'Vaginal corona' makes 2009 word list

Published: 31 Dec 09 10:49 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/24148/20091231/

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The Swedish Language Council's (Språkrådet) has added slidkrans (vaginal corona) to its list of official Swedish words following successful lobbying by a sexual rights group. In total, the council added 30 new words to its linguistic roster.

The Swedish Association for Sexuality Education (Riksförbundet för sexuell upplysning – RFSU) petitioned the Language Council to include the word slidkrans (vaginal corona), with which it would like to replace mödomshinna (hymen).

“I am both happy and proud. Words affect how we think and it therefore felt important to replace the old and antiquated expression 'hymen',” RFSU general secretary Åsa Regnér said in a statement.

Earlier this year, RFSU published an informational pamphlet on the female reproductive organs which featured the new Swedish term for the hymen, slidkrans.

“Krans is a Swedish word for something shaped like a circle,” Regnér told The Local at the time.

The group hoped the new term would displace mödomshinna, which translates literally as “virginity membrane” and led to misconceptions about female sexuality, according to RFSU.

The top Swedish headline of 2009 has also added to new terms to the Swedish vocabulary: svininfluensa (swine flu) itself and sprita, referring to the increased use of hand sanitizer.

In total, the language council at the Swedish Institute of Language and Folklore (Institutet för språk och folkminnen – SOFI) added 30 new words to the Swedish language.

In alphabetical order, the first word on the list is “chefsnappning” – which comes from “bossnapping,” an anglo-inspired expression used in France to describe employees locking their boss in his or her office as a collective bargaining tool.

Among the more distasteful words was fiskpedikyr (fish pedicure), referring to the practice of allowing carp to nibble away dead skin on one's toes (a beauty procedure outlawed in several US states due to its “unsanitary nature.”)

Fuldeling, a playful way to describe illegal file-sharing (olaglig fildelning), is also included and can be compared to the expressions fulsprit and fulöl (illegal alcohol and beer).

Grindstad means gated community, referring to the wealthy residential areas that are common in the United States and England.

Könskonträr (gender bender), literally translated as "gender contrary", is someone or something that is the direct opposite of characteristics usually associated with a particular gender, such as a woman who takes a man's name.

The entire list (in Swedish) is available here.

TT/Charlotte West (news@thelocal.se)

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12:20 December 31, 2009 by Roy E
A 'sexual rights group'?

sexual rights?

The world is truly going stupid - not that there are people that come up with absurdities - they have always existed - but because society recognizes such nonsense as serious and legitimate.

What we're dealing with here are people educated to the point of imbecility.
18:39 December 31, 2009 by Suntiger
Why are you so afraid of sex, guys? ;)

RFSU does some silly stuff sometimes (emergancy call condom delivery comes to mind...) but their main work is still sexual education in the schools, and that they do well, much better than the regular teachers.

Even the teachers who were comfortable with talking about sex when I went to school wasn't as good as the RFSU people we got at a few occasions.

The RFSU people had a no-nonsense, direct approach, taking up both the mechanics/biology, the various forms of sexuality and how it's looked on by us (that is, teenagers at that point, it was some years ago now) and society at large.

They did so in a very easy and casual manner without breaking off from facts and gave a both dedicated and competent impression to me.

Have you actually had any direct experience with their sex-ed classes?
23:11 December 31, 2009 by wxman
Is it necessary to create new vernacular for a women's private areas? All of us, worldwide, seem to have a constant fixation with each other's genitalia. We all think about our sexuality and that of others, which is perfectly natural, but we've arrived at the point where it seems to consume our interest.
07:47 January 1, 2010 by Suntiger
Well, considering how many guys I've met who think the hymen actually is a membrane you breach when screwing a virgin, she may have a point about the language.

Necessary? Of course not. But it's not completely pointless either.

And of course people talk and think about sex a lot. We're practically programmed to do so, it's just that our standard of living has made it unnecessary to answer the call all the time in order for the species to survive.

Still, an instinct that powerful won't go away; hence, in a way, the amount of porn on the net. :P
19:24 January 1, 2010 by hilt_m
that's probably a good thing, the old word was virginity layer or something, rather misleading.
00:32 January 2, 2010 by Frobobbles
I usually think what modern swedish feminists do are idiotic things that demonize men and that while they critisize others for sexism and using gender stereotypes, the worst offenders of these things are in fact the feminists themselves.

But in this case the feminists are correct. The hymen and all the myths about it are horrible. Still today hospitals in many countries help 'recreate' the hyman that was never there, ensuring that women blead appropriately during the wedding night.

This practices along with genital mutilation, that is still widespread in some regions and cultures, simply can't be accepted! If a new word helps, so be it.
23:43 January 2, 2010 by alanauer
If "virginity membrane" is considered misleading, why not just replace it with the Swedish for "vaginal-entrance membrane" or simply the commonly-used "hymen"? The membrane is not necessarily circular, and even if it were, calling it a "corona" (Latin for "crown") might be even more misleading and judgement-based.
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