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What is virginity?
Virginity means that someone has not yet had sexual intercourse. There are many other kinds of sex besides sexual intercourse. There are different views on whether you can also lose your virginity through other kinds of sex.
Both boys (men) and girls (women) can be virgins.
Hymen: not a proof of virginity
You cannot see or feel that someone is a virgin. Not even a doctor can do this.
The hymen is not a proof of virginity:
- The hymen is not a membrane that closes off the vagina. It is a kind of rim of tissue which stretches. The hymen therefore does not tear entirely when a woman has sexual intercourse for the first time.
- Most women do not bleed when they have sexual intercourse for the first time. If the hymen is very tight, a woman may bleed a bit. Operations to construct or restore the hymen very often do not make any difference.
- A woman cannot lose her virginity by using tampons during her menstrual period.
Woman lying down with her legs spread. The focus is on the visible sexual organs.
Detail of the hymen inside the vagina: a supple rim of tissue. The hymen is not a membrane that closes off the vagina.
Detail of a wider hymen that does not tear during sexual intercourse. This is what happens in most cases.