Читать книгу Sex For Dummies - Pierre Lehu A., Dr. Ruth K. Westheimer - Страница 61

The hymen is the membrane that covers the entrance to the vagina. When intact, the hymen was once considered the traditional proof of a woman’s virginity. Her status as a virgin was verified by the bleeding that often occurs when the hymen is first penetrated (see Chapter 10).

In some cultures, the mother of the bride would actually display the bloody sheets after the wedding night to show how pure her daughter had been before her marriage. And if by some chance the daughter had been slightly impure, some chicken’s blood would do — especially because DNA testing hadn’t been invented yet.

Today, however, many women break this membrane accidentally before their first attempt at sexual intercourse, either by inserting a tampon or while performing vigorous activities, such as bicycle riding or horseback riding. In the vast majority of cases, even an intact hymen has perforations so menstrual blood can pass through, but some women are born without these perforations and a doctor must pierce the hymen. (By the way, the fact that a woman has broken her hymen before she’s had sexual intercourse doesn’t change her status as a virgin. Traditionally, only through actual intercourse with a man could she change that standing, as that was the only way to risk pregnancy. In today’s world, where people engage in sex in so many ways, the entire concept of virginity remains quite fluid.)