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  • (whistling)

  • - What's a hymen?

  • - Uh, ok, it's a

  • bit of girl, uh,

  • that covers the vaginal area,

  • until she has sex.

  • - Yes, a freshness seal.

  • - A do not consume if opened.

  • Sorry.

  • - Yea, that's what a lot of people think.

  • (snaps)

  • 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,

  • (blast) it gets busted.

  • (marching band playing)

  • - Seems pretty accurate.

  • - Yep, let's go play video games.

  • - No, you don't.

  • Everything about that is wrong.

  • Ok, think about it,

  • if our hymen's completely sealed our vaginas,

  • where would our periods go?

  • I mean, we'd blow up like the blueberry girl

  • in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

  • - Oh yea, and where would you pee?

  • - You know we don't pee out of our vaginas, right?

  • We pee out of our urethras.

  • Which is a separate hole.

  • You're a health teacher.

  • - And our school district is very underfunded.

  • So that's how many holes total?

  • - 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, gettin' busy.

  • (romantic saxophone tune)

  • But it's not like a barrier.

  • It's more like a (snaps)

  • balloon arch.

  • (marching band playing)

  • - Ok, but doesn't the hymen break

  • the first time you have sex?

  • Like doesn't it hurt?

  • - It doesn't have to.

  • It might if you're not careful with it.

  • (tuba player playing tune) (balloons popping)

  • - Oh! Gee! Oh! Fudge!

  • I damaged the balloon arch.

  • Oh! F--

  • God.

  • - But, it can also tear from doing the splits,

  • (balloons popping)

  • or just living our lives.

  • Even then, hymens can heal.

  • And a lot of them never even get torn in the first place.

  • One study found that 52% of sexually active teenage women

  • had intact hymens.

  • - Really?

  • - Yeah.

  • - H-Y-M-E-N,

  • not well understood by men!

  • Go hymen! (audience cheering)

  • - The hymen as you understand it

  • is a straight up myth.

  • - Ok, Emily, are you sure about that?

  • Maybe you should call in an expert.

  • - Yea, that's a good call.

  • - That's what I usually do, so...

  • - How's this for an expert?

  • - Good point, I feel bad.

  • - Our bodies don't come with built in virginity detectors,

  • and sex isn't supposed to hurt the first time.

  • But this horrible idea is everywhere in our culture.

  • (whistle blown)

  • From Ska bands--

  • (ska song)

  • - Ugh, bad name.

  • - to popular t.v. shows.

  • - So there's a good chance that Megan was never raped?

  • - These are Megan's medical records.

  • An intact hymen.

  • - [Voiceover] She's a virgin.

  • - Even the New York Times gets it wrong.

  • The Times knows more about regional politics in Finland

  • than the female body.

  • - Honestly, the worse part is the word daddy.

  • - Yea, that is inappropriate.

  • - It gets way worse than band names.

  • In some parts of the world,

  • women are forced to show

  • government officials that their hymen is intact.

  • If they don't, they can be denied jobs,

  • barred from making rape accusations,

  • even thrown in jail.

  • Sorry Adam,

  • I know that this is usually the point where

  • you do some cute visual gag, I just--

  • - No, skip it. That's awful.

  • - Really, really awful.

  • - Yea, virginity exams are straight up sexual assault,

  • and they don't even prove anything because

  • the hymen doesn't work that way.

  • Physically speaking, virginity doesn't exist.

  • It's just something we made up to be mean to women,

  • like Entourage. (snaps)

  • - Oh, uh, wow. I learned something.

  • That felt great.

  • I feel taller. Do I look taller?

  • - Glad to help.

  • Anyways, it's time for you to go.

  • - Oh, Emily, you know,

  • usually I do more of a wrap up than that--

  • - Nope, hit the road.

  • It's date night and clock's ticking.

  • (electronic sounds)

  • - Hey, I'm Adam from College Humor.

  • If you like that clip,

  • make sure to check out my new show

  • Adam Ruins Everything.

  • Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on truTV.

  • It's gonna ruin your Tuesday,

  • but, trust me, the rest of your week'll be fine.

(whistling)

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