virginity

As you and your partner consider sexual activity, it is great that you're seeking out information and resources to help prepare you. It also sounds like you have been talking about this together, which means that you've already crossed a big hurdle that a lot of people get stuck on. So in order to...

Virginity isn't something physical we can "break." And virginity isn't your hymen: it's an idea, or a set of values and concepts which varies from person to person, not a body part. In other words, you define what virginity is for yourself, or, if this is based in something religious, or a set of...

The membrane you're referring to is the hymen, also called the vaginal corona. When fully or partially present, the hymen consists of thin folds of tissue that partially cover the vaginal opening. However, the hymen is something that usually gradually wears away -- rather than "breaking" -- over...

One would hope that if you really liked someone for who they were that whatever their previous sexual experience was or was not would be irrelevant. Mostly, because it really is, save that any life experiences we have are a part of who we are. So, if you like someone, part of what you like about...

The short answer is that yes, you should always use a condom in order to be as safe as possible. The longer answer is that while being a "virgin" (and remember, since that's a social construction rather than a medical one, it is defined differently by different people) may reduce your risk, it does...

Shaun: if not reaching orgasm with a partner during intercourse meant a person was still a virgin, there would be an AWFUL lot of cis women in their forties who have been having sex for two decades but were still virgins. Virginity isn't some medical state or condition, or something you can get some...

The exact same way he can tell about you: by asking him. Then you take one another at your word. If you don't feel you can, that's another issue entirely. I'm not sure why he needs to have asked you any more than once, unless the two of you aren't dating exclusively, and are seeing other people. If...

It strikes me as a bit odd to consider upping the ante to vaginal intercourse when as things are now, you're not feeling sexually satisfied, and when you also express strong reservations about it. I'd suggest that before you step it up to add a sexual activity which carries greater risks -- of...

Hey, Katie. Well, in most people with vaginas there is a "skin thing," at least at the beginning, and that's the hymen. But it rarely is "popped" or needs to be "broken" by sex. The hymen is made up of thin folds of tissue that, when we're young, mostly covers the vaginal opening. It's right there...

There's no "cherry" that needs popping in your vagina. Seriously. And virginity is a cultural idea or concept: it's not a physical state of anything. In other words, the bodies of "virgins" and the bodies of "non-virgins" are often impossible to tell the difference between. Sometimes that term...