By popular request, here is the Hymen Sticky!

Q. What is the hymen?

A. The hymen is a little bit of tissue that is part of the female genitalia.

Q. Exactly where is the hymen?

A. Many people think the hymen is far up inside the vagina, but it isn't. It's not in the vagina at all! The hymen is part of the vulva, or external female genitalia.

Q. What does the hymen do?

A. Nothing at all really, so don't worry about it tearing. Your vagina will stay the same whether the hymen is torn or not. You will also still be a virgin until you have sex, whether your hymen is torn or not.

People used to define virginity by the state of the hymen. If it was intact, you were a virgin. If it was not intact, you were not a virgin. However, that was before we knew much about human anatomy. Now that we know more, we don't define virginity that way anymore.

Some girls are born without hymens, so it wouldn't make sense to say that were born not virgins! Also, some girls have a tough, durable, or stretchy hymen. So their hymen might even stay intact after sex. Imagine saying a sexually active woman was a virgin! She could also get pregnant and still be a virgin if we defined virginity the old way!

Q. So when and how does the hymen usually tear?

Most people think the hymen tears during sex, but that's usually not the case.

Some hymens are durable. They might stay intact even if fingers, tampons, and penises go in the vagina. That's not the norm, however.

Most hymens are very thin and delicate. They usually break in childhood or puberty. Since the hymen is outside of the vagina, anything that tries to go into the vagina will probably tear it. So hymens often break from fingers or tampons. However, hymens are so delicate that even simple things like running and jumping can tear it.

Q. Will it hurt or bleed when it tears?

There is usually little or no pain or blood when the hymen tears, so many girls don't even realize that it happened!