ANSWERS: 19
  • It serves no known purpose at all. Some women are born with incomplete hymens or hymens that have been torn accidentally.Some men have been falsely accused and convicted of child abuse because of torn hymens. In a religious sense the hymen was often seen as a sign of virginity or veil to the womb. In the ancient world death was the penalty for women if their virginity could not be proven. In some religions there was a great pride for the “intact hymen” Very sad for young girls who were told to be ashamed if this was not the case. The high value placed on a woman's intact hymen is a patriarchal obsession resulting from ignorance of the female sexual anatomy and of human sexual behaviour. It is a relic of former times, when women were the property of men.
  • Actually, there is a posited biological purpose, although it has not been definitively proven experimentally. Some of the last cells to mature in the female body are the cells of the cervix. Before these cells have matured the cell membranes are particularly vulnerable to being breached by pathogens, and the cervix remains very vulnerable to infection. It has been hypothesized that the hymen originally exists to protect the developing tissues of the vagina and cervix from dirt and pathogens during childhood, until the cells of the cervix and the cells of the vagina mature fully and start secreting the mucus which protects them in later life. In our modern day of bathing and wearing clothes, this is probably not nearly as important as it was to our unbathed, pre-clothing primate ancestors. There *is* some evidence for this function, however, as girls who start to have sex before age 16 are vastly more prone to pick up STDs or infections from more general pathogens such as strep and staph (oh yes, you can get a strep infection "down there"), and roughly 5x more likely to contract human papilloma virus, which specifically infects the cervix, and it isn't all to do with unprotected sex or risky behaviors, either.
  • While hymens in humans may no longer serve any purpose at all, in some animals it appears to have some. Guinea pigs' hymens dissolve when they are fertile, letting male guinea pigs mate with them, then grow back and completely close off the vagina when the guinea pigs are not in heat. It may be that the hymen once had a sanitary or sexual purpose in our evolutionary past, but now that humans walk upright, wear clothing, and decide who we have sex with, it no longer serves any purpose.
  • I guess it's like a safety seal on a bottle of Tylenol, you know that no one has tampered with it. Then again, the hymen could be torn or stretched due to vigorous physical activity or maybe the insertion of tampons. I often wonder why the male baby's foreskin is cut at birth in the circumcision ritual. The skin was there for a reason. I saw this segment on a Dr. Drew show about women who were raped or otherwise penetrated against their wishes having some type of hymen reconstructed so they could have their "virginity" back to give to their current love. I suppose in a psychological way this could be helpful in healing but I would think it would be more physically uncomfortable from the recovery standpoint and then the penetration after the procedure. Having my hymen broken once is quite enough for me.
  • It doesn't have any known purposes. Anatomically, it's like the tailbone or appendix.
  • The Hymen is actually part of the vulva, when a fetus is formed there is no vagina at first and most of the time the vagina isn't totally opened up creating the Hymen, so no there pretty much really isn't no purpose of it, It could though maybe protect the vigina from infections though since it kind of closes it off!
  • No one knows what purpose, if any, it serves. They also occur in horses, whales, moles, mole-rats, and hyenas.
  • they hymen is the crown of a woman's virtue and a sign that she is nto a fallen woman.
  • Yeah, its there to be bust! Bust that Hyman!
  • Simply put No. It has pretty much no purpose at all. Contrary to what most people think it can't tell you if a girl is a virgin because it can be broken during exercise. Check out this site. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hymen
  • In some countries,(olden days) before ppl get married, dey wana make sure dat da woman dey are marrying is a virgin, dey will take da woman to have pictures of her hymen taken, if its broken she aint a virgin and da man wont marry her!! ott i no..
  • In biblial times if you were going to make a pact or promise you would do so with the shedding of blood, a blood covenant. So when you get married you promise to stay with him or her forever and stay true. Then on you first night together he breaks it(you did wait didn't you?) and there is blood shed, your blood covenant with your husband or wife. God put it there.
  • The hymen serves no biological purpose as far as the medical and science community is concerned. However the formation of a hymen may occur naturally as a protective barrier until a female becomes sexually active for the first time. The hymen also serves as a purity symbol in many religions, where marriages are pre-arranged.
