Language and Women's Bodies: A Dutch Dictionary Change

Vocabulary

Article

The Dutch dictionary Dikke van Dale announced it would include a new term, vulvalippen, alongside the traditional word schaamlippen. The established term translates as "shame lips," which linguists and activists argue reinforces negative attitudes toward women's bodies. Campaigners, particularly the Schaamteloos movement founded by Shari Klein, contend that language shapes self-perception. Klein emphasizes that people deserve anatomically neutral terminology free from implicit judgment. This shift reflects broader European efforts to examine how words used in medical and everyday contexts encode stigma around female sexuality.