Egyptians uptight about 'Artificial Virginity Hymen'

Egyptian members of parliament have expressed fears that a Japanese-made "Artificial Virginity Hymen" could prompt an upsurge in pre-marital relations in a country where women are expected to tie the knot with their cherry intact. Gigimo's Artificial Virginity Hymen. Pic: Gigimo According to Associated Press, conservative …

[Peter Kay]

I hope the product succeeds beyond the manufacturer's wildest dreams

Failing that, a sea change in society would be good but let's be realistic.

Expectation of virginity on marriage (and all the barely disguised bride as commodity bullshit) is right up there in the list of unjustifiable and evil control freakery.

[Anonymous Coward]

Product ID: 2299

I followed the link! Well, I had to look didn't I, you hyped it up !

[Tel]

Um...

Never has the acronym WTF been more appropriate...

[Anonymous Coward]

Will not work

The lack of blood can actually be a "double jeopardy" with the bride blaming the groom that he has no clue in bed. That by the way, under islamic law is a perfectly valid cause for a divorce (it is also the one cause idiot wannabee fundamentalists tend to forget).

Hence, in the more civilised part of the Middle East like Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey, etc most families that have the money (and sense) go for a pre-marital medical. From there on the bride happily marches onto the honeymoon bed with a paper that basically says "Virignity confirmed but, not likely to bleed".

From there on, it is all a matter of selecting the _RIGHT_ doctor to obtain the paperwork. Anyone who has lived even for a short while in the more backwater parts of the Balkans like Kosovo or the bit of Bulgaria which Bulgarians call is known as "Pomakistan" know that. Same for the more enlightened parts of the Middle East.

Oh, and the cleric is quite clearly a moron.

[georgeclooneylookalike]

Bloody Hell

If it prevents a woman, who's had a bit of pre-marrital jiggy-jiggy, from getting stonned to death by these extreamists then it can't be all bad.

Mines the one with the mirkin and the fake hymen in the pockets.

[DT]

What's the difference between Egyptian wedding night encounters and the game of rugby?

In Egypt, you get substituted if you don't bleed.

[UBfusion]

I like the IT angle of it!

Excellent international reporting from ElReg, glorifying the powers of globalized market (Japanese idea made in China, exported to Netherlands then to Egypt and soon to appear near your neighborhood).

I suspect that this product will be the next big thing for both male and female customers. Bearing in mind that the original advertisement says "With this product, you can have your first night back anytime", I'd bet that both boys and girls would desperately want their "first night back" as often as possible. The IT angle of it is that this probably is the cheapest and most ingenious use of silicone as a memory chip or a time machine ever invented.

If only we could have a Japanese gadget that "restores your purse in its original state after each purchase"...

[Anonymous Coward]

Welcome to the Middle East

The tempature is 35C, the year is 1095.

[Version 1.0]

I'm ordering a dozen right now!

Can I get one for my Goat?

[Anonymous Coward]

Ah, Abrahamic religions...

...they're all the same: forgiveness and punishment go hand-in-hand. Why can't you have the forgiveness before the punishment? I'm sure everyone would enjoy themselves much more.

Someone should remind Sheik Sayed Askar that Ishmael was born out of wedlock.

[Anonymous Coward]

Yep.....

Yep, gotta bust the hymen on the wedding night, or god get's pissed off !

Amazing this is more important than clean water, reliable power supply, decent pre-natal care, infant mortality, or any of the other gazillion things plaguing the Islamic world. Oh well, if they want to live in the dark ages, I guess it's their right to do so.

[Steve 26]

Illicit relations

"This product encourages illicit sexual relations. Islamic culture forbids these relations except within the confines of marriage"

So if you are a Muslim and married, it's okay to have illicit sexual relations? Where do I sign up?

[Hermes Conran]

I blame...

all that Aphrodisiac Gum.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/07/15/aphrogum/

Mind you don't get them mixed up though!

[Anonymous Coward]

So...

Why are they sold in packs of two???

[Spider]

staggering

"more civilised part of the Middle East like Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey, etc most families that have the money (and sense) go for a pre-marital medical"

Welcome to the most advanced civilisations of the 14th Century.

Religion. Just in case we couldn't think of enough ways to mess things up.

[Elmer Phud]

Opening for a bright young lad.

I've got a book by Tricia Sullivan where a nasty peice of work has a go at the main character.

Only to find she has a similar device to the one promoted here and she doesn't have fake blood but some painkiller, ground glass and very hot chilli paste.

Lets be careful out there.

[LuMan]

Who'd want a virgin bride?

After all, they'd be crap in bed. No, much better to marry some dirty, sleazebucket from the nearby overspill estate who's been giving practice to all and sundry behind Tesco's since she was 13!

Oh wait.... I did.

[Anonymous Coward]

@AC 14:57

"Why are they sold in packs of two???"

Front & Back?

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm probably the only nerdy downtempo music anorak who...

...is helplessly reminded of Coldcut's seminal (settle down) Tale of Virginia Epitome..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbINYprB3K8

Don't worry, it's far cleaner than you might imagine, though quite vituperative..

[Sparkypatrick]

@ boltar & Spyder

It's actually 1430. That's the fifteenth century. Not to be confused with 14:30, which was earlier this afternoon.

[Anonymous Coward]

Sorry, I don't understand

Can somone please explain to me how a woman can be "gynacologically intact" so-to-speak and simultaneously have started menstruation.

I admit my biology is a little shaky but surely this is a gratuitous myth.

Sarah? Anyone?

[northern monkey]

Under causes of hymen tear...

...it lists premarital sex but not post-marital sex. Does your hymen not break if you've been a good girl in the the eyes of Allah and kept your v-plates attached until after getting married?

