about my body

Dear Pastor,

I am a 15-year-old girl and my mother took me to the doctor because I was having problems with my period. The doctor asked me lots of questions, but most of the questions he asked, my mother answered.

I was too shy to ask the doctor to attempt to explain certain things. So when we got home, I asked my mother what the doctor meant when he asked me if my hymen was intact. The doctor had asked about that and my mother answered him and said, "Well, doctor, she never had sex."

So I would like you to tell me what the hymen is. And while you are at it, I would like you also to tell me what the clitoris is.

Thank you very much for answering my questions.

T.M.

Dear T.M.,

The doctor asked if your hymen was intact, and your mother answered and said that you have never had sex. Your mother knew that, if you had sexual intercourse, your hymen would have been broken because no female can have sex and her hymen is not broken. When the hymen is broken, the girl may experience a certain amount of pain and bleeding.

Although many females have said that they did not bleed much when their hymen was penetrated, that is not generally the case. Some of these questions you are asking me are questions that should be directed at your mother.

Mother and daughter should discuss these things. A mother-and-daughter relationship is vital. You should not be in ignorance.

A mother should point out to her daughter by using pictures of the private part so that her daughter would understand the different parts of the vagina and their functions.

The clitoris has no biological use except for sexual pleasure, which I will not go further into. I would suggest that you go on the Internet and do your own research to educate yourself about these things. See what you can find out about the clitoris, the urethra, etc. and what you may learn about your vagina itself.

Pastor