Hymen ≠ Virgin

Virginity is something that is sensitive enough to be discussed, moreover, its relationship with a person’s moral and religious issues makes virginity very sacred. As a result, not many people know the true concept of virginity, society only knows that virginity is always related to the hymen — a damaged hymen will make a woman no longer a virgin. In fact, there is a medical explanation of the hymen relationship and the existing concept of virginity.

The hymen or “hymen” is a term from Greek which means membrane. Hymen, in Greek mythology, is a God of Marriage. The hymen relationship and marriage that is told in Greek mythology may have a role in the origins of why a woman should keep her virginity before marriage by not having sexual intercourse which will damage their hymen.

Of course, this understanding is very conventional. Dr. Robbi Asri Wicaksono, SpOG, a specialist obstetrician, when he was interviewed by Tirto.id said, “The hymen is not like a curtain that covers all the vagina, then it is torn and penetrated during penetration.” This statement breaks the concept of virginity that has been going on for years in society.

Types of the hymen

The shape of the hymen itself varies and varies from person to person. From research conducted by Frank H. Netter MD, a surgeon and illustrator, there are four forms of the hymen as follows:

Annular Hymen
This hymen is shaped like a half moon — this shape makes it easier for menstrual blood to pass out of the vagina. Annular Hymen is the most common form of the hymen.

Septate Hymen
There is also the Septate Hymen, which is a hymen which is marked by several open holes. This open hole separates the vaginal opening, like a nostril that has two holes. If you want it to be removed, then minor surgery is needed to cut the membrane.

Cibriform Hymen
Just like Septate Hymen, this hymen also has more than one hole in its membrane. The difference is, the Cibriform holes are smaller and also have more holes.

Parous Introitus
This type of hymen is usually present in women who have had frequent sexual intercourse. The hole in their hymen can be enlarged, but still leaving a hymen tissue around the vaginal wall.

Apart from the four types of hymen above, according to youngwomenshealth.org, there are also two other types:

• Microperforate Hymen
  This type of hymen has a thin membrane that almost covers the entire vaginal opening. Women with this type of hymen will find it very difficult to insert a tampon or menstrual cup into her vagina. Just like Septate Hymen, this type also requires minor surgery if needed.
• Imperforate Hymen
  The vaginal opening is completely covered by the hymen in this type. This type is very rarely found in women, but if anyone has this type of hymen, it can be ascertained that when menstruating, the pain they feel will be worse than normal women. The reason is, menstrual blood will have difficulty finding a way out of the vagina, so it will cause a very uncomfortable feeling in the lower part of the stomach. Vagina with hymen like this is advised to take surgery to make a hole in the hymen.

Apart from the different shape of the hymen, other factors such as the elasticity of the hymen, how thin the hymen is, or how many blood vessels in the hymen also affect the amount of bleeding during the first sexual intercourse. In fact, women who have a thin hymen will be very susceptible to tearing of the hymen.

This can happen when they engage in horse riding, cycling, or running activities. Conversely, if a person’s hymen is thick and elastic enough, it will be difficult to tear, even after repeated penetration.

The website Physicians for Human Rights also emphasizes that the hymen has nothing to do with virginity. This organization of health advocates for workers explains that scientific and medical facts refuse to use hymen size, morphology, or integrity to determine vaginal penetration in a woman.

Even in the medical world, it is not justified for a doctor to claim that a damaged hymen is a sign of loss of virginity. In a related examination, the doctor may only describe the shape of the hymen, without relating it to virginity.

Article was taken from www.health.detik.com. Issues about SEA Games Isn’t Virgin, This is how the doctor checked

Article was taken from www.kumparan.com. The Medical World Perspective on Virginity

Misunderstanding About Female Virginity

There are many misconceptions about virginity that circulate in society, the most often heard is that the hymen is torn until the discharge of blood when having sex for the first time is a sign of being a virgin.

Here are some misconceptions about virginity circulating in society and how the facts are:

• The hymen intact, sign of virginity

  This is the misconception about virginity that is most often heard.  Intact hymen is a sign of virginity. But in fact, the hymen itself is not really tight but elastic, precisely when the hymen is tight it becomes a sign of a disorder called imperforate hymen (a rare medical condition that requires surgery.) This is because, the hymen does have a hole that is shaped like a like a crescent moon. It is this form that allows menstrual blood to flow out of the vagina.

• When the hymen torn, is it a sign that you had sex

  The fact that you need to know is that a hymen that changes shape or is often called a tear is not only caused by sexual intercourse, there are many causes, such as:

   

  • Fall on a sharp object
  • Injury
  • Medical procedures (transvaginal ultrasound, or taking steps to prevent cervical cancer).

• Every women have a hymen

  Most people believe that every woman must have a hymen. Apparently not so, not all women are born and have a hymen. Even a woman who does not have a hymen from the beginning does not have any impact on her health. Many people may be surprised to learn that the hymen has no proven medical or physiological purpose.

• Bleeding the first time you have sex

  Not all women experience bleeding when they first have sex. Bleeding that occurs when having sex for the first time is usually experienced by women whose hymen is small so that when the hymen penetration occurs it is stretched / has not been properly lubricated.

• Feeling pain the first time you have sex

  As with bleeding, not all women will feel pain the first time they have sex. The pain you feel during sex can be due to several things, namely

  • Feel uncomfortable
  • Having sex for the first time tends to be tense, and this makes the muscles around the vagina tighter and makes penetration painful
  • Penetration is done when the vagina is less wet. If like this happened you can give lubricant.

The concept of the misunderstanding of female virginity has been hereditary to be believed by the majority of society. Of course this is very detrimental for women who are always labeled as bad from this wrong concept.

The integrity of the hymen or not can not be a benchmark for virginity, nor determine whether a woman has had sexual intercourse. There are various other factors that can cause the hymen to tear.