In Praise of Being Totally Gross

I WAS IN my 20s when I first witnessed another woman unabashedly describe her vagina.

- RACHEL HOLLIS

I was mortified.

I was pregnant at the time with my first baby and working my way through a pile of books I'd hoped would prepare me for motherhood.

This included Jenny McCarthy's "Belly Laughs," her bestseller about being pregnant, and its chapter on vaginal discharge, called-I will never forget-"Niagara in my Pants." Whatever shock you're feeling reading this now, I promise it pales in comparison to what I felt at 24.

I grew up in a conservative home in which no one, ever, talked about anything "inappropriate," particularly if it was bodily. Many families from my generation had cutesy words for genitals. Ours was "privates"-as in, that is private and not to be discussed openly for any reason, not even with my older sisters.