The Pussy is no Pussy

Seriously, this is annoying.

Why do we equate the term "pussy" with "wimp"?

We hear this all the time, on the street, online, in Judd Apatow films… The vagina is continually used as metaphor for weakness and wimpiness.

"Don’t be such a pussy."

"Don’t let the door hit you in the vagina on your way out."

"Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby to miss his fourth straight game because of a sore vagina"

This is really starting to annoy me because this slang can only be attributed to one thing: misogyny.

I’m not saying that everyone who uses that term is a misogynist, I’m saying that there’s subliminal girl-hate within that use of the word. Because, if you think about it in realistic terms, it makes absolutely no sense for "vagina" to mean pathetic.

Actually, it directly contradicts reality so much that you might suspect that equating the lady bits with weakness is sarcasm.

Think about it. The average adult caslopis is an opening with a circumference ranging from that of a penny to a silver dollar. Yet, an adult caslopis can expand itself to release and push forth another human being, roughly the size of a watermelon, without being ripped to shreds. That is not weakness. That is the exact opposite of weakness. That’s strength and toughness to the Herculean degree. Anybody who disagrees is a moron.

As if that is not enough to support my theory that the word pussy is misused, also consider this, if we were to use any sort of genitalia to describe wimpiness, how is it that it isn’t the testicles? Why are balls a symbol of strength while the vagina is a symbol of weakness? It really should be the other way around considering the testicles have the strength and endurance of a strawberry and the vagina, well, the vagina pushes other human beings into the world. It’s a person with balls that should be considered the wimps, and it’s the pussy that should be equated with nerves of steel.

After all, what happens when you kick a man in the balls?

The man in the picture obviously has balls, but that hasn’t helped him much in the toughness factor. But if he had a pussy, he’d probably be kicking ass. Balls are a dude’s weak point in battle.

But the vagina, it’s the most powerful force in nature. So how on Earth could it be equated with weakness?

If you think about it, what other explanation is there for this nonsensical word usage? There has to be a reason for it, because it directly contradicts the reality of the situation.

The pussy is strong. It’s powerful. It’s tough.  The testicles are. So why aren’t we calling weak little dweebs testicles?

It makes no sense! It’s just stupid and sexist. So why do we continue to talk that way?

The same reason why girly things are made fun of. In order to glorify the masculine ideal, we have to demean the feminine. It’s the classic sexist dynamic, to foster the male ego and power, we have to reinforce the idea that women are weak and pathetic. So, in a way to subliminally reinforce the idea that girls are weak and pathetic, we demean the thing that makes girls so powerful while pretending that testicles are anything to brag about. Because guys want to believe that maleness is real strength, so anything female has to be less than. So we make pussy the new slang for wimp.

Even though in real life, we all know the pussy is no pussy.

Disclaimer: This post was written by a Feministing Community user and does not necessarily reflect the views of any Feministing columnist, editor, or executive director.

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