Myth Busted: Hymens Don't Indicate If You've Had Sex

There are a lot of myths out there about the hymen, and according to some new research, those myths are pretty much completely false. According to BuzzFeed, a new review paper on virginity testing revealed that some pretty common beliefs about the hymen are actually not at all true — and that may be a good thing.

The hymen, according to Planned Parenthood, the hymen is a thin, fleshy tissue right at the opening of the vagina. Planned Parenthood also points out that some people are born with so little hymen it seems they don't have one at all, while others have more tissue there. Basically, all hymens are different, yet they're often used as a marker of virginity.

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According to "Virginity testing: a systematic review," hymens can't actually indicate whether or not you've had sex. And while you might know that, it's how the hymen actually works that we commonly get wrong. Rose Olson, lead author of the review paper, told BuzzFeed that no, your hymen doesn't "break" when you have sex for the first time, the size of your hymen opening isn't indicative of having been penetrated, and it's not your hymen that causes bleeding during sex.

Olson said what's actually happening is that your hymen stretches when you are penetrated. If you lack lubrication, that's when the tearing comes in. But in the review, Olson and another researcher found that if your hymen does tear, it won't always stay that way, which is why hymens don't tell whether or not you've had sex. In fact, the study found hymens that had been torn in the research it reviewed "healed rapidly and frequently left little or no evidence of the previous trauma."

That pretty much busts the myth that a torn hymen means you've had sex, because it turns out hymens can heal — basically, you may have a torn hymen and not have had sex, or you may have an intact hymen and have had sex. It means nothing. The research also notes you can't determine whether someone has been penetrated by the size of someone's hymen opening because people are born with different size hymen holes.

But ultimately, Olson told BuzzFeed none of this matters insofar as virginity is just a social construct.

"'Virginity' is not a medical term, it is a gender-based social and cultural construct," Olson said. "It has been used to sexually exploit and humiliate women and girls throughout history. Its definition changes depending on who you talk to. We need to change how we talk about virginity. 'Losing your virginity' implies that you are not in control of it. No one besides you, not a hymen or another person, can 'take your virginity away'. You are in control of your body, and no one should define you by your sexual history."

This is exactly the point. Virginity testing can be harmful, the research points out, because it can be used to shame and excuse violence against women. But whether or not you've had sex says nothing about your value.

Read more from BuzzFeed here.

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