theoppositeofstupid:

…In fact, the hymen is not a vagina-blocking membrane, and it doesn’t ever “break.” The hymen is actually a thin corona of membrane about 1 to 2 cm inside that vagina (this site has an illustration of what hymen’s typically look like). It is highly elastic and in most cases perfectly capable of stretching enough to fit a penis without tearing. In most women it doesn’t show any obvious changes after penetration, so there is no way to determine by the state of the hymen whether a woman has ever been penetrated by a penis or not.

…Not only is the hymen not what most people think it is, but the majority of women – about 60% – don’t bleed their first time. Probably that’s why the long list of excuses above for not having an “intact” hymen developed. For those women that do bleed, the bleeding has nothing to do with the special anatomy of virgins but is more likely due to inadequate lubrication and loosening of the vagina…

…It’s unclear where the myth started, but there are texts debunking the myth as early as the 3rd century (by the Greek physician Soranus, to be specific), and yet the myth of the hymen as vaginal gateway persists. It has proved incredibly resilient in the face of evidence to the contrary. As I mentioned, most women don’t bleed when they have penetrative sex for the first time, and you’d think guys would notice that there is in fact no barrier. But instead of questioning the idea that the vagina is blocked by a membrane that breaks upon penetration, we’ve invented a number of reasons why the membrane would cease to exist without sexual intercourse.

…So why does the myth have such a strong hold on us? It’s true that some women do bleed the first time they have sex, but women can bleed from sex at any time if they aren’t sufficiently aroused or the penetration is rough enough. The truth is the cherry myth allows us to think there is a way to tell virginal women from those who’ve had sex. A woman’s virginity is held to be worth much more than a man’s, and women are expected to preserve it, in some cultures, until marriage, or at least until meeting someone “special.” Being able to prove a woman’s virginity therefore is valuable and we’ve held on to the idea despite the truth.

The Cherry Myth | Pajiba Dirty Talk