CollegeHumor just shared a video that sets the record straight about hymens. Yes, hymens.
CollegeHumor has recently emerged not only as a home for hilarious videos, but also as a champion for smart sex ed. We deeply appreciated their video that took a hard look at rape culture by imagining if the actors from New Girl treated a bear on the rampage with the same dismissive attitude too many people adopt when talking about sexual violence. They’ve also addressed the important issue of accurate and timely sex education with this video about CollegeHumor staffers childhood misconceptions about intercourse . And now they’re getting really specific re: misconceptions by sharing a video that gives the rundown on the oft misunderstood hymen.
The video is a segment in truTV’s “Adam Ruins Everything” (based on the CollegeHumor web series of the same name) an educational sketch-comedy show, a series set on debunking popular falsehoods.
In this particular vid, CollegeHumor actress/writer Emily Axford sets Adam Conover straight re: the whole hymen issue (Um, he may have referred to this part of the female anatomy as “…a bit of ‘girl’ that covers the vaginal area until she has sex.” The other dude in the vid follows up by defining the hymen as “a freshness seal,” to which Adam replies “Do not consume if opened.”)
At this point, we are all in SMH-mode. Luckily, Emily proceeds to set the record straight. She acknowledges that, “People picture the hymen like it’s one of those paper banners at a sports game. They think it covers up a lady’s vagina, and then when she has sex for the first time, it gets busted.”
Then, Emily proceeds to lay out how, you know, bodies really work.
“The hymen is actually a thin, stretchy bit around the vagina. In most women, our hymens have an opening that’s big enough for tampons, fingers, and, yes, getting busy.”
Emily goes on to explain that a hymen doesn’t HAVE to break during sexual intercourse (“…it can also tear from doing the splits or just living our lives…”) Even then, Emily points out, hymens can heal (or never get torn in the first place) and a recent study showed that 52% of sexually active teenage women had intact hymens.
Yes to all of this. Check out the full vid below:
(Image via truTV)
