They Called It “Shame Lips.” Now the Dutch Dictionary Has a Different Word.

Shari Klein stands on a street in Amsterdam. She wears red trousers and a blue shirt. Over her clothes, she wears a merkin, a pubic-hair wig. She holds a microphone. Behind her is a large blue-and-orange cloth banner. One sign reads: “After all, there are no ‘shame testicles.’” Another reads: “Name it, don’t be ashamed of it.”

She speaks to a crowd. Some people hold cardboard signs. Some wear the same fake pubic hair. This is a march. It celebrates a new word in Dutch: vulvalippen.

It means “vulva lips.”

Last month, the authoritative Dutch dictionary Dikke Van Dale announced that it would include the word in its upcoming online supplement. It will not replace the old word. It will stand beside it. The old word is schaamlippen.

Schaam means shame. Lippen means lips. Together, the word means “shame lips.”

The same root appears in other words: schaamhaar, pubic hair, or “shame hair”; schaambeen, the pubic bone, or “shame bone”; schaamluizen, pubic lice, or “shame lice.” There is no matching “shame testicles” for men.

“Language shapes the way we see ourselves,” Klein says. She is one of the founders of Schaamteloos, an advocacy group. The name means “Shameless.” She says: “It is important for people to have a more neutral, anatomically correct word, instead of a word that, whether intentionally or not, is tied to shame.”

The call to replace “shame lips” with “vulva lips” is not new. But Klein and her allies believe the dictionary’s decision may mean society is “finally ready for change.”

Esther Van der Valk, a member of the Dutch feminist group Dolle Mina, says the issue is also about a positive attitude toward sex and about reducing body shame. The next step is to persuade doctors and government officials to use vulvalippen in leaflets and in consultations.

Ton den Boon, an editor of Dikke Van Dale, says including the word is reasonable. It has appeared in media, biology textbooks, medical information, and even veterinary medicine. It is no longer the language of a small circle.

But critics say that changing a word does not necessarily change the shame in people’s lives. Dr Beth Malory, a researcher in linguistics, says any change needs study first. “Will people understand what uterectomy means?” she asks. “Would it be better to say ‘removal of the womb’?” She argues that a new word must not create ambiguity, and that the whole terminology system needs to be examined to avoid confusion.

Germany saw a similar effort. In 2018, journalists Gunda Windmüller and Mithu Sanyal launched a petition to change Schamlippen to Vulvalippen. Windmüller says a gynecologist told her about the heavy shame some women carry when they talk about their bodies and undergo medical examinations. She began writing an article and found that she could not even mention the body part without using a word that contains “shame.”

“Vulva lips” has not yet been included in German dictionaries. But Windmüller has noticed that the word is beginning to appear in everyday conversation, school textbooks, and women’s magazines. She hopes the Dutch move will stir more support in Germany.

Sweden did something similar. After a campaign in 2009, academic dictionaries added a new word for the hymen. The Swedish Association for Sexuality Education argued that the old word, mödomshinna, which can be translated as “maiden membrane” or “virgin membrane,” was anatomically inaccurate and did nothing to dispel myths around the hymen and virginity. The new word, slidkrans, means “vaginal crown.” The word reflects that the hymen is usually a ring-shaped fold of tissue, not a sealed membrane that breaks only once.

Sonja Ghaderi of the Swedish Association for Sexuality Education says: “Through a new word, we can challenge the myths that try to control women’s sexual autonomy and freedom.” She says “vaginal crown” has been adopted especially by healthcare professionals and youth clinics. But misinformation remains, she adds, which shows the need to change socially constructed ideas.

In Britain, feminist podcast host Nicola Denson-Elliott has launched a petition to change the word for hysterectomy from hysterectomy to uterectomy. She and other advocates argue that hysterectomy is linguistically linked to hysteria. Hysteria was once seen as a disease of excessive female emotion. She wants a more anatomically accurate term, not one tied to emotion. The petition calls this “medical misogyny” and says: “Women deserve terminology that respects them.”

Other medical terms carry judgment too. Dr Brooke Vandermolen, an obstetrician and gynecologist, says: “Why do we need words like ‘failure’ or ‘incompetence’?” She no longer uses failure to progress, which means “failure to move forward” and is used to describe labor that does not proceed as expected. In 2022, the Royal College of Midwives published guidance offering alternative phrases. But Vandermolen says some traditional terms are still in use and still cause distress.

Malory, the linguist, has studied language related to pregnancy and miscarriage. She gives one example: incompetent cervix, which means “incompetent cervix” or “incapable cervix.” The term describes a shortened cervix, a condition that can increase the risk of miscarriage and premature birth. Women she interviewed told her the word made them feel blamed for a medical problem.

Back on the street in Amsterdam, Shari Klein finishes speaking. The crowd walks along the road. Some people lift their signs higher. Some take off the fake pubic hair and stuff it into their bags. The blue-and-orange cloth billows in the wind. People on the sidewalk stop to watch. Some take photos. A cyclist rings a bell, steers around the crowd, and rides on.

The online supplement to Dikke Van Dale is still being edited. Vulvalippen will appear on the page together with schaamlippen. Two words side by side. One carries shame. One does not. People who open the dictionary will see them. Doctors writing medical records can use either one. The choice is still there.