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Virginity test
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Virginity test
A virginity test is the pseudoscientific practice and process of determining whether a woman or girl is a virgin; i.e., to determine that she has never engaged in, or been subjected to, vaginal intercourse. The test typically involves a check for the presence of an intact hymen, typically on the flawed assumption that it can only be, and will always be torn as a result of vaginal intercourse. Virginity testing is most common in Asia and the Middle East, as well as Northern and Southern Africa.
Virginity testing is widely considered controversial because of its implications for the tested women and girls as it is viewed as unethical, and because such tests are widely considered to be unscientific. In cases of suspected rape, child sexual abuse, or other forms of sexual assault, a detailed examination of the hymen may be performed, but the condition of the hymen alone is often inconclusive. In October 2018, the UN Human Rights Council, UN Women and the World Health Organization (WHO) called for the ban of virginity testing as it is a painful, humiliating and a traumatic practice that constitutes violence against women.
Many pre-modern societies placed great value on assessing the virginity of their girls, as is attested in sources ranging from mythology to popular literature, folklore, and official records.
Prior to the advance of anatomical knowledge in the 15th century, the nature of the hymen was not fully understood, and consequently a great variety of more or less fantastical or scientific tests were advocated for. The Incas of Peru reserved their sacred "Virgins of the Sun" as brides for high status men, and when a girl was suspected of sexual activity, she was made to blow into a smouldering fire; if the fire flared up, she was deemed chaste. In ancient Greece, a story related in the 5th century BC tells how the god Pan could establish the purity of any girl, as his mystical flute responded spontaneously to the presence of a virgin.
The Medieval romances Floris and Blancheflur (c. 1250) and Bevis of Hampton (c. 1300) both feature virgin heroines who must prove their purity and therefore their worth. The scenario was also acted out on the English stage, in plays such as Middleton's The Changeling (1622).
Virginity testing is most common in Asia and the Middle East, as well as Northern and Southern Africa. Their recent use in the United Kingdom dates back to the 1970s. It is legal for doctors in the United States to perform virginity tests. Examinations to test for previous sexual activity used to be performed on rape victims in Bangladesh, Pakistan and India before it was banned.
The process of virginity testing varies by region. In areas where medical doctors are available, the tests would often be given in a doctor's office. However, in countries where doctors are not available, testers will often be older women, or whoever can be trusted to search for a hymen. This is common among African tribes that perform the test.
Another form of virginity testing involves testing for laxity of vaginal muscles with fingers (the "two-finger test"). A doctor performs the test by inserting a finger into the female's vagina to check the level of vaginal laxity, which is used to determine if she is "habituated to sexual intercourse". However, the usefulness of these criteria has been questioned by medical authorities and opponents of virginity testing because vaginal laxity and the absence of a hymen can both be caused by other factors, and the "two-finger test" is based on subjective observation.
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Virginity test
A virginity test is the pseudoscientific practice and process of determining whether a woman or girl is a virgin; i.e., to determine that she has never engaged in, or been subjected to, vaginal intercourse. The test typically involves a check for the presence of an intact hymen, typically on the flawed assumption that it can only be, and will always be torn as a result of vaginal intercourse. Virginity testing is most common in Asia and the Middle East, as well as Northern and Southern Africa.
Virginity testing is widely considered controversial because of its implications for the tested women and girls as it is viewed as unethical, and because such tests are widely considered to be unscientific. In cases of suspected rape, child sexual abuse, or other forms of sexual assault, a detailed examination of the hymen may be performed, but the condition of the hymen alone is often inconclusive. In October 2018, the UN Human Rights Council, UN Women and the World Health Organization (WHO) called for the ban of virginity testing as it is a painful, humiliating and a traumatic practice that constitutes violence against women.
Many pre-modern societies placed great value on assessing the virginity of their girls, as is attested in sources ranging from mythology to popular literature, folklore, and official records.
Prior to the advance of anatomical knowledge in the 15th century, the nature of the hymen was not fully understood, and consequently a great variety of more or less fantastical or scientific tests were advocated for. The Incas of Peru reserved their sacred "Virgins of the Sun" as brides for high status men, and when a girl was suspected of sexual activity, she was made to blow into a smouldering fire; if the fire flared up, she was deemed chaste. In ancient Greece, a story related in the 5th century BC tells how the god Pan could establish the purity of any girl, as his mystical flute responded spontaneously to the presence of a virgin.
The Medieval romances Floris and Blancheflur (c. 1250) and Bevis of Hampton (c. 1300) both feature virgin heroines who must prove their purity and therefore their worth. The scenario was also acted out on the English stage, in plays such as Middleton's The Changeling (1622).
Virginity testing is most common in Asia and the Middle East, as well as Northern and Southern Africa. Their recent use in the United Kingdom dates back to the 1970s. It is legal for doctors in the United States to perform virginity tests. Examinations to test for previous sexual activity used to be performed on rape victims in Bangladesh, Pakistan and India before it was banned.
The process of virginity testing varies by region. In areas where medical doctors are available, the tests would often be given in a doctor's office. However, in countries where doctors are not available, testers will often be older women, or whoever can be trusted to search for a hymen. This is common among African tribes that perform the test.
Another form of virginity testing involves testing for laxity of vaginal muscles with fingers (the "two-finger test"). A doctor performs the test by inserting a finger into the female's vagina to check the level of vaginal laxity, which is used to determine if she is "habituated to sexual intercourse". However, the usefulness of these criteria has been questioned by medical authorities and opponents of virginity testing because vaginal laxity and the absence of a hymen can both be caused by other factors, and the "two-finger test" is based on subjective observation.
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