Hymen replacement surgery is a sensitive topic for many. In the United States it is considered to be a waste of money as virginity isn’t nearly as prized as it is in other countries. However, for those that come from an Arab country, having virginity intact could be a matter of life or death. With a heavy weight put upon women being virgins, it could be considered a serious offense by a husband to be if on their wedding night, he discovers that she is not a virgin. The major issue with this way of thinking is that a woman’s virginity is often times determined by the release of blood during intercourse which is often related to the breaking of the hymen.
•Why it is done
The reality of the hymen is much different than many realize. While it can be a reasonable indicator of a woman’s virginity, it is also quite flawed in many ways. In many women the hymen could break through excessive activity, whether it be horseback riding, gymnastics, or other activities that stretch or pound in the lower regions of a woman’s body. It has also been found that many women are born without a hymen. Even further, some have a hymen that stretches more than others and results in no blood loss. These factors together account for about half of the female population and make blood during the first intercourse that much more complicated.
For the women that feel it is a cultural necessity to have an intact hymen, surgery has become the only real option for them. Without the surgery it could mean a physical altercation for the woman with her husband as virginity is considered sacred to many around the world. It could also mean a great deal of shame to the family. In fact, women have been killed by their own family in some of the more extreme incidents around the world for not having their virginity intact. While the reason for the hymen being gone could be anything from rape, to intercourse, to even a normal female examination, those that are under the pressure will go through extreme measures to ensure that they have an intact hymen, including surgical replacement. After all, it could literally be a matter of preserving their life and reputation, even if they are indeed pure.
For many others in Christian and other similar faiths, virginity until marriage is equally as important, but doesn’t create the same amount of shame. In these religions it is more of a promise between individuals that they will refrain from having intercourse before marriage. It is important in these situations that intercourse be as pure as humanly possible and the only way to do this is to ensure the couple has had no other partners. Through hymen replacement surgery women are able to ensure that a missing hymen is intact during the first interaction if it was damaged or non-existent or they can repair the evidence of a previous sexual encounter.
Regardless the reasoning behind hymen replacement surgery it is considered one of necessity by many. In states where virginity is highly valued these surgeries are often times illegal, with women taking high risks to have them performed underground. In other countries they are considered to be plastic surgery and are often times performed outpatient. Many of these procedures also have patients requesting the removal of the surgery from the medical files so that they husband has no way of finding out about it.
•The Surgery
The surgery itself is a relatively simple one. It is an outpatient procedure known as a hymenorraphy. The procedure can be done in a couple of different ways, but all involve the same concept. The basic idea of the procedure is to restore the look of purity in a woman so often times the doctors go through extra efforts to make the appearance more obvious. By doing this, they can ensure their patient will have a much more impressive display of virginity loss during intercourse with their partner.
Since one of the measures of virginity is the hymen itself, it is important for the surgeon to replace that thin sheet of skin. To do this, skin is removed carefully from the internal walls of the vagina so that it can be formed into the new hymen. Typically the surgeon is going to use any remaining hymen formation in order to start the procedure. For those women that were born without a hymen this of course is a much more difficult process as the complete hymen will have to be manufactured using only the available skin in that region of the body.
Once the hymen is recreated often times the surgeon is going to make it more reactive to intercourse. Since the major indentifier for many of intercourse with a virgin is the presence of blood afterwards, blood becomes an important aspect of the design. This is often done through the insertion of a small gelatin pocket filled with a blood substitute in the hymen that will release when the new hymen is broken. This presence of blood will give the appearance that virginity was indeed lost.
•Final Thoughts
Many people will never understand the importance of virginity to the extent that surgery becomes a perceived necessity. The procedures associated with hymen replacement have become controversial as they represent for many inequality in marriage. Regardless, these procedures continue whether underground or in a standard medical practice. They play an important role in maintaining the image of the individual and potentially could mean the difference in a relationship. It isn’t about whether or not anyone agrees with the procedure, it is about doing what one needs to do to maintain respect within their own culture, something we all strive for daily.
