Best of Mamamia 2012: Do either of these words bother you?

Editor’s Note: There are some days when I walk into the Mamamia offices and I am just SO FREAKING EXCITED about hitting publish on a particular post.

Why, you ask? When everything we publish is just so wonderful? Excellent question. And like all parents, of course I love all the posts equally and don’t play favourites… who am I kidding. Of course I’ve got favourites, and so it seems, do you.

They’re the posts that made us laugh so loudly and for so long that we literally had to hold onto the desk for support. The ones that had us throwing our fists into the air and pumping because HELLS YEAH I agree with that. The ones that had you reaching for the box of tissues at work, wiping off the mascara and wishing you could give the author a big hug of support.

So! To finish up the year that was, we’re going to bring you the most popular 20 Mamamia posts of 2012. It’s like a countdown, an advent calendar of sorts, but one that gets your through the post-Christmas blur and into the new year. We’ve been lucky to have some truly wonderful writers join us to share their thoughts on Mamamia this year. This is the very, very best of what they had to offer. Enjoy.

NUMBER 20: ‘Do any of these words offend you?’ By Kate Hunter.

Well. Nothing gets women talking like a bit of discharge. But will it get then buying panty shields?

This ad from Carefree breaks more barriers than a Dukes Of Hazard car chase, using the words ‘discharge’ and then following up with the v bomb. Yes, that nice young lady says ‘vagina’ ON THE TELLY.

Believe me, this would not have been a careless move by Carefree and their advertising agency. It would have been researched and tested and debated, possibly for years.

Will it work? Will women admire Carefree for their woman-to-woman cut the coyness approach? Or will it backfire?

People are certainly talking.

And they are splitting into two camps – the outraged and the, ‘about timers.’

The outraged, predictably, are worried about two things – how we can explain it to the kidlets who may or may not be ready for the, ‘Becoming A Woman’ talk and the ‘Slippery Slope Towards Debauchery,’ – if we are saying the word ‘vagina,’ surely it’s only a matter of time before we SHOW AN ACTUAL VAGINA (cue vulva police) in a feminine hygiene commercial! And then where will society be?

Actually, there is a third camp, the fellas who cannot hear the word ‘vagina’ without going a bit pale and finding something else to do – at least 3km away. They are okay with the ‘c’ word and a ‘p’ word but ‘v’ has them running. Too anatomical, too medical. Interestingly, there are plenty of women running alongside them on that.

The ‘about timers’ camp is immensely relieved that finally, finally we are moving away from the ambiguity of blue liquid. They are fed up with vague promises of, ‘confidence every day,’ and rapt that healthy discharge is now part of a healthy discourse.

What do you think? Where do you sit on vaginal discharge? What words do you find offensive?