When I saw the cover of Cosmo’s September issue I knew it had gone too far. Whether it was intentional or not (but I can’t imagine how it could not have been intentional), the big bold headline “Untamed Va-jay-jays” is slapped right across covergirl Jessica Alba’s, um, well, va-jay-jay. Which makes me wonder if flawlessly beautiful Jessica Alba has some crazy ’70s-style untamed bush under her flirty designer dress. And I’m pretty sure that’s not what Cosmo was going for.
I’ve never liked the word va-jay-jay. It makes me cringe even to type it. When I hear people say it out loud I am a little embarrassed. Only Oprah can make it sound sort of OK, but the problem is when Oprah says something, it becomes a part of our cultural lexicon. She started saying it so much E!’s The Soup created a segment called “Oprah’s Va-jay-jay.”
According to the NYT, who looked into the etymology of this now established neologism back in 2007, “va-jay-jay” rose to fame after Oprah heard it on an episode of Grey’s Anatomy and started saying it on the air. Turns out Grey’s only used it to assuage the show’s standards and practices executives who didn’t want to hear “vagina” said too many times. What’s wrong with saying “vagina”? I much prefer it to “va-jay-jay.”
Now, here it is, three years later, and “va-jay-jay” is on the cover of a glossy September issue, with the descriptor “untamed” in front of it, on top of Jessica Alba’s crotch. I think it’s safe to say “va-jay-jay” has jumped the shark. So let’s stop saying it. Please?
Bonus points to anyone who can figure out what Oprah is saying about her va-jay-jay here.
Tags: Cosmopolitan, Jessica Alba
Most Popular Stories
Comments [23]
Popular Stories
The 10 Best YouTube Hair Tutorials
The 10 Best YouTube Makeup Tutorials 
Fashion's Most Stylish Guys Give Mark Zuckerberg an (Almost!) Hoodie-Free Makeover for Facebook's IPO
Style and Substance: 10 Ladies Who Have Proven You Can Have Both
10 Beauty Boards You Should Be Following on Pinterest
They need to just say vagina. There’s nothing wrong with that term. Calling it vajayjay makes it seem as if the vagina is something shameful. Parents should also use the correct terminologies for body parts when they teach their kids. Stop calling it weewee and peepee.
wow. that’s so true, our culture made us being so unfair and not very polite with our bodies, lives and everything… it’s sort of… MEAN. why i have to insult myself? i cannot like me, but i have to respect what i have… and seeing entire posters in subway’s stations saying in HUGE letters “va-jay-jay” in a triangle’s form… it’s not (so) fair as lily allen sang.
loved your article!
xx
Nikkie.
Another reason to not read Cosmo. If they, as a women’s magazine, don’t even have the balls to say vagina, then really, they’re not worth reading. (Not to mention that they actually have an article about this and they felt it deserved a spot on the cover.)
When I hate most about Cosmo (and all the other mags in this category) is how everything is focused on MEN. And what we as women need to do to make MEN happy. And, now on top of that, we can’t even say vagina…
I’m also going to bet that they don’t even really mean vagina but vulva and don’t know the difference (this is a pet peeve of mine). I doubt there have been very many fashion trends that actually involve the vagina since it’s hard to see in there without medical equipment.
I blame Grey’s Anatomy most of all. I bet that it might be a way of getting past censors and that the use of the word vagina would warrant a opaque cover in most super markets, but really i think that vajayjay is way more offensive than just vagina.
This is all just so ridiculous!!!!!!
(not the piece or your comments, of course!)
The fact that Cosmo believes this is an appropriate cover tag undermines the intelligence of women reading it. Just ludicrous this is a cover topic.
Shame on them.
What would Helen G Brown say?
The one thing even more annoying than va-jay-jay is when people say vagina and really mean vulva. Did none of these Cosmo writers pay any attention in elementary school sex ed??
What’s wrong with “vagina”? How about the fact that the article is about pubic hair (I’m assuming) and that the vagina does have hair?
