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Hands Off Our Hymens, T.I.
Let’s talk about girls of color and the virginity police
On the Ladies Like Us podcast, Atlanta-based rapper T.I. confessed that every year, he attends his 18-year-old daughter Deyjah’s gynecology appointments, requests a “virginity test” to see if her hymen is broken, and then seemingly coerces her into signing paperwork allowing the “results” to be shared with him.
The hymen is a thin membrane stretching across the vagina — often associated with virginity — that can be broken during activities like sexual intercourse or sports. Despite common belief, the hymen is an unreliable indicator of virginal status.
Doctor Tlaleng Mofokeng says that these “virginity tests” are not only “unethical, dishonorable,” but that the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) has also said they violate human rights, and completely lack scientific validity.
T.I. went on, describing a particular visit:
“Right after the [16th] birthday we celebrate… I put a sticky note on the door: ‘Gyno. Tomorrow. 9:30.’ So we’ll go and sit down and the doctor will come and talk and the doctor’s maintaining a high level of professionalism. He’s like, ‘You know sir, I have to, in order to share information’ — I’m like, ‘Deyjah they want you to sign this so we can share information. Is there…
