Sunday, October 02, 2011
Who needs “vajayjay” when vagina is a-okay?
Gone, it seems, are the days of sexual euphemisms when referring to one’s “lady parts.” This network television season, vagina has made (or will soon make) vocal appearances on ABC, CBS and NBC.
Actress and show creator Whitney Cummings is credited with two of the shows that are braking the vagina barrier this fall: CBS’s “Two Broke Girls,” which she helped develop; and NBC’s “Whitney,” in which Cummings stars.
“When did vaginas get so boring?” Cummings remarked in the show’s pilot, in discussing the practice of “vajazzling,” or decorating the genital area. “Do you think a guy ever saw a naked woman and went, ‘No thank you; not sparkly enough?’”
Not to be left out the “vaj” trend, ABC’s new comedy “Suburgatory” features dialog that discusses belly rings and vaginas.
“I think our tolerance for what is edgy is changing,” Cummings told The New York Times. “We’re getting a little desensitized, so sometimes you have to be more and more shocking because now you have YouTube and the Internet and all the rest that’s available for us to watch.”
The new openness about vaginas has also been a boon for advertising agencies, which have seen their revenues for feminine hygiene products increase 30% in just two years.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
This Year’s Hot TV Trend Is Anatomically Correct (by Bill Carter, New York Times)
Television's Season of the Vagina (by Mary Elizabeth Williams, Salon)
The Vagina's Growing Public Profile (by Mae Anderson, Associated Press)
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