Abstract
Effective communication is acknowledged as vital to effective sexual function in relationships. However, encouraging open verbalization may not necessarily ameliorate an inherent communication barrier between men and women. This study explored whether intimate communication in a sexual context displayed gender-specific vocabulary. One hundred eighty subjects drawn from three midwestern universities completed anonymous questionnaires with their preferred vocabulary for referring to male and female genitals and the act of copulation within the context of communicating with spouse or lover about their own physical relationship. Statistical differences between the genders were computed for the most frequently used terms. Results indicate that strong public norms exist for private intimate communication. Those norms vary by gender; males and females have significantly different sexual vocabularies, but use them in attempts at intimate communication with one another.