Virginity: A myth?

 My topic for discussion today might seem a bit controversial, but I had to. When I say 'I had to' I mean its 2022 and a lot of people are still holding on to archaic beliefs on what virginity entails. 

Who is a Virgin?

A person who has never had sexual intercourse, or sometimes, one who has never engaged in any sexual activity at all. 

Having defined that, let me apologise in advance.

I'm sorry to burst your bubble if you're one of these guys that have strange beliefs about virginity and I'll be taking you on a precise and comprehensive enlightening journey by listing five top myths about virginity. Ready, set, action! 

1. The hymen doesn't indicate virginity.

Oops! Shocker right? Well I was surprised when I found out too. Now for those of us who may not know what it means — The hymen is just a thin membrane of tissue that partially covers or in rare cases totally covers the opening of the vagina and the whole purpose of it is to keep bacteria out of the vagina (evolutionary reason by the way), after that it serves no purpose. And so the belief that the hymen is a wall that indicates a virgin is false.

2. A broken hymen means you're not a virgin.

As stated in my earlier definition of who a virgin is, I'd like to say this belief is just foolhardy. Moving on from there, the hymen can stretch, but it can also break and tear, not just because of sexual activity but through using tampons, cycling, exercise at any age, etcetera. 

3. Hymens look the same.

NO! The hymen comes in different shapes. There's the: 

A. Imperforate hymen — which completely covers the opening to the vaginal, blocking menstrual blood and secretion from flowing out. Which is a rare condition. The standard treatment is to surgically cut away part of the hymen using a scalpel or laser. This procedure is called an hymenotomy.

B. Microperforate hymen — A condition in which the hymen has a very small opening. Menstrual blood and vaginal secretions can flow out of the vagina, but the patient may have difficulty or inability to use tampons or have vaginal intercourse.

C. Septate hymen — occurs when the hymen has a band of extra tissue in the middle that causes two small vaginal openings instead of one. 

D. Ciribiform hymen — A condition in which the hymen has several very small openings. Menstrual blood and vaginal secretions can flow out of the vagina, but the patient will be unable to use tampons or have vaginal intercourse. 

AND

Did you know that there are some women who aren't even born with a hymen? So what does it make them? Non-virgins from birth? 

In addition, we have the annular, dentate, fimbriated, posterior lunar, subseptate, bifenestrate, anterior lunar hymen. 

4. The virginity test.

This is the biggest scam ever.  A doctor can't tell if you're a virgin. And what is this thing I hear about the 'Two fingers test?' If you believe that, I'm sorry to burst your bubble again.  The test typically involves a check for the presence of an intact hymen, typically on the 'flawed assumption' that it can only be torn as a result of sexual intercourse. Now here is a stimulating question, if a girl isn't born with a hymen, how then do you determine if she is a virgin or not? Logically and scientifically speaking, you can not determine a woman's virginity by just looking at or feeling it. Virginity testing is unethical and has no clinical or scientific basis and also a violation of human rights. 

5. Bleeding and pain.

Another scam is the belief behind bleeding or hurting the first time you have sex. The hymen is very thin and delicate so it doesn't get a whole lot of blood supply. Even if your hymen gets torn the first time you have sex, you maybe get a drop of blood or two. 🤷‍♀️ 

Most of the bleeding actually comes from the vagina tissue which is very vascular, but it doesn't mean that you necessarily have to bleed the first time you have sex. Although, you can experience pain the first time you have sex, but most times that happens because you're anxious and tense around your vaginal region. Which is totally normal, because its your first time. 

Now that we know the myths about virginity, I'd like to state that part of the problem here is women do not know their own anatomy, and need to start enlightening themselves. It's also not too much if topics like this are added to the curriculum in schools to address it properly.  

                 XOXO   

Soures:

• Dr Fatima Daoud, MD (Obstetrician-Gynaecologist)
• Nationwide Childrens Org