8 Surprising Facts About Your Hymen And Virginity That Will Blow Your Mind

#1

The concept of female virginity has a complicated history. We've all heard the old stories about maids coming to check the sheets after the wedding night when a king marries a young woman, searching for the telltale bloodstain, which was supposedly proof that she was a virgin. Or remember Claude's horrifying virginity test on "Reign"? That still happens in some cultures.

At the center of all this commotion is a small, ragged membrane just inside the opening to the vagina , called the hymen. That old-timey expression "popping your cherry"? The cherry is the hymen. The hymen, or lack of one, has long been the gold standard for determining virginity, although this gets complicated, as you'll see in a sec.But how important is this little piece of tissue? Does it truly explode/rip/pop upon contact as pop culture would have us believe?

#1 Virginity isn't a term that can be explained

According to some people virginity is a social construct, not a medical condition. While there is no medical definition for virginity, it is an important concept to many people,It's built by social norms and beliefs even if it doesn't have a scientific basis,so you likely have a definition or belief about what virginity entails based on your friends, what your parents have taught you, and whether or not you have specific religious beliefs. To many, virginity means you haven't yet had sex.

#2 Penis+vagina= Loss of Vcard? NOPE.

The concept of virginity has long been tied up with heteronormative ideas when a penis enters your vagina, you're no longer a virgin.

There are some obvious problems with this definition. It gets ridiculous when you think, if someone is a lesbian, knows they're a lesbian from day one, and has never had sex with a male-bodied person, are they going to be a virgin until the day they die?

Does that mean if someone only has anal sex but not vaginal sex, are they still a virgin?

When we say sex, it means oral, anal, or vaginal sex.

#3 Virginity isn't something you can prove:

So because there is no medical diagnosis, there really isn't a way to prove that a woman is a virgin or not.I suggest that the best way to know is to just ask.

#4 Hymen isn't a membrane, definitely not a closed one.

It's easy to imagine the hymen as a wall or a structure that needs to be broken, sort of like being the first one to cross through the finish line tape in a race. In reality, the hymen is a thin membrane that is just inside the vaginal opening.It also has an opening in it, so that menstrual blood and other secretions can get out. Generally, that opening is in a crescent shape, but it varies from woman to woman. Some have very small openings, and some even have multiple openings in the hymen. Rarely, a woman will have a closed hymen, which is called "imperforate," but that requires medical intervention.

#5 It's hard to see with naked eyes.

If you try to look for yours, it may be difficult to pinpoint.If you don't know what you're looking for, you'd have a really hard time telling the difference because it will be a fleshy colored membrane in a place where you have flaps and folds and hair.

#6 By the time you decide to have sex, your hymen may already be undetectable:

Think of it like tissue paper,It can stretch or tear or easily rub away.Activities like horseback riding, biking, gymnastics, using tampons, fingering, and masturbation can all cause the hymen to move out of the way.

#7 Bleeding isn't a must

While some women experience a few drops of blood the first time they have vaginal sex, it's pretty rare, because of all the reasons mentioned above. It doesn't really take that much to fully open the hymen. According to some people it doesn't even have a huge blood supply, so even if it is intact, you may not bleed much or at all. People make a big deal about whether you bleed the first time you have sex But the idea of ‘popping a cherry' is not the momentous event that a lot of people think it is or are told it will be. Sometimes sex can cause bleeding from the vaginal mucosa, not the hymen, if it s particularly dry or the movements are too fast or rough.

#8 Virginity is your property.

There are some major problems with the concept of "losing your virginity." That implies that it isn't in your control. If you lose your phone, is that a conscious decision? No! We need to change how we talk about virginity. It shouldn't be something that someone takes from you."The most important thing is to keep yourself safe, and do something you feel good about,"Take it slow and really know what's comfortable for you and your body and what's going on down there and relax about a lot of it." And for sure don't worry about your hymen. Or lack thereof.