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Society & Culture

Virginity Pills: A Lie Worth Pursuing?

January 17, 2015
Mahrokh Gholamhosseinpour
5 min read
Virginity Pills: A Lie Worth Pursuing?

After IranWire published an interview with a “virginity pill” salesman, I received dozens of emails from our readers. Some asked for the salesman’s phone number. Others expressed views on the moral dilemmas using the pills presented.

Sima Rezazadeh, an obstetrician specializing in gynecology, also wrote in. Dr. Rezazadeh is a member of the Iranian Society of Surgeons and the Scientific Society of Fertility in Iran and has for many years worked in clinics in Tehran. She now lives in the United States, offering free consultation on her Facebook page. I interviewed her about the scientific and moral integrity of the suppositories, which have recently emerged on the market. They are sold under the names “Virgin Suppository” or “Hymen Repair Suppository”.

 

Dr. Rezazadeh, what is your view of the way these products are advertised?

I should point out that, from a scientific point of view, this suppository, as well all other methods of repairing hymens, does not stand up. There is no medical or academic evidence to support them. There are no courses about them offered in medical schools anywhere in the world. They have no medical credentials and there is no reference to them in medical textbooks. So there is no way to assess the product scientifically.

 

You mean the effect is not guaranteed?

As the inventor of the suppository, Dr. Fan Sumner, has mentioned in published articles, its effect is not 100 percent guaranteed. For example, the time needed for the gelatin shell to break down depends on the person’s body temperature, and the frequency of intercourse. It is possible that the man will not attempt to make love exactly when the woman expects. Therefore, it could happen that the secretion of the colored liquid could happen before intercourse and not during or after it. So there is a risk. I saw this product when I was in Berlin. With just a little bit of experience or knowledge, it is easy to tell the difference between the colored liquid and actual blood.

 

How safe is it? Could it cause any kind of infections?

Before answering this question, I would like to emphasize that the hymen can never be fully repaired. The intervention has no place in obstetrics. Whoever claims otherwise is simply attempting to fool others. In actuality, this part of the reproductive system is destroyed forever after a woman’s first experience of intercourse (except in rare cases). In the case of surgical repair, the sutures will leave distinct scars.

 

In cases when the hymen is not damaged, could an obstetrician fail to notice?

No, an obstetrician will always be aware of the fact that the hymen has or has not been damaged.

 

In that case, why should Dr. Fan Sumner, a committed Dutch physician, dedicate her time to inventing such a product?

Do you think Lise Meitner, one of the people who discovered nuclear fission, ever thought about the horrifying outcomes of her discovery in Hiroshima and Nagasaki? This is a question of abuse. It’s a question of how this product might propagate perversity, how it can be abused by certain people to ruin chastity, honesty, and innocence. Based on my own research, Ms. Fan Sumner is a very intelligent, experienced, and compassionate physician known for her kind heart. I have no doubt that she worked on this product for certain special cases.

 

In terms of morality, what is your opinion of this product?

Imam Ali [for Shia Muslims, the first imam] has said: “Honesty and truthfulness is the sole way to salvation.” Dr. Fan Sumner has also said that she decides whether to prescribe this suppository or not after meeting her clients. In other words, she does not consider the past history of her clients for justification.

Some regard using the pill as an act of deceiving others who hold certain convictions, which may sound like unjustified beliefs to those who defend hymen repair. In any case, the question is: are we free to deceive others who do not share our beliefs? Some men like to marry virgins. What is wrong with that? I personally believe that one should respect those views. Those who hold them should not be deceived in any way. Just imagine starting your marital life on the basis of a lie. In that case, there is always a hidden secret and thus the fear of its disclosure, which can seriously affect the psychological health of the person in question. She would have a constant fear. What if her past is revealed? She would avoid people who knew her well in the past, lest a small spark lead to a fire, which could ruin her life. I have seen cases where, once the secret is disclosed, the man could only see his wife as a deceitful liar and could no longer trust her or see her good virtues. He constantly wanted to know why she deceived him. Therefore, my suggestion is to be honest and truthful, and do not base your marital life on dishonesty and lies.

 

In that case, does it follow that a woman could jeopardize losing her future husband?

In my view, a woman should search for a man with similar views. There is no lack of such men today. That would be much better than leading a life full of anxiety and fear. Nevertheless, there are cases when women have lost their virginity due to circumstances that were not under their control. That’s different.

 

Anybody can consider her own case to be different, though, don’t you think?

In my view, in order to solve the problem, men should be educated too. They should realize that the psychological-emotional health of the girl they want to live with for the rest of their life is far more valuable than her virginity. So it would be reasonable for them to close their eyes when it comes to the past — and open them wider when looking to the future.

comments

miriam
January 27, 2015

It is very important that marital life start on the basis of honesty but I believe many (though not all) of the women seeking the reassurance of these remedies are actually virgins who are nervous that their bodies may not produce the expected blood on their wedding night. Friends experiences, articles I have read (r ecently in psychologytoday ( at blog/you-it/200806/new-york-times-is-wrong-about-the-hymen-they-are-not-alone ) theconversation.com ( /women-suffer-the-myths-of-the-hymen-and-the-virginity-test-35324 )) and medical reading I have done elsewhere show that women's bodies can be very variable. Virgins have the added fear on their wedding night that they may not produce enough blood to convince their husbands of their status. If they do not bleed as expected, both they and the men in their lives will be unfairly injured - their husbands will feel cheated and alienated and may come to distrust all women. Not all women will bleed. In the past, women would tear themselves with their nails to ensure they would bleed as expected. The pills are a modern version of an old tradition. When I was young I became aware that women's bodies differ as a friend was unable to lose her virginity fully because her hymen was too tough - she had lain with her husband but ended up having medical investigations and surgery to break the tough skin. Others can be born with hymens that do not break on intercourse, or break without intercourse. Honesty, not blood, is the test of an honest woman. ... read more

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