did you seriously call it 'their netherlands'?



I thought it was referred to as the the 'nether region' or maybe I misheard and it should read 'never region' :scratch:

As for the other, I've heard guys refer to their bits as 'todgers'. I personally would not use that word other than in dialogue between a couple of likely lads or slappers.



> When I write a 'sex scene' I tend to work towards the sex bit and then skip the actual nitty gritty.



I agree, KJay. 

I've found it a convenient place to end a chapter


----------



## Kevin (Feb 19, 2015)

> 'nether region'


although the 'neither region' (taint)would be included, don't you think? By proximity


----------



## TKent (Feb 19, 2015)

Oh dear, that one got by me 



Kevin said:


> TK- you mean difficult


----------



## JustRob (Feb 19, 2015)

Regarding that c-word, which I agree does top the ranking in obscenity for whatever reason, I recollect a most unfortunate fault in one of the early mainframe computers that we had in our office.  It was controlled from a console typewriter, a teletype machine of sorts, and also reported its activity on it.  For some reason it developed an attack of Tourette's syndrome and started typing out obscenities.  Normally each time it completed processing a file it would print out the size of the file in the form "Block count 123456" but the unusual fault resulted in the second letter "o" being omitted every time.  Fortunately at the time all the operations team were male and there was no embarrassment about it but we did have to stop giving tours of the computer room until it gave up doing it. This is a typical example of something that I mention in another thread, the sort of unbelievably contrived coincidence that one wouldn't put in a novel and yet it is absolutely true. Therefore it seems inadvisable to ask a computer about this subject as they have no sense of proportion at all apparently.


----------



## InstituteMan (Feb 19, 2015)

Would this be a good place to confess that I have a certain inappropriately (and utterly unmarketable) fondness for ironic writing featuring "throbbing members" and "quivering femininities" and other terrible euphemisms? I think it's all horrible writing to use terms like that, but the cliches profoundly amuse me when used as a parody. 

It's fun to write such things, just don't accidentally send it out.


----------



## Morkonan (Feb 19, 2015)

dale said:


> so i'm writing my stories. and when it comes to naming sexual crap, i sometimes become like baffled about what to do.
> i'm not an erotica writer...well...only once......but what should i do? sex is a part of my stories, even if they aren't technically
> "erotica". should i use the word "dick' or "cock' or "penis" or what? ...



What word would the PoV Character or Narrator use? Use that word.


----------



## dale (Feb 19, 2015)

lol. i really find it amusing that my drunken penis thread is getting so much action.


----------



## InstituteMan (Feb 19, 2015)

*Remember . . .*

While the discussion has been remarkably on point and focused on writing, as someone with my username in this lovely shade I feel I should remind everyone: 

Let's keep this on topic and out of the gutter. There's plenty of places for crudeness, crassness, and even sniping--essentially all the rest of the interwebs. This isn't the rest of the interwebs, so please keep within Forum rules.


We now return you to your regularly scheduled erudite discussion.


----------



## Cran (Feb 19, 2015)

*Reminder: Discussions in open forums are limited to PG13. *


----------



## dale (Feb 19, 2015)

and i'd like to thank the staff here for not suspending me over this silly otherworldly brain malfunction i obviously had last night. believe me...this isn't the worst of it. my best friend's daughter actually thinks we're having sex this weekend. i mean...it's cool and everything ...she's in her 20s. but i don't know how i get myself into this crap. if i didn't enjoy drinking so much? i'd quit.


----------



## JustRob (Feb 20, 2015)

Cran said:


> *Reminder: Discussions in open forums are limited to PG13. *



*Further reminder*:  There is in fact a private forum for more open discussion of this subject and it could do with fresh members, that remark in itself not being in any way a euphemism I hasten to add. If you really want a full answer then go, or rather come (No, that isn't either.) there and you may find one. Please keep our streets clean and take your litter home or place it in the receptacles provided.

Here in our open forum we may of course resort to higher minded views of the subject. Only this morning during our usual breakfast in bed I tried again to ask my angel that essential question. "What is this thing called love?" Perhaps that really is the last word on it.


----------



## W.Goepner (Feb 20, 2015)

So this was placed in the forums in a drunken rage then? Maybe I should give it the attention it deserves. ?__?

No actually, I can name some authors who do not mention the parts, but only the actions. Where others use "Manhood" and "center". Each is addressing the same topic and give a general yet definite description. If you are serious about this idea or if others have a similar dilemma, this thread is essential. Some times writers will come across the moment of Mating, whether human or none human, So how best to describe these encounters.

Try this; describe the actions of a pair of canines breeding. There is, the prancing, the posturing, the testing, the teasing and finely the mating. Then the process repeats two or so times in a day, for seven or so days. At no time does the parts need to be mentioned.

About four pages, or less, into my first chapter, I describe just the scene fore mentioned. I have had some mixed comments on it, but the ones which concern me are those who state they cannot discuss it for the way it made them feel. So, did I describe the scene so well it drew them into the characters, or did I make it a disgusting venture, or???

Like this one, 
http://www.writingforums.com/thread...ash-fiction)?p=1721621&viewfull=1#post1721621 
or
http://www.writingforums.com/thread...-the-ladies)?p=1721717&viewfull=1#post1721717

(Evidently I do not remember how to set links any more.) 

The first was me explaining to my editor how I viewed the dog life cycle, I impressed myself and decided to post it. The second one I wrote because I had a female, age unknown, say it made her uneasy because I brought her into a dogs life and made her feel like she was there, But it was the idea she was a male dog which was upsetting. Either way there is no explicit mention of parts or even sexual actions.

What I am getting at, is these examples can be used in the human act of mating. Even the words "sex" or "intercourse" are not necessary, when describing the action. The reality aspect of any sensual scene is in the telling and not in the showing. Describe the feelings the build up then the release. Make the reader visualize and feel what it is the characters are going through, without making it porn. 

I recall the first draft of my scene in the story. I presented it to some coworkers. I described everything I saw two mating dogs do. One coworker said I was writing porn, the other said "I hope this guy can change shapes also, otherwise You just had him..." I did some big time editing on that scene. 

Here is the thread I have in the workshops, the last four or five paragraphs describe the scene, of the fore mentioned story.

http://www.writingforums.com/thread...(1242-words)?p=1718684&viewfull=1#post1718684

This is how I try to write the scenes of mating in any form.


----------



## dale (Feb 20, 2015)

W.Goepner said:


> So this was placed in the forums in a drunken rage then?



lol. i doubt that. i was probably giggling like an immature teenage moron when i typed it.


----------



## Ajoy (Feb 20, 2015)

Gargh said:


> I personally dislike euphemisms and put one book down after the author kept referencing 'her sex' like the poor character's genitals were some mysterious unknown land of pleasure rather than an active body part (can't recall what it was).


This was done in 50 Shades, and it was awful. This was one of the many reasons I couldn't make myself finish the book. Calling it her 'sex' was distracting and nonsensical.


----------



## W.Goepner (Feb 21, 2015)

dale said:


> lol. i doubt that. i was probably giggling like an immature teenage moron when i typed it.



Well, I was being fictitious really. How about, drunken stupor then? LOL


----------



## Phil Istine (Feb 21, 2015)

Perhaps a little humorously, I was wondering about using metaphor such as "Old Faithful", "eruption of Krakatoa" (I guess the latter could be taken several ways) or "tidal wave".  I can think of a few other ways it might be done without even naming body parts but those might exceed the PG13.

- - - Updated - - -


----------



## Sc0pe (Feb 21, 2015)

I would say the narrator would stick with the medical terms whilst the charter’s themselves… well they are your characters so you know better than I do what code name they give there privet parts lol.


----------



## DB17 (Feb 21, 2015)

As others have said, it depends on the context. Two people in the throes of passion aren't going to use the "correct" words when talking to each other, but if you're in a more formal situation, I would use the "politically correct" proper words.


----------



## J Anfinson (Feb 21, 2015)

Sc0pe said:


> I would say the narrator would stick with the medical terms



I agree. I think narrators are best left neutral, stating the facts, unless maybe the story is first person in which case your MC would be the narrator. I just decide based on what effect I'm looking for.


----------



## aj47 (Feb 21, 2015)

dale said:


> so i'm writing my stories. and when it comes to naming sexual crap, i sometimes become like baffled about what to do.



Whose POV is it?  

Third-person narrator: penis/vagina.
First person: whatever the character would call it.

What the character calls it will vary.  When I was entertaining gentlemen, that was among the first questions I'd ask--so I could use the same term.  Whether it's a cock, willie, or dick (or whether it has a name, like "John Henry" or whatever) depends on the guy. When describing/verbalizing what he intended to do, my partner might use euphemisms, generally computer-related as that's my background and that of many of the gentlemen formerly in my life.

Guys also have varying names for the vagina.  To myself, I call it a cunny (related to the word "cunning" and that's the why of it), but generally, it would go by the name my gentleman preferred.  Mine has been called a cunny, snatch, cunt, or pussy.  Also, the euphemisms happen.  

I've been married for a good while this current time, so my information may be somewhat stale.


----------



## wainscottbl (Feb 25, 2015)

Rick or Richard?


----------



## Gamer_2k4 (Feb 25, 2015)

wainscottbl said:


> Rick or Richard?



Dickard, of course.


----------

