We think we know the hymen when we actually don’t.
In light of our skewed and sexist education, comedy show Adam Ruins Everything breaks down the myths that surround popping our cherries. The primary takeaway? Nobody’s popping anything, and that virginity is nothing but a dated concept deep-seated in a culture that needs correcting.
Emily Axford, certified human woman, explains what the hymen really is about in this short skit. She jumps in an alternate universe with two clueless boys, and spouts scientifically backed facts.
She starts by doubting the misconception that the hymen is like a “sports banner at a game.” She stresses that the hymen is some sort of “balloon arch” instead, a sensitive lining around the vagina that may hurt if someone “is not careful with it.” (Read: Activities-wise, if you do strenuous activities. Sex-wise, if you’re not properly lubricated.) But don’t worry, the hymen heals by itself.
On the other hand, a 2004 study from The Archives of Adolescent and Pediatric Medicine suggests that 52 percent of sexually active teens still have their hymens intact. So yup, the hymen isn’t a freshness seal, and neither is your virginity something to be consumed immediately after opening (your legs).
The skit also skirts around its cultural consequences. Beyond pop culture lie the realities that women face based on the pristine condition (or the lack of it) of this particular membrane. The clip also stands by its word: “Physically speaking, virginity doesn’t exist, and it’s just something we made up to be mean to women—like Entourage.” (Cue claps at the smooth sass.)
Educational as it may seem, the video has its flaws as well. The most apparent of which is its tendency to reduce men into clueless idiots whose battles with the concept of virginity hardly matter. Truth to be told: It does because feminism covers all of us.
But that’s another topic we can talk about some other time. Are you there, Adam Conover? We just gave you another episode to do.
Photo courtesy of College Humor