title: Male or female joints on bowls and bongs description: Which way round a glass joint goes, how to tell yours at a glance, and why shops seem to name the same bowl two different ways. primary_query: male vs female bowl format: rule board pillar: parts and fit updated: 2026-11-08
A male joint goes in. A female joint takes it. A bowl fits a piece when the sizes match and the kinds are opposite: a 14 mm male bowl in a 14 mm female joint.
How to tell at a glance
- Female: an opening. You can look down into it, and the frosted glass is on the inside.
- Male: a stub. The frosted glass is on the outside, and it's the part that goes into something.
What's usual here
| On this shelf | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| Bowls with a stated joint | 17 | 0 |
| Bongs and bubblers with a stated joint | 0 | 18 |
So the common pairing here is a female joint on the piece and a male bowl in it. The few female bowls are for pieces with a male joint.
Two ways of saying the same thing
Some shops name a part by its own joint ("14 mm male bowl"). Others name it by the joint it goes on ("bowl for 14 mm female"). Both describe the same bowl. On this site every part is named by its own joint, and its page lists the pieces it fits, so there's nothing to translate.
Downstems have two joints
A removable downstem sits in the piece's joint at its top and takes the bowl in its own opening. When you replace one, match both: the joint it sits in, and the bowl it has to take. The Parts Fit Guide has the bowls by joint; how to measure a joint covers the dime test and the ruler.