Its
presence by no means signifies that she has never had such
intercourse.
There are many ways in which the hymen may be destroyed apart
from coitus. Among the Chinese (and also, it would appear, in
India and some other parts of the East) the female parts are from
infancy kept so scrupulously clean by daily washing, the finger
being introduced into the vagina, that the hymen rapidly
disappears, and its existence is unknown even to Chinese doctors.
Among some Brazilian Indians a similar practice exists among
mothers as regards their young children, less, however, for the
sake of cleanliness than in order to facilitate sexual
intercourse in future years. (Ploss and Bartels, _Das Weib_, vol.
i, Chapter VI.) The manipulations of vaginal masturbation will,
of course, similarly destroy the hymen. It is also quite possible
for the hymen to be ruptured by falls and other accidents. (See,
e.g., a lengthy study by Nina-Rodrigues, "Des Ruptures de l'Hymen
dans les Chutes," _Annales d'Hygiene Publique_, September, 1903.)
On the other hand, integrity of the hymen is no proof of
virginity, apart from the obvious fact that there may be
intercourse without penetration.
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