I'm writing an erotic short story and trying to come up with some additional terms for female genitalia that are fairly inoffensive.  I've used feminine passage, feminine flesh and sex and am having diffficulty coming up with more.  Any ideas?  I think we've all read the ones that make us go Ughh!  I'd like to avoid those. 

If you want to read it, PM me & I'll send you the link.

You could always go with Barbie and Ken as euphemisms - since they'e smooth down there LOL!  "Her Barbie ached for his Ken..."

Seriously though - I do see comparison to flowers and petals in some books.

Lol.  I'm drawing a total blank:P

You could go the way of male enhancement drug commercials "that certain part of the male/female anatomy."

That gets me everytime. My husband has to turn off the radio because I start laughing so hard.

that certain part, and we don't mean the nose.........

I'd almost rather just see plain old penis & vagina than some of the hideous euphemisms:P

personally, and especially with erotica, i prefer authors to just come out and say what it is, even if its a little raunchy....

I prefer the more blunt language. Flowery euphmisims either make me cringe with their corniness or just plain crack me up. But I know that isn't true for everyone.

How about just phrasing the action so that names aren't required? Like "he slipped deep into her and began..." or "She felt him enter, and gasped"

Yeah, I've thought the same thing myself on many occasions.  If it has to be named at all, I'd rather see it just called what it is than see the euphemisms.  I grit my teeth through most of them; some more so than others:P  And I think that can work just as well in historicals & such just as well as with erotica.

her channel...

personally I would rather NOT see the word vagina, it turns me off big time LOL! even penis I'd rather see cock or whatever LOL  I never thought cock was a dirty word but maybe it is since I see it used a lot.

Anne

Cock is good.  Uh... I mean the word... of course:P  The dreaded "P word" for female stuff, is kinda ewwy in a romance though.  And the C word isn't much better.  But the dewy petals and lily pad stuff is the worst.  IMHO, anyway:P  Oh... and "quim"?  Bleeeech!

"Cock is good.  Uh... I mean the word... of course:P  The dreaded "P word" for female stuff, is kinda ewwy in a romance though.  And the C word isn't much better.  But the dewy petals and lily pad stuff is the worst.  IMHO, anyway:P  Oh... and "quim"?  Bleeeech!"

Ditto, Kim!  Listed in order (words that make me kinda cringe), the C word is number one, followed by vagina (don't see that all that often though), the P word, and "quim" (as in WTH?). For some reason, "cock" doesn't bother me so much.  All the other silly phrases "dewy petals", etc, don't make me cringe as much as they just make me laugh. 

I wish I had some good suggestions for alternative words or phrases, but I'm drawing a blank.  I saw this thread yesterday and thought that surely I should be able to come up with something, but it's just not happening - sorry about that!

I'm doing the same thing.  Just stone cold blank:P  I think sometimes that writers should just suit themselves on that one.  The readers who love them will forgive the occasional cringer, and some will never notice them at all.  I actually think that - and I'm going to type the word out here, so brace yourselves - cunt is not so bad in dialogue, like say, it's during sex & the hero is talking dirty.  It's kinda titillating if it's done well, IMO:P  Cock is fine with me too.  Again, somewhat titllating and sexually explicit, and works in the appropriate situations.  Pussy, is just bleh to me:P  I'll say that word when baby talking to a cat, but for the body part - ew.  As for descriptive verse, anatomically correct terms penis & vagina can work if the rest of it isn't too prosy.  But those words don't go with prose, IMO.  Like pudenda and clitoris, save 'em for something a little more clinical:P

I read a book earlier this week where the author called vagina "quim."  I had never heard that before.  But she used it in just about every sentence of the sex scene.  I couldn't decide if I liked that word or not, and that detracted from reading the story.

other options: "soft folds" 

I also agree with not using any words, just describing.  "he stroked her gently" or if the heroine is particularly naive just say "he touched her -there-"

Quim makes me think of foam, for some weird reason, which is just all out gross:P  I dunno what it is, but I picture a big, thick head of foam from the top of a mug of God knows what, and it's flying all over the room:P  Beware the flying quim!

Quim is an old British dirty word for the female flower.  It was used alot in porn as one would read in The Pearl, an anthology of 18th century, if I remember correctly, pornographic literature.

I don't like the flowery euphemisms either, but the Ken & Barbie idea makes me say "EEEK".  I'm writing an explicit erotic story here and don't want to elicit laughs.

"Womanhood" is another one that strikes me as rather innocuous.  Wadda ya'll think of that one?  I'm trying to avoid the "P" and "C" words, which could offend and sort of make it seem vulgar.