Read Online Virgin: The Untouched History by Hanne Blank - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Hanne Blank
Ads: Link
that it folds back on itself not unlike the folded-over cuff of a sock or shirtsleeve. Fimbriated hymens are less fleshy but may have multiple projections or indentations along the rim that give the hymen a ruffled appearance. Redundant hymens tend to become less so with time, however: University of Texas researcher Dr. Abby Berenson has discovered that redundant hymenal tissue often recedes during the first three years of life, so much so that a hymen that was redundant at birth might change to become fimbriated or even annular by the time the child turned three.
It seems strange, since we think of them as being static unless they are "torn" or "broken," but hymens change shape all by themselves. Between birth and age three, and in some cases again between ages three and five, hymens can go through quite a bit of alteration in shape and size. These changes take place painlessly, silently, and virtually unnoticeably, without the girl in question (or anyone else, in all likelihood) being any the wiser or noticing any change. We don't know why the hymen changes shape, and we don't know how it happens, but the phenomenon has been observed many times. The best way to think of it is that like other body parts, the hymen continues to develop after birth, and this means that sexual penetration is absolutely not required for a hymen to be different or look different from one day, one week, or one month to the next. This calls into question the very notion of the "intact" hymen: if the hymen can change all by itself, can we ever accurately call it "intact" or "unaltered"?
In addition to appearing in different shapes, hymens vary in other ways. Hymenal tags, elongated protrusions of tissue that extend from the surface of the hymen, are a fairly common accessory. Hymens can also have bumps, mounds, notches, concavities, and depressions. Although seventeenth-century English midwife and medical writer Jane Sharp described the hymen as looking like a "clove-gilliflower" (a pink, or carnation), in reality hymens are observed in a range of colors along the purple/red spectrum. Likewise, the inner rim of the hymen can be smooth or scalloped, or show evidence of past tearing or stretching in the form of clefts. These can be superficial notches or complete transections. It is less common for women who have not experienced some sort of vaginal penetration to have complete transections in the most substantial portions of their hymens, so in examinations, for instance exams conducted after allegations of child abuse, these are considered a red flag that penetration might have taken place. But not all hymens with complete transections have been penetrated, not all vaginal penetration is sexual, and not all sexual penetration causes a complete transection of the hymen—or indeed any at all.
Resistance and Resilience
The physical appearance and general form of the human hymen runs a wide gamut and is prone to change without either external cause or warning. Much the same is true of the nature of the hymenal tissue itself. Just as we all have different qualities of hair and skin, with some being fine and delicate and others being robust and resilient, the thickness, strength, flexibility, durability, and sturdiness of hymenal tissue varies, too.
Part of this, like the characteristics of any of the other tissues in our bodies, is genetic. We inherit our hair color, eye color, propensity toward certain diseases, and a million other things from our parents—so why not the characteristics of our genital tissues? There is some evidence that imperforate hymens may be inherited matrilineally, so it would make sense if similar things were true of other aspects of the hymen as well.
Hymen tissue is also affected by hormones. Estrogen, to which a female fetus is exposed in utero and which her body will manufacture in increasingly large quantities as she heads into puberty, both thickens the genital mucous membranes and makes them more elastic. Because of
It seems strange, since we think of them as being static unless they are "torn" or "broken," but hymens change shape all by themselves. Between birth and age three, and in some cases again between ages three and five, hymens can go through quite a bit of alteration in shape and size. These changes take place painlessly, silently, and virtually unnoticeably, without the girl in question (or anyone else, in all likelihood) being any the wiser or noticing any change. We don't know why the hymen changes shape, and we don't know how it happens, but the phenomenon has been observed many times. The best way to think of it is that like other body parts, the hymen continues to develop after birth, and this means that sexual penetration is absolutely not required for a hymen to be different or look different from one day, one week, or one month to the next. This calls into question the very notion of the "intact" hymen: if the hymen can change all by itself, can we ever accurately call it "intact" or "unaltered"?
In addition to appearing in different shapes, hymens vary in other ways. Hymenal tags, elongated protrusions of tissue that extend from the surface of the hymen, are a fairly common accessory. Hymens can also have bumps, mounds, notches, concavities, and depressions. Although seventeenth-century English midwife and medical writer Jane Sharp described the hymen as looking like a "clove-gilliflower" (a pink, or carnation), in reality hymens are observed in a range of colors along the purple/red spectrum. Likewise, the inner rim of the hymen can be smooth or scalloped, or show evidence of past tearing or stretching in the form of clefts. These can be superficial notches or complete transections. It is less common for women who have not experienced some sort of vaginal penetration to have complete transections in the most substantial portions of their hymens, so in examinations, for instance exams conducted after allegations of child abuse, these are considered a red flag that penetration might have taken place. But not all hymens with complete transections have been penetrated, not all vaginal penetration is sexual, and not all sexual penetration causes a complete transection of the hymen—or indeed any at all.
Resistance and Resilience
The physical appearance and general form of the human hymen runs a wide gamut and is prone to change without either external cause or warning. Much the same is true of the nature of the hymenal tissue itself. Just as we all have different qualities of hair and skin, with some being fine and delicate and others being robust and resilient, the thickness, strength, flexibility, durability, and sturdiness of hymenal tissue varies, too.
Part of this, like the characteristics of any of the other tissues in our bodies, is genetic. We inherit our hair color, eye color, propensity toward certain diseases, and a million other things from our parents—so why not the characteristics of our genital tissues? There is some evidence that imperforate hymens may be inherited matrilineally, so it would make sense if similar things were true of other aspects of the hymen as well.
Hymen tissue is also affected by hormones. Estrogen, to which a female fetus is exposed in utero and which her body will manufacture in increasingly large quantities as she heads into puberty, both thickens the genital mucous membranes and makes them more elastic. Because of
Similar Books
