# Hymen Evolution **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 23, 2011, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hymen-evolution/586512 "2011-06-23T01:32:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GilaB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@GilaB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GilaB)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hymen-evolution/586512/21 "2011-06-24T04:33:28Z")
The hymen isn’t a flap of tissue that covers the whole vaginal opening (except in a few rare cases of imperforate hymens.) It’s a ring of tissue around the vaginal opening, and isn’t so brittle that it’s torn once and then it’s gone. You can get a better idea of what it looks like [here](http://healthystrokes.com/hymengallery.html) (medical illustrations, not photos, but probably NSFW). A very good overview of the hymen, bleeding during sex, effects of other activities like horseback riding, etc. is [here](http://www.rfsu.se/Bildbank/Dokument/Praktikor/praktika-Vaginal_corona2009.pdf?epslanguage=en) (pdf), in very clear layperson’s terms. ---
**Author:** ![StaudtCJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@StaudtCJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StaudtCJ)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hymen-evolution/586512/22 "2011-06-24T04:34:42Z")
[http://menstruationresearch.org/2009/12/08/recognizing-the-vaginal-corona/](http://menstruationresearch.org/2009/12/08/recognizing-the-vaginal-corona/) There has been varying research done, and the RFSU has put out a [PDF](http://www.rfsu.se/Bildbank/Dokument/Praktikor/praktika-Vaginal_corona2009.pdf?epslanguage=sv) explaining the actual anatomy of a woman, and how it really works. It works to dispel the many, many myths about the physical anatomy of human women. The “hymen” isn’t a membrane or cover or flap of skin that has to be “broken” at all. ---
**Author:** ![Lightlystarched](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Lightlystarched](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightlystarched)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hymen-evolution/586512/23 "2011-06-24T23:37:53Z")
> [@TNWPsycho](#): > > Slight hijack. > > When my girlfriend and I had sex for the first time she bled. But she had had previous partners and said even when she lost her virginity there was no blood. > > Did i break her hymen? Perhaps you were a bit more, uh, endowed than her previous partners? ---
**Author:** ![TNWPsycho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/47e85d/32.png) [@TNWPsycho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TNWPsycho)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2011, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hymen-evolution/586512/24 "2011-06-25T06:13:01Z")
> [@Lightlystarched](#): > > Perhaps you were a bit more, uh, endowed than her previous partners? She said by quite a bit. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2011, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hymen-evolution/586512/25 "2011-06-25T15:32:10Z")
> [@](#): > > The hymen isn’t a flap of tissue that covers the whole vaginal opening (except in a few rare cases of imperforate hymens.) It’s a ring of tissue around the vaginal opening, and isn’t so brittle that it’s torn once and then it’s gone. You can get a better idea of what it looks like here (medical illustrations, not photos, but probably NSFW). A very good overview of the hymen, bleeding during sex, effects of other activities like horseback riding, etc. is here (pdf), in very clear layperson’s terms. From the first link: > [@](#): > > This is a rare denticular hymen, so called because it looks like a set of teeth surrounding the vaginal opening. Fascinating. You have to wonder if it contributed to the legend of the _vagina dentata_. Although I doubt if it’s necessary. The idea would naturally have come up because of the similarity t the mouth. But this’d help. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hymen-evolution/586512.md?page=1)