So-Called Virginity Tests Are Unreliable, Invasive and Sexist. And Yet They Persist. by H. Kaur
I don’t agree with all content in this editorial or ones like it.
I don’t share the view that virginity is a “social construct,” as is stated in this editorial.
American culture shames people who are NOT sexually active – there is no respect from culture, churches, liberals, conservatives, atheists, Christians or anyone else, for virginity.
(Link): So-Called Virginity Tests Are Unreliable, Invasive and Sexist. And Yet They Persist.
(CNN) The comments, as soon as they made the rounds, were met with swift condemnation: Rapper T.I. says he takes his daughter to the gynecologist after each birthday to determine if she’s a virgin.
Celebrities and the Twittersphere howled in disbelief. Human rights advocates and doctors tut tutted their disapproval. The hosts of the podcast Ladies Like Us, where T.I. made the remarks, distanced themselves. (CNN could not reach T.I. for comment.)
As doctors and scientists will tell you, there is no test or exam that can reliably and accurately determine whether a girl or a woman has had sex — and consequently assess whether she’s a “virgin.”
The very idea of such a test is sexist.
And yet, according to the UN, the practice of so-called “virginity testing” has been documented in at least 20 countries around the world.
Among them, the United States.
A recently published investigation by Marie Claire and the Fuller Project found physicians in the US still receive requests to perform virginity tests. And there are no clear guidelines from major US medical organizations on how doctors should address it — perhaps because, as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists implies, it’s a procedure that’s not medically valid.
“Anybody who perpetuates the idea that virginity has anything biological to do with it is incorrect and they should be told that,” Jennifer Gunter, a gynecologist who writes about women’s health issues, told CNN.
…”There’s this idea that the hymen is this barrier that remains intact until some Prince Charming comes and ‘opens it’ and ‘pops the cherry,'” said Ranit Mishori, senior medical adviser at Physicians for Human Rights and professor of family medicine at Georgetown University. “All of these horrendous ways of addressing the hymen are patently wrong.”
Though people often think the hymen completely covers the vaginal opening, in most cases, it simply surrounds it, Gunter said. During sexual intercourse, it can sometimes be torn or stretched. But it can also tear or stretch through tampon use, sporting activities or medical procedures.
So, it’s extremely difficult, doctors say, for them to determine whether any change to the hymen is a result of penetrative sex or other causes.
…There are many other ways to have sex besides vaginal penetration, and simply inspecting the hymen will not yield any instructive answers about whether a woman is sexually active, she said.
Another issue is that the tests don’t respect a woman’s autonomy and integrity, Mishori added: Why should a woman need to go through an exam to prove something about her sexual history? Why wouldn’t society simply believe what she says?
((You can read more of that editorial (Link): here))
I’d also heavily encourage you to take a look at the pages linked to below under the “Related” heading:
Related:
(Link): Women Being Slut Shamed, Virgin Shamed, or Celibate Shamed at The Doctor’s Office
(Link): CDC Report: Virgin Teens Much Healthier Than Their Sexually Active Peers (2016 Report)
(Link): Why Some People Become 30 Year Old Virgins (Article/Study)
(Link): Why Are Christian Guys Silent About Abstinence? by C. Hill
(Link): People Were Asked to Guess A Virgin From A Group Of Strangers. The Results Were Unexpected
(Link): Why Are Young Feminists So Clueless About Sex? by M. Wente
(Link): Virginity Lost, Experience Gained (article with information from study about virginity)
(Link): On ‘Late’-In-Life Virginity Loss (from The Atlantic)
(Link): Why Are Young People Having So Little Sex? America is in a Sex Recession – by K. Jullian – via The Atlantic
(Link): An Example of Mocking Adult Virginity Via Twitter (Virginity Used As Insult)
(Link): Why So Much Fornication – Because Christians Have No Expectation of Sexual Purity
(Link): ABC Won’t Let Us Forget That the New Bachelor Is A Virgin. Is That A Problem?
(Link): Abortion Widens the Gender Gap and Exploits Women – editorial via the Public Discourse Site
(Link): Some Researchers Argue that Shame Should Be Used to Treat Sexual Compulsions
(Link): When Adult Virginity and Adult Celibacy Are Viewed As Inconvenient or As Impediments
(Link): Slut-Shaming Is Bad—But The Overreaction Against It Also Hurts Women by J. Doverspike
(Link): Abstinence Groups: New Sex-Ed Study Misses Point of Urging Teens to Wait
(Link): A Day In The Life Of An Abstinence Ed Teacher by S. Gomez
(Link): Teenagers Given Condoms at School Likelier to Become Pregnant and Get STDs / STIs: 2016 Study
(Link): The Contemporary Church Undervalues Celibacy / Virginity
(Link): An Open Letter to Male Virgins by Anna Broadway
(Link): The Christian and Non Christian Phenomenon of Virgin Shaming and Celibate Shaming
(Link): The Myth of Safe Sex by D. Foley
(Link): The Oxymoron of Ethical Porn via End Sexual Exploitation
(Link): Are You Ashamed of Biblical [Sexual] Purity? by J. Slattery
(Link): Why are young feminists so clueless about sex? by M. Wente
(Link): Stop Pretending Sex Never Hurts, By D.C. McAllister
(Link): Sometimes Fornication Can Impact Another Relationship Later – One Example
(Link): Why Are Christian Guys Silent About Abstinence? by C. Hill
(Link): 9 Reasons ‘Hookup Culture’ Hurts Boys Too
(Link): On Tinder, Off Sex – One Woman’s Story About Secondary Abstinence
(Link): Single Christian Women Feel Pressured to Fornicate In Dating / other topics (Link Dump)
(Link): Woman Says She Refuses to Hook-up with Men ‘For Fun’ – Says Most Men She’s Met Are Willing to Wait
