The Myth About Female V1rginity – Why Most Women Won’t Bleed The First Time They Have S3x.

 

There’s a very common myth in South and Central Asia (Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan etc.) and Middle East (KSA, we’re especially looking at you) that you can tell if a woman is a virg33n, by whether or not she bleeds the first time she has s333x. There is zero truth in this. Not all women bleed the first time they have s333x, as we’ll explain in this post.


To understand why some women bleed and some don’t, it’s very important to understand what the HYM3N is. The HYM3N is a membrane that tends to cover part of the v3ginal opening (it does not always block or cover the entire v3gina, as some people mistakenly think). NOT ALL WOMEN HAVE A HYM3N. The HYM3N also differs from woman to woman – like all women have different heights and weights and features, all women also have different amounts and types of HYM3N.




 Some women have thick HYM3Ns, some have very thin HYM3Ns, and some women have no HYM3Ns at all. Some women have larger HYM3Ns, some women naturally have a very little amount of HYM3N that covers only a small portion of their v3ginal opening (and hence does not really get in the way, during first-time s333x).

In addition to this, the HYM3N wears away on its own as you grow up. For most women, the HYM3N wears away on its own with exercise, bicycling, horseback riding – it can wear off with pretty much any other physical activity, even dancing! – or from using tampons when menstruating. Especially if the HYM3N is very small or thin, most of it tends to wear away on its own as a girl grows up.

If a woman is born without a HYM3N, she won’t bleed the first time she has s333x. If a woman has a small or thin HYM3N, she might not bleed the first time she has s333x. If a woman’s HYM3N has worn away on its own (which is very common as girls grow up), she won’t bleed the first time she has s333x. The result is that the overwhelming majority – at least 63% of women – will NOT bleed the first time they have s333x, according to a study published by the British Medical Journal. Women who do bleed include:

– Women with thick HYM3Ns (who constitute a small percentage of the population)
– Younger girls. Because the HYM3N wears away on its own with time, a 16-year old has a higher chance of bleeding than a 25-year old. By the time a girl is of or above the legal age of consent – 18, 20, 24 years of age, for example – most of her HYM3N is likely to have worn away on its own, meaning it’s unlikely that she’ll bleed a lot, if at all. However, even a young girl can be physically active, have a thin or small HYM3N, or have no HYM3N at all, meaning she might not bleed during first-time s333x.

– Most often, women who bleed tend to be women who are dealt with roughly during s333x. If the guy forces himself inside the girl, when she isn’t ready, relaxed or aroused enough, he is likely to cause injury or bleeding. Because most people think it’s normal for women to bleed the first time they have s333x, they don’t realize that this bleeding is a result of the woman having been hurt, and not of the HYM3N ‘breaking.’ Painful first-time s333x is generally because the woman is not relaxed or aroused enough, and gets hurt as a result; it is rarely ever because of the HYM3N breaking.

The bottom line is that there is no way to assess female virg33nity. Bleeding does not have anything to do with virg33nity – it has to do with the kind of HYM3N a girl has, and HYM3Ns differ from girl to girl from birth. The result is that only a small percentage of women bleed the first time! (Only 37% bleed during first-time s333x, according to the study published in the British Medical Journal.)
Why is this so important to be aware of? Women all over the world get abused, injured and even killed due to the myth of ‘virg33n bleeding.’ Because most people (men AND women) think that bleeding is a sign of virg33nity, women who don’t bleed the first time have been divorced, suffered from suspicion leading to domestic violence and abuse, and even killed for honour. Educating people that a girl does not necessarily have to bleed the first time she has s333x – because not all girls have thick HYM3Ns, and some are born with no HYM3N at all – is important because it can literally save lives.

P.S: We understand that not everyone is able to share material like this, even if they want to. However, the only way we can educate people regarding this issue is if it goes into the newsfeeds of as many people as possible, if as many people as possible read it. So please consider sharing or forward this to your friends. We need to make content like this visible to increase its reach, to educate people, to have impact. If we can save or better the life of even person with this post, it’s worth it.