Sweden invented a word for female masturbation, and it’s pretty graphic

This article contains sexually explicit material.

While it’s easy for a guy to declare he’s going to go jerk off, there’s never been a female equivalent of a slang term for masturbation—that is, until now.

Thanks to a contest sponsored by the Swedish Association for Sexual Education (RFSU), a new term has been selected to describe the act of female self-pleasure: klittra. The term is a contraction of sorts of the words “clitoris” and “glitter” (because that’s what your head feels like it’s full of when you have an orgasm? I dunno, your guess is as good as ours.) 

“Klittra” beat out other frontrunners, including “pulla” and “selfa,” at a conference in Sweden where the vote was conducted.

The RFSU received 1,200 responses via mail, email and comments, and “klittra” was the word that most women felt accurately represented the act of female masturbation.

Back in April, Refinery 29 also sought to find a suitable replacement for terrible female masturbation terms, tossing out suggestions like “petting the cat,” “buttering my muffin,” “my private, sexy time” and “jilling off.” But none of those have quite caught on. 

A spokesperson for RFSU told Huffington Post UK: “Women are not expected to have desires and be turned on in the same way as men, which is reflected in the lack of words [for masturbation].” She said that “klittra” “highlights the importance of the clitoris for pleasure.” 

Could “klittra” cross the Atlantic Ocean and arrive on our shores? 

Or does anyone else have a better suggestion?

H/T Huffington Post UK | Photo via Franca Gimenez/Flickr (CC 2.0)