Answer:
by Yvonne Fulbright: (05/14/2004)
Rest easy. I can assure you that nobody can tell just by
looking at a woman's vagina whether or not she is a virgin,
nor is it possible for a man to determine a woman's
virginity status when he is having sex with her. Yet for as
easy as that sounds, many people and societies think that
you can figure out if a woman is a virgin by whether or not
she has an intact hymen (a thin, tissue membrane that
stretches across part of the vaginal opening). Often, when
a man has sex with a female virgin, people expect that she
will bleed as a result of her hymen being broken during her
first experience with sexual intercourse. Yet whether or
not she bleeds is not "proof" of her virginity since many
women do not have an intact hymen. This is because the
hymen has already been broken through tampon use, or
exercise, or sports activity, or finger penetration of the
vagina, etc... Plus, some women are born with partial or
no hymen at all! What complicates the matter even farther
is that many female virgins with a hymen may not bleed
during the first time they have sexual intercourse because
sometimes the act simply stretches the hymen instead of
tearing it.
You sounded a bit stressed out in your inquiry. So if you're
asking these questions because you're concerned about
whether or not a partner can tell if you are or aren't a
virgin, take a deep breath and relax knowing that your
partner can't prove that you aren't a virgin. Then wonder if
the relationship is worth it if you have to prove something
like this to somebody.
Thank you for visiting the sexual health network.
Yvonne K. Fulbright, MS.Ed.
Sexual Health NetworkReviewed by: Kathleen VanKirk DHS
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