I much prefer cutesy slang to inncorrect use of anatomical terms.
You mean like vulva?
How ludicrous it is that a show named after the authoritative anatomy text felt compelled to invent a word because they considered the word “vagina” too confronting or disgusting to be said aloud. I’m certain that “va-jay-jay”isn’t listed in the index of Grey’s Anatomy, but “moron” may well be.
To say something jumped the shark presumes that at one point, it had some redeeming qualities. Va-jay-jay never should have happened, at all (it makes me uncomfortable to type it, as well). The only reason it was on Grey’s Anatomy was because they were afraid the word “vagina” would be censored.
WHO ARE these alleged 1.5 MILLION PEOPLE who actually READ COSMO? I think those circulation numbers have to be a lie.
I haven’t bought a Cosmo since I was 25 and already learned about the birds and the bees (except when there was something I would want a boyfriend to read in which I would conveniently plop it by the toilet). It’s basically two pages of “girls on the town” fashion and a hundred pages of stupid advice on how to turn on a man,painful confessions off embarrassing moments and hour by hour schedules on how to spend your sunday. Though it is lame I care less about va-jay-jay (what else are they supposed to say coochie..private parts…poonanie?) and more about the lame covers. Who on earth picks the dresses for their covers? They are absolutely hideous and often look like they came from Hoochies-R-US or the bargain rack at T.J. Maxx. Each month I am stunned that out of the millions of beautiful dresses out there they manage to find the cheapest, ugliest and most gaudy ones for their covers. Even in the above cover–the dress looks like it belongs on a thirteen yr. old. It also looks like a thirteen year old picked out the color scheme……… Though I admit I am curious to find out if landing strips and waxing is out of style….(wouldn’t that be nice.)
Also, they said vagina on Mad Men last week and it was amazing.
Saying “va-jay-jay” (ugh) instead of vagina or vulva, which is usually what the users of the word actually mean, strikes me as another way of making grown women back into little girls. Using infantile words for body parts goes right along with this ridiculous trend of having a completely waxed, hairless pubic area. You know what segment of the population naturally lacks pubic hair? Little girls. Children. And it is creepy as hell to find child-like sexual characteristics appealing.
Saying “va-jay-jay” (ugh) instead of vagina or vulva, which is usually what the users of the word actually mean, strikes me as another way of making grown women back into little girls. Using infantile words for body parts goes right along with this ridiculous trend of having a completely waxed, hairless pubic area. You know what segment of the population naturally lacks pubic hair? Little girls. Children. And it is creepy as hell to find child-like sexual characteristics appealing.
Well, the *vagina* does not have hair, but I’m going to assume you knew that.
Regardless, I agree completely, vagina and vulva are fine words. Vay jay jay (that was painful to type) is decidedly NOT fine.
It is SO not that big of a deal.
Ok so the Va Jay Jay topic is a little sensitive. Yes it all started with Gray’s Anatomy. But the writer who is also creator of the show wanted to use the word Vagina originally. But the show is only allowed to use the word penis and vagina like 5 times through out the entire season of the show. So the writer/creator came up with a different word that they would be able to use with out getting reemed. Second who ever wrote this article Leah, needs to go back to High School or even Middle School. She states that the words Untamed Va Jay Jay was written across Jessica’s “Va Jay Jay” WTH The words were written across her lower abdomen or “womb” which is no where near her Vagina.
Cosmo…their stories are all the same just slapped with another title and some tweeking here and there. 95% of their articles are about sex guys and more sex. Every time I pick up a Cosmo mag i feel like I’m a 35 year old cougar desperately trying to find tips and tricks to get a guy to settle down with me. I mean just look at the other things written on the cover…”Seduce him- Guy sex confessions-The touch that calms him.” I mean really ???!!
man I love greys and now I’ve lost so much respect. but most of all for cosmo.
I see no one saying anything about the fact that this cover should be behind the counter with the other porn magazines. This should never have been put out on racks at stores where small children can see them.