  • Most writers on the evolution of sex are mum regarding the purpose of the hymen, but occasionally you'll get somebody who'll take a flier--your teacher, for example, or the indefatigable Desmond Morris. In The Naked Ape Morris writes: "[A] feature ... that appears to be unique to our species is the retention of the hymen or maidenhead in the female. In lower mammals it occurs [only during development of the embryo]. Its persistence [in humans] means that the first copulation in the life of the female will meet with some difficulty.... By making the first copulation attempt difficult and even painful, the hymen ensures that it will not be indulged in lightly. [Young males are inclined to have sex without making any long-term commitment.] But if young females were to go so far without pair-formation, they might very well find themselves pregnant and heading straight toward a parental situation with no partner to accompany them. By putting a partial brake on this trend in the female, the hymen demands that she shall have already developed a deep emotional involvement before taking the final step, an involvement strong enough to take the initial physical discomfort in its stride." Just one problem: Morris to the contrary notwithstanding, retention of the hymen is not unique to humans. It occurs in horses, whales, moles, mole-rats, hyenas, and perhaps other animals. (In the great fin whale, in fact, the hymen is not completely destroyed until childbirth.) Why? We haven't got a clue. "Such adaptations [i.e., retention of the hymen] are explicable only if the male of the species finds it to his advantage to seek a virgin," Bettyann Kevles observes in Female of the Species (1986). "But there is no evidence that mammal males seek inexperienced females, and no evidence that females with this peculiar anatomical feature remain monogamous.... In whales, one can explain the resealing of the vagina as a means of keeping water out of the reproductive organs." Not the world's most satisfying answer, I agree. But we don't even know why women have orgasms. Morris's preposterous theory: orgasm keeps women on their backs afterward, grinning with satisfaction, whereas if they were up and about right off the bat, the semen and with it their chances of reproductive success would dribble down their legs. Sounds like something I'd make up. But the difference is, I'd wink. http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_226.html
  • Considering the human Penis, originally equipped with a foreskin, and considering most women have a full and prominent Hyman at birth, it is apparent a biological reason for their presence exists. I contend the Hyman design impedes forward travel of foreskins. Unveiling the Penis head and urethra incompletely sometimes impedes semen release, retention, and impregnation. A complete Hyman by stretching tightly over the Penis head impedes foreskin progress. The Hyman can stretch to accommodate the Penis head when tenderly and patiently pressed, possibly over several attempts, by a newly wed husband. The head, (or hood), of the Penis also suggests this; it starts with a small conical tip. The bottom tip has a minute collar to pass through the Hyman. It also contacts the area opposite a women’s pelvic bone easing resistance. The collar gradually increases in thickness and firmness topside (pun). The male’s upward angled press further complements the collars design assuring a progressive increase in diameter, firmness and resistance stretching the Hymen gradually. The Penis neck follows. When the Penis head breaches an undamaged Hyman both collaborates, feel a sudden, relaxed, arousal; especially virgins. This triggers copious natural lubrication from both partners. This lubrication allows accommodation of any proportionately sized Penis body while retracting the foreskin outside the Hyman. The climax of intercourse triggers another autonomic vaginal restriction that forms a reservoir to capture semen around the cervix. A purpose of the fertilization reservoir involves foreskin management. When mutual climax nears, the Penis is fully withdrawn and immediately, and gently, fully reinserted. This renews the stretch in the foreskin loosened by full thrusts. When stopping Penis withdrawal at this inner restriction, the Penis collar easily detects the restriction. The Penis collar and small diameter behind the head retain the foreskin. This feature assures free release of semen. Continuation of short strokes allows the penis opening, (urethra), to locate and repeatedly center in the cervix opening. At ejaculation, the Penis and Cervix openings join. The union may take cooperation of both mates. The power of the males climax can reach speeds of Seventy MPH and their mates usually feel semen pass into and around the cervix. The Erogenous thought of conception bond often triggers a concurrent female orgasm. Now the female orgasm triggers the inner restriction to clamp firm around the Penis. Following climax, the male retracts his Penis to the inner restriction. The retraction draws additional semen from the Penis. This semen is alkaloid and spermicidal and slowly drains from the Penis after orgasm. Gravity keeps it below the cervix and the semen bath. When the Penis collar and foreskin retract tight against the restriction, they act like a plug at the entrance to the fertilization repository. The male position when held Twenty minutes or longer retains the seminal bath around the cervix. Holding a male tight to the restriction for Twenty minutes increases potential of impregnation. Slow vaginal withdraw after Twenty minutes the semi-flaccid Penis pulled through the tightening Hyman extracts any additional drainage of spermicidal fluid release inside the vagina. The residual semen’s spermicidal effect, is theorized to aid in elimination of subsequent challengers from siring a child with the mate. Individuals not experienced with foreskin baring males may not have considered this.
