The concept of female "virginity" has a complicated history, and has often been incorrectly linked to breaking the hymen. Bleeding after intercourse was thought to be proof of an unbroken hymen, and thus, proof that a woman had not had sex before. The reality, however, is that the state of your hymen has nothing to do with sexual activity. As for how to know if your hymen is broken, it's near impossible to see it for yourself. But let's back up and talk about what the hymen actually is. The hymen is a small, ragged membrane just inside the opening to the vagina review our vagina anatomy lesson here. All hymens are not created equal. So many things other than intercourse can wear the hymen away, including horseback riding, biking, gymnastics, using tampons, fingering, and masturbation, which basically leads to "breaking" the hymen without ever having sex. Some women are even born without hymens.

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Covering the opening of the vagina, the hymen is a thin layer of skin that can be torn or stretched open with penetration. Found about half an inch inside the vagina, the hymen has tiny holes and a small opening in the centre that allows for menstrual flow. Sometimes the tearing of the hymen can be uncomfortable and cause bleeding. But other times, you might not even notice when it happens. Masturbation , using tampons, and even rigorous activity like horse riding, dancing, riding a bike, and other sports may stretch the hymen before vaginal sex and can cause rupture or tearing.
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Remember those from back in the day? Here, the hymen facts you never knew you needed in your life:. There are other similar abnormal variants, too, where openings in the tissue are too small. Abnormal Hymens Can Require Surgery If your hymen is imperforated or separated where there are two small holes in the tissue , you may need to have a minor surgery, says Sasan. Because there are other ways you can tear it besides sex. Rigorous exercise, gymnastics, horseback riding, cycling, using large tampons, manipulation with a finger, or a pelvic exam are all possible but not surefire ways to tear your hymen, she says. If the tissue does tear during sex, you may find intercourse painful and experience bleeding, she explains. But if the tear occurs during gymnastics or from wearing large tampons, for example, you may not even be aware of it.
We suppose you could technically pop a cherry by squashing the stone fruit, but the slang expression pop the cherry means to "lose one's virginity" or "do something one has never done before. Cherries as a sexual metaphor are suggested as early as the s—though fruit in general has long been sexual, if you look to, say, the forbidden fruit in the biblical Garden of Eden. Popped your cherry.