Historically, most medical and health research has been conducted on male bodies, with women's bodies only receiving increasing attention in recent years. It's important not to blame the scientific community for this perceived gender bias and the resulting overemphasis on male research. In fact, compared to male hormones, female hormones are less stable and have a more complex structure, potentially posing significant challenges to basic research. This also explains why we still have many misconceptions about the female body, which this article will dispel.
Myth 1: You can't get pregnant if you have sex during your period.
Although the chances of a woman getting pregnant from having sex during her period are very low, “nothing is impossible when it comes to pregnancy,” says Aaron Carroll of Indiana State University, author of “Don’t Swallow Your Gum: Myths, Half-truths and Outright Lies About Your Body and Health.”
Sperm can survive in a woman's body for up to a week, waiting for an egg to arrive. Ovulation usually occurs shortly after menstruation, and sometimes it even happens within the menstrual cycle itself. This gives patient enough sperm the opportunity to fertilize the egg, leading to pregnancy. Therefore, timing your intercourse to avoid pregnancy won't always work, says Carroll. If you frequently have unprotected sex during this time, pregnancy is still possible.
Myth 2: Menopause causes a sharp decline in libido.
This is not an inevitable trend in the development of sexual life. As early as 1994, Edward Laumann conducted a large-scale survey on sexual habits in the United States. The survey results showed that half of the women over the age of 50 still had sex several times a month.
While some menopausal women experience hot flashes or other discomfort, this does not necessarily link libido to menopause, Vreeman says. So, if you can still enjoy the pleasures of sex, there's no reason to say goodbye to it.
Myth 3: Antibiotics will render birth control pills ineffective.
“Many physicians believe (that antibiotics will render birth control pills ineffective),” Carroll said. The probability of birth control pills failing is only about 1%, and even taking large amounts of antibiotics won't affect that probability, Carroll added.
Rifampin (meperidin) is an exception; it's a prescription drug used to treat tuberculosis. Rifampin can lower the levels of the hormones released by birth control pills to prevent pregnancy. Carroll believes that rifampin is precisely what fueled the rumors that antibiotics can render birth control pills ineffective. He says, "People start thinking about this as soon as they take their clothes off."
Myth 4: Women and men need the same amount of sleep.
In 2008, Edward Suarez of Duke University conducted a systematic study of 210 people and found that women are more prone to insomnia or sudden awakenings, which increases their chances of developing mental illness. It also leads to elevated insulin levels and more inflammation—all of which can harm a person's health.
A research project at the University of Warwick in the UK, involving over 6,000 participants, found that women who sleep less than five hours a day are twice as likely to develop high blood pressure as women who sleep seven hours or more. This correlation did not exist for men. The study suggests that more sleep contributes to better health in women.
Myth 5: Doctors can determine if a woman is a virgin.
Several studies have shown that even with a magnifying glass 10 times stronger than normal, doctors cannot accurately determine whether a girl is a virgin. This task is not as simple as finding a hole in the hymen, as many people imagine. In fact, the hymen already has a hole.
Rachel Vreeman, a professor at Indiana State University and co-author of "Don't Swallow Your Gum" (with Carroll as another author), says, "Some people believe that the hymen closes the vagina (before a woman loses her virginity), but this is a misconception." She continues, "Only in very rare cases does the hymen close the vagina, preventing menstrual blood from flowing out and potentially leading to various diseases."