  • Edited version of previous Answer Pending email confirmation. Considering the human Penis, originally equipped with a foreskin, and considering most women have a full and prominent Hyman at birth, it is apparent a biological reason for their presence exists. I contend the Hyman design impedes forward travel of foreskins. Unveiling the Penis head and urethra incompletely sometimes impedes semen release, retention, and impregnation. A complete Hyman by stretching tightly over the Penis head impedes foreskin progress. The Hyman can stretch to accommodate the Penis head when tenderly and patiently pressed, possibly over several attempts, by a newly wed husband. The head, (or hood), of the Penis also suggests this; it starts with a small conical tip. The bottom tip has a minute collar to pass through the Hyman. It also contacts the area opposite a women’s pelvic bone easing resistance. The collar gradually increases in thickness and firmness topside (pun). The male’s upward angled press further complements the collars design assuring a progressive increase in diameter, firmness and resistance stretching the Hymen gradually. The Penis neck follows. When the Penis head breaches an undamaged Hyman both collaborates, feel a sudden, relaxed, arousal; especially virgins. This triggers copious natural lubrication from both partners. This lubrication allows accommodation of any proportionately sized Penis body while retracting the foreskin outside the Hyman. The climax of intercourse triggers another autonomic vaginal restriction that forms a reservoir to capture semen around the cervix. A purpose of the fertilization reservoir involves foreskin management. When mutual climax nears, the Penis is fully withdrawn and immediately, and gently, fully reinserted. This renews the stretch in the foreskin loosened by full thrusts. When stopping Penis withdrawal at this inner restriction, the Penis collar easily detects the restriction. The Penis collar and small diameter behind the head retain the foreskin. This feature assures free release of semen. Continuation of short strokes allows the penis opening, (urethra), to locate and repeatedly center in the cervix opening. At ejaculation, the Penis and Cervix openings join. The union may take cooperation of both mates. The power of the males climax can reach speeds of Seventy MPH and their mates usually feel semen pass into and around the cervix. The Erogenous thought of conception bond often triggers a concurrent female orgasm. Now the female orgasm triggers the inner restriction to clamp firm around the Penis. Following climax, the male retracts his Penis to the inner restriction. The retraction draws additional semen from the Penis. This semen is alkaloid and spermicidal and slowly drains from the Penis after orgasm. Gravity keeps it below the cervix and the semen bath. When the Penis collar and foreskin retract tight against the restriction, they act like a plug at the entrance to the fertilization repository. The male position when held Twenty minutes or longer retains the seminal bath around the cervix. Holding a male tight to the restriction for Twenty minutes increases potential of impregnation. Slow vaginal withdraw of the semi-flaccid Penis through the tight Hyman extracts any additional drainage of spermicidal fluid inside the vagina. The residual semen’s spermicidal effect, is theorized to aid in elimination of subsequent challengers from siring a child with the mate. Individuals not experienced with foreskin baring males may not have considered this.
  • Every part in the human body has its on function. Actually we don't know the exact function of hymen.
  • It's so you can go, "Hymen ame is Mr Pants. How the hell are ya?" ....NO? Oh. Well then no one really knows. Maybe to keep the sand out when we were cave people. (Mr Pants is pretty sure he doesn't have one of these.)
  • *Jerry Lewis voice* "Hymen ee of these you want, pretty ladee?" Geeeeh.. (I should stop. I know. *Slaps self.* *Runs away*

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