The Scientific Patriarchy And Its Influence On Our Bodies

May 30, 2024

By Taylor Neal

**Disclaimer: I use the term “female” in reference to Lucy Cooke’s research in animal species because this is the terminology used in the book. I use “AFAB” to refer to humans with uteruses (Assigned Female At Birth) to maintain clarity in my discussions of anatomy. In no way does my terminology intend to link anatomy with gender in humans.

I shake my head as I sit down to write this article, because it’s 2024 and as a general population we still aren’t familiar with proper anatomical terms for AFAB bodies.

Antatomically Correct Language In Pop Culture

By now, we’ve probably all seen the infamous “Vagina Dress” Gilian Anderson wore to the 2024 Golden Globe Awards. This gorgeous ivory Gabriela Hearst gown drew the attention of the red carpet for it’s intricate, vulva-inspired embroidery, and as Gilian Anderson is most widely known for her role as a Sex Therapist in Netflix’s Sex Education, as well as her own sexual wellness platform G Spot, this choice of attire was a bold statement toward Anderson’s reputation as an advocate for sexual health and wellness in Hollywood.

While the dress was a gorgeous moment in direct confrontation with the simultaneous cultural silencing and exploitation of femme sexuality in Hollywood and fashion, it also brought to light a significant lack of competence in the media world’s ability to use proper anatomical language in reference to the anatomy displayed on the gown.

The dress went viral as “The Vagina Dress,” when in fact, the embroidery represented vulvas, and here we have, yet again, an extremely harmful example of how education, healthcare, and general knowledge around bodies with vulvas continues to fall through the cracks in western society.

It’s Vulva, Not Vagina

It may feel redundant to read, but it’s important to start this discussion by reminding us all that the vulva is a separate part of the body from the vagina.

Quick anatomy lesson:

Often, when folks use the term “vagina” to refer to the genitalia of an AFAB body, what they are actually referring to is the vulva.

“Vagina” refers to the vaginal canal, which is a closed muscular tube situated between the vulva and the cervix and uterus. The vagina is the part of the body through which menstrual blood leaves the body, through which babies move when they are born, and through which penetrative sex occurs. You do not pee from your vagina.

The vulva then, is a term used to refer to the collective external anatomy of the AFAB genitalia; the labia majora, the labia minora, the clitoris, the vaginal opening, and the urethral opening (where you do pee from). It is indeed the vulva, which we see most imagery of when AFAB genitalia is depicted in art, such as the Gabriela Hearst embroidery, as it is most visually recognizable. I have actually yet to see any artistic depictions of a vagina.

It is important to understand the anatomy to understand why using incorrect terminology is so harmful.

Learn more: The Difference Between The Vulva and The Vagina

The Pussy And The Scientific Patriarchy

In her book Bitch: The Female Of The Species, British zoologist and author Lucy Cooke looks back at how science has studied, or hasn’t studied, the female of all animal species dating back to Darwin’s Studies and publications on Natural Selection in the mid-1800s.

Through an in-depth analysis of how the Victorian-era British scientific patriarchy initially opted to leave-out Darwin’s findings on how females across different animal species play an active role in how evolutionary traits are passed down through generations of species, Cooke essentially puts the science world on blast for being blatantly ignorant and lazy with the study, or lack thereof, of female anatomy for the last century and a half since Darwin’s time.

It is beyond the scope of this article to get into all of the glorious findings throughout Cooke’s research, but what’s most important in summary for the sake of this piece, is that across the majority of animal species, the male of the species has been studied thoroughly to understand mating motivations, genetic traits, strength and survival, life span, and reproductive patterns.

"There has been little, if any, research into the anatomy of the female, and the ways in which females influence mating, reproduction or the passing down of traits."

Across these same animal species however, there has been little, if any, research into the anatomy of the female, and the ways in which females influence mating, reproduction, the passing down of traits, and so on. In many cases, if any consideration was made of female genitalia across these species, it was done only in reference to the animal’s having, or not having, of a vagina, as this is how mating occurs with the male, and the species evolves.

To greatly summarize Cooke’s work, one of the largest failures of the scientific patriarchy in studying evolution, is that if female anatomy is only studied in reference to that of a male for the sake of reproduction, then the only part of the body in question has been the vagina; the part of the body that is penetrable by the male.

Internalized Misogyny

In general, in our western world, the majority of people still use the term vagina to refer to the entirety of the AFAB genitalia, because this is the term we were given in school, so this is the term we know to use because we don’t really know a whole lot about what else is going on down there.

I’ll put it frankly, we were given this term because this is the part of the AFAB body most relevant to men.

The vagina is the part of the body that can be penetrated by a male, and through which babies are born, so this is the part of the body that is taught to have a practical purpose in evolution, mating, and procreation.

Of course, what the scientific patriarchy fails to acknowledge is that pleasure plays a key role in mating, and evolution as a whole. What it also fails to acknowledge is any form of intimacy outside of heterosexual, penetrative sex. This disregard of the AFAB body for anything other than penetration and procreation, is the same harm that is implied when we continue to use improper terminology in our discourse around bodies today.

"The use of the term vagina to refer to the vulva implies that the organs that make up the vulva have such little value that they don’t even warrant mentioning."

This is how we end up in a world that doesn’t know how to find the clitoris.

Also, ultimately, how we end up with the orgasm gap, AFAB people experiencing painful sex and unenjoyable sex, disconnection from their bodies, sexual trauma, and homophobia across sex education and sexuality as a whole.

Under the scientific patriarchy, the largest pleasure organ is bypassed for centuries, until Dr Helen O’Connell publishes the first in-depth study of the clitoris in 1998. If you put that in context, there are many healthcare professionals still working today that were practicing before the clitoris had ever even been properly looked at.

This misogynistic way of educating about AFAB bodies is so prevalent, that many people with vulvas continue to struggle with learning about their pleasure outside of how they were told sex is supposed to look, aka penetrative, penis-in-vagina until the male ejaculates. People with vulvas have been taught that the largest pleasure organ in their body (anatomically speaking) doesn’t matter to the governing bodies that have been the largest resources for what we know about human evolution by and large, since the moment this study began.

And simultaneously, males and AMAB people that have also been taught only the word “vagina” to refer to AFAB genitalia, have never had to suffer the consequences of using this harmful, simply incorrect terminology. Whether or not they take a moment to consider the implications of their language, males are still having orgasms either way, because they know how.

What’s The Harm?

En masse, our culture has failed to recognize that pleasure is actually fundamental in not only evolution from a scientific perspective, but also evolution from a psychological perspective.

Further, in selectively choosing which bodies are worthy of study and which are considered inconsequential, the scientific patriarchy and continuing educating bodies deem certain bodies to be of greater value than others. This holds true in many other areas of social injustice.

The misogyny present in these immense gaps in scientific knowledge has caused a violent sociocultural lack of care and consideration for AFAB bodies and pleasure. If we are to make any progress in healing the pervasive sexual trauma caused by the internalized misogyny of our culture, and providing resources for vulvar and AFAB healthcare, the least we can do is use the right damn words to refer to one another’s bodies as a way of acknowledging their worth.

Using proper anatomical terminology may feel like a small detail in the grand scheme of body politics, but this is actually a radical reclamation of power and recognition for the bodies of people with vulvas.

In using proper anatomical terminology, we say “you matter, your body is important, your body is autonomous, your body deserves pleasure, your body deserves protection, healthcare, resources, and love.”

In using proper anatomical terminology, we keep each other safe. We not only become the body’s ally, but the co-conspirator; we are in this together.

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