Why does the hymen exist?
Our bodies, every part of them, are masterpieces of God, their structure and function incomparably precise and ingenious. So, what is the function of the hymen? Why isn't there a "male hymen"? Is it truly a requirement from God for female chastity?
After years of research, anthropologists have proposed two theories:
The protective theory states that the vaginal walls of young girls are relatively thin and their ovaries are not yet fully developed. The hymen plays a very important role in blocking the invasion of pathogens, protecting the internal reproductive system, and maintaining fertility.
Sexual selection theory: The hymen functions to select the strongest male, allowing superior sperm to enter the vagina for fertilization, which has significant evolutionary value. In ancient times, human sexual intercourse was highly casual, and the existence of the hymen prevented men with low sexual function from taking advantage of women. There is a certain correlation between sexual function and physical strength; those with weaker physical strength usually also have lower sexual function. The hymen acts as a barrier; only those who break through this barrier can pass on their genes to offspring.
Three stages of hymen change
Girls' Generation:
The hymen covers the vagina near the external opening, is about 1 to 2 millimeters thick, and has a small opening in the middle called the "hymenal orifice". It is about 1 centimeter in diameter and is usually round, oval or serrated. Some are crescent-shaped with the orifice off to one side. Some are septate with two small openings side by side, one above the other or the other side by side. Some have many scattered small openings, like a sieve.
During menstruation, menstrual blood is discharged through this small opening. If there is no opening in the hymen, the menstrual blood is blocked each month, accumulates in the vagina, and extends upwards into the uterine cavity and fallopian tubes, and may even flow into the abdominal cavity, causing fallopian tube damage, intestinal adhesions, and abdominal infection. This condition is medically known as "imperforate hymen" and requires gynecological surgery.
Before puberty, due to low estrogen levels secreted by the ovaries, the vaginal mucosa is thin, has few folds, low acidity, and weak resistance, thus the hymen serves to prevent bacteria from invading the vagina. After puberty, as the ovaries develop and estrogen levels increase, vaginal resistance strengthens, and the hymen loses its function.
First night:
During the first sexual intercourse, the hymen is broken, causing a tear and bleeding.
Because hymen shapes vary, the degree of rupture can differ greatly. A septate hymen with two openings tends to bleed more and experience more severe pain. A labial hymen bleeds very little and is almost painless. A thick, highly elastic umbrella-shaped hymen may not rupture at all!
According to a survey by American gynecologists, approximately 30% of women do not bleed during their first sexual intercourse. This 30% includes women with a more elastic, umbrella-shaped hymen, which may rupture after multiple sexual encounters or a particularly vigorous sexual experience, but without bleeding. It also includes women with a more fragile, porous, cribriform hymen, which may have already ruptured for various reasons before the first sexual intercourse.
Postpartum:
As the fetus is delivered vaginally, the hymen is further damaged. Sometimes only a few remnants remain, called hymenal remnants. This change does not occur with cesarean section.
Hymenoplasty – To do it or not to do it?
While a broken heart cannot be repaired, a ruptured hymen can. Hymenoplasty is a simple surgical procedure: using the remaining hymen tissue, it is surgically sutured to restore it as close as possible to its pre-rupture state. Ruptures caused by impacts, sports injuries, or a few sexual encounters are easily repaired. However, ruptures resulting from repeated sexual activity are more difficult to repair.
Hymenoplasty is entirely a product of the hymen culture. In 17th and 18th century Europe, women were universally labeled as either "ladies" or "prostitutes." The distinction was simple: whether their hymen was intact before their first marriage. While medicine wasn't as advanced then, women still had ways to remedy the situation, such as hiding a chicken heart on their wedding night.
After years of sexual liberation movements, the concept of hymen has faded to the point of being almost invisible. Modern women are more concerned with: when to start and with whom. While cosmetic sex surgery is far more advanced in Europe and America than in China, hymenoplasty is not offered there.
Perhaps we should consider the concept of "virginity" from a different perspective: virginity is not something we can "lose" or "give" to someone, not a membrane or a few drops of blood, but rather signifies our self-respect and physical integrity, and our freedom of choice. When we make serious and deliberate choices based on this sense of self-respect, we are virgins to every new lover, and even with the same lover, in every new phase of life.
Perhaps only when women truly understand their own bodies, and when men truly understand that chastity resides in the heart rather than on that thin membrane, can we break free from the shackles of the hymen ghost on the soul.
