Sometimes it becomes glaringly obvious how lacking our educational curriculum has been when it comes to sex education. Not much light is shed on the topic or even taught in schools regarding male and female sexual health and just general anatomy of the female gender in particular. The ignorance shows in the kind of conversations and debates we continue to have about women’s bodies and how it works.
We believe women are tired of having to explain how their body works to just about any misinformed bloke with an opinion. We put together this list of common misconceptions men have about women’s bodies, so we can lay the debate to rest. Once and for all.
1. Women can hold their periods
Think about the sheer absurdity of this statement, yet possibly every woman can count the number of times that this statement has been insinuated. Women cannot hold their period like pee. Periods do not ask for permission to show up, it’s not something a woman has control over. Probably the one statement on this list women genuinely wish was true, as it would surely make that time of the month easier to manage if all they had to do to relieve themselves from the painful claw-like hold of cramps was to pee.
2. All women’s period start and stop like clockwork
Some men talk about the menstrual cycle like it’s a paycheck women cash in at the end of every month. On the exact same day at the same time. Unfailingly. Menstrual cycles are based on estimation, meaning it could be delayed or it could come days earlier depending on different factors ranging from hormone changes, to eating habits to stress even.
3. That Women are just raging hormonal maniacs during “that time of the month”
The fluctuations of hormones during a cycle can cause irritability not to mention the discomfort that comes with menstruation. This should in no way imply that women are not in control of their emotions, lose all sense of reason and just become borderline irrational when on their periods. Shocking revelation: women can communicate, reason, plan, strategize and make decisions during that time of the month and they do it while fighting cramps, nausea, back pain, dizziness and strange cravings. Let’s face it, if you bled 30 to 70 milliliters within a couple of days you’d be irritable too.
4. Virgins must bleed during their first ever intercourse with a man
It is important to note that the hymen does not completely seal off the vagina opening. In the rare case that this happens it requires serious medical attention. The hymen is an already perforated tissue that surrounds the vagina. It is liable to wear off with time, exercise and any strenuous activity. In fact some women are even born without a hymen but it doesn’t make them non-virgins. Bleeding during intercourse can happen for a myriad of other reasons, some being lack of proper lubrication, discomfort and tension, forceful penetration and so on.
5. The size of the labia shows how promiscuous women are
Every now and then this particular narrative makes its round on social media. You’ve seen it mentioned in tweets, joked about in viral memes and squeezing its way into every debate about women’s sexuality. It is probably the most common misconception men have about women’s bodies and how it has spread to become this commonly accepted statement is beyond me.
The size of a woman’s vagina has nothing to do with the number of sexual partners she keeps or how often she has sex. The vagina is a muscle that can stretch and contract due to its elastic nature, which is how childbirth is naturally made possible.
