#appropriation?

Mexico Unexplained (facebook)

Good question.  I am not one hundred percent sure on this.  “Yonic” seems to be the most commonly-used term to describe something which represents the vulva and/or womb. The problem is that English doesn’t have a term for the female counterpart to “phallic,” and has therefore adopted a term from Sanskrit to describe the idea.  Loanwords like this happen all the time, such as “déjà vu.”  There have been a couple of attempts to create a term based in Latin or Germanic roots, such as “vulvic” or “cunnic”, but neither of these terms encompasses the whole idea of the vulva and the womb together the way “yonic” does. I have rarely heard either of these used, especially “cunnic” … which is probably not surprising, given the cultural significance of the word “cunt,” especially in North America.  

None of this means that it is not appropriative, though.  English is notorious for rummaging through the pockets of other languages for spare vocabulary, and then not always treating that vocabulary or the culture it came from respectfully.  So why do I use it?  Basically, it most clearly conveys what I am trying to represent here (symbols of female reproduction and sexuality), and I think it’s a pretty word that I try to use respectfully, without claiming ownership or creation of it.  So I hope that it is not appropriative, but have no clear answer.

So like, now I’m really curious about the various cultures, clothing, practices and such. I’d love to honor that - but I don’t want to overstep, since I was raised as a white person. Well, I’m white-passing (barely. I did get called lots of racist names in school because I do rather have features typical of that part of the world. We just never knew where they came from.) And like, in May, I wanted to take part in the Asian Invasion, but it didn’t feel right. (Though my son is 1/4 Asian, so he could have. :) )