Anyway, if Allah is so vengeful surely he'll deal with the hymen-hoaxers in the appropriate way.

Paris, because not even one of these babies is going to convince anyone that her hymen is anything but broken.

[Henry Wertz 1]

Before you go all postal..

Before you go all postal, recall that Christianity also prohibits sex outside of marriage. And politicians are blowhards. I'm just saying, some people (and some countries more than others, or even parts of countries) take religion real seriously while others don't. When I was in Morocco (even the eastern part, not just the few cities with the most tourism..) women wore pants and shirts, didn't wear headscarfs (some wore more traditional clothes, but it was clearly personal preference rather than being forced into it by society.) They were Muslim, but they weren't into restricting people's normal activities. Other countries are more strict about these things.

For instance in the US, the more blowhard politicians go on about how students should just practice abstinence and shouldn't be taught about condoms, then are all shocked when these students get pregnant. To many Americans this does sound ridiculous. I think this is probably a similar situation.

[LaeMi Qian]

Remember girls...

...some men have very good reason to fear being compared to others in bed.

OTOH, I was once involved in a discussion including 2 guys who were rather put-off by the idea of hurting a girl in that way. I assured them it didn't hurt /that/ much, but a friend interjected and said for her it hurt rather a lot, and not just the first time :-(. Left me wondering if getting the hymen cut surgically well before sex might be cleaner and simpler.

And if the eager-hymen-busting-type men really want to see blood from down there so much, why are so many of them terrified of menstruation?

[raving angry loony]

hypocrits

Until men are held to the same standards, then it's all hypocrisy and any product that helps burst that bubble is good.

[Raving]

Manilla envelope

"This item will be shipped from China"

[DrJaymansLoveCookie]

titleless

"country where women are expected to tie the knot with their cherry intact."

Not only in Islamic countries, there's are a lot of that 1300's mentality BS from the Southern Baptists in the US too.

BTW, that virginity thing is over rated. I like a woman who knows what she's doing.

Paris - she'll need a case of 'em.

[Anonymous Coward]

It gives a whole new meaning to that old saying

Up tight and outta sight.

They could probably find a market for these with the far right nutters in the US.

All right, all right; quit your pushing.

[Anonymous Coward]

Now to change the color to green and have some fun!

Just need to buy a load of these, change the color to green and sell them on and let the hilarity commence!

[John Savard]

Obvious Conclusion

Such products are understandably attractive in societies where women are in danger.

I think we should just impose our values on Egypt with an iron fist, until such time as the mentality that leads to terrorism is completely wiped out there.

[Anonymous Coward]

Buying virgins

When these guys buy a virgin, they expect a genuine virgin, not some foreign fake.

The places that will rail against this are the same places that don't treat women as human beings.

[Dave Harvey]

But why are there TWO in the packet?

Wouldn't hubby get to guess that something might be wrong if she ever uses the second one?!

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: So...

"Why are they sold in packs of two???"

One for the tradesman's entrance? Well you had to ask...

[Anonymous Coward]

*shrug*

Never really understood the fascination of having sex with an inexperienced person. It's far more enjoyable with someone who knows what they're doing and no longer has childish inhibitions.

Having someone able to tell you what they like and how they like it frees you to do the same, not to mention the turn off of knowing you might be causing your partner pain. I'm sure women don't particular enjoy men fumble around and don't know what they're doing either.

The one thing I knew for sure for the longest time was that I wasn't going to marry a virgin for any money. I'm still absolutely certain I got the best part of the deal, wedding nights are supposed to be pleasurable experiences, not short lived, embarrassing and painful.

[Anonymous Coward]

F+++, that's a bummer

Thank God, I'm all for a hymen or two, but's lets not greedy eh. At the end of the day, one f+++ is the same as the next.

Any female gymnastical experts out there want to make a film?

[Anonymous Coward]

@Ah, Abrahamic religions

"Someone should remind Sheik Sayed Askar that Ishmael was born out of wedlock."

Gen 3:16 So, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, Sar'ai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her maid, and gave her to Abram her husband as a _wife_.

Ish'mael inherited from Abraham - something which an illegitimate son could not do.

If you think this an odd concept it is quite possible the laws of the UK make the status of an illegitimate child lower than that of a child born into a marriage relationship. My eldest son, born in a defacto relationship may not be able to get a Brit passport (we're in Oz) as one of the stated rules is that he must be a _legitimate_ child of me.

****

I hate this sort of story on the Reg. It just allows the bigots to let loose with their supposed intellectual and moral superiority. For a woman, medically, multiple partners has been associated with increased infection rates of clamidia, gardinella, thrush, herpes and HPV and these, in turn, lead to increased risk of cervical cancer and birth defects (in utero infection). Men with multiple partners are frequently passive infectors. Basically, a number of commentators, such as Germaine Greer have noted that the so-called "sexual freedom" of today does not benefit women, who may feel obliged to have sex to be percieved as desirable/wanted but rather men - for pretty obvious reasons.

So you may not like the idea of societies which value female and male virginity (yep, in Islam the man is supposed to be a virgin if he's never been married) but that's up to you lot to judge your of value system and why you have that set of filters. You might find judgementalism of others' value systems a bit low in validity after all.

[Goat Jam]

@AC 00:22 GMT

Hear hear.

I posted much the same thing but my comment was censored for some reason.

[TeeCee]

Meanwhile, in heaven......

Due to the large number of exploding martyrs recently and the resulting shortage of virgins, the "72 virgins in paradise" incentive has unfortunately had to be downgraded to "72 slappers and a jumbo box