Hymen Capsules Claim To 'Restore Virginity': Does Misogyny Ever Cease To Amaze?

If whitening and tightening cream marketing agendas weren't enough, now there are artificial hymens for brides who want to give their 'first time' to their husbands on their wedding night. The product popularly known as hymen capsules are marketed to women as a way of restoring their virginity. A quick search on the internet will lead you to various websites that sell the capsules to recreate 'the virginity experience'. This practice is deeply rooted in misogyny and uphelds the regressive patriarchal practices of our Indian society.

So how do hymen capsules work and what is the ideology behind using these capsules? 

Hymen capsules are capsules that are supposed to be inserted inside one's vagina. They are supposed to be inserted an hour or two before expected sexual activity. Upon intercourse, they mix with the body's vaginal secretion and flow as blood on the sheets. The look of the blood is natural and therefore, one would not suspect it to not be natural blood. Marketed as no surgical hymen replacement products, these self-dissolving capsules contain blood powder in them which does the work of the vaginal blood flow, thereby 'marking virginity' post intercourse. 

These hymen capsules are often paired up with vagina tightening cream which 'promises' to increase sexual pleasure. The cream is applied around the vaginal opening to tighten the vaginal entrance, remove wrinkles and ensure tighter and narrower vaginal walls for increased pleasure. 

Both the cream and capsules are marketed as a kit and sold individually by various online reputed sites like Amazon, Flipkart, Indiamart, and more. The kits are heavily discounted which encourages women to purchase the duo in a kit. 

These hymen capsules claim to be tested in labs and declare themselves as safe-to-use products for the vagina. However, the legitimacy of their claims cannot be assumed so easily. There is no guarantee that these capsules won't damage the vagina. They might cause UTIs, bacterial infections, or irreversible damage. 

Suggested Reading: A Broken Hymen Cannot Be Held To Measure Someone’s Sexual Activeness

Why Are Hymen Capsules Dangerous? 

It is not safe to insert random substances into the vagina as this can cause infections. Hymen capsules are therefore not only unsafe substances but also have a detrimental impact on the emotions of a woman. 

Capsules that 'mark' virginity, and creams that claim tighter vaginas are required to be sexually desired do not boost a woman's morale. 

Why must women repeatedly prove their virginity to their male partners? Such expectations are not placed on men in society. The hymen capsules and the vaginal tightening cream are not only completely unnecessary and unsafe but also dangerously one-up the patriarchal system that seeks to subvert women. 

Women have been subjected to various archaic misogynistic methods to prove their worth which surprisingly seems tied to the price of an existent or non-existent tissue in the body. Some people are born without a hymen. Some lose this completely irrelevant and non-functional tissue in the body very early on in their childhood owing to exercises such as swimming, cycling, etc. 

Additionally, it is not always compulsory for an intact hymen to bleed once penetrated. Some hymen when penetrated do not necessarily bleed. 

The very notion of 'losing one's virginity’ is a problematic notion to have in place. Why must women be made to feel like they have lost something while engaging in acts of sexual pleasure? Shouldn't such engagement ensure that pleasure is gained and not lost? 

Such virginity markers like the hymen capsule pedestalize the notion of sexually chaste women, demeaning any that choose differently. 

Women are labelled promiscuous for engaging in sexual acts before marriage in India. But why must a woman be expected to wait till marriage in the first place? Some find it prudent to discover sexual compatibility before marriage than risk sexual dissatisfaction after. Should women decide to wait or consummate a relationship is a personal choice. It is erroneous to make them feel lesser or pedestalise them based on that choice. 

Views expressed by the author are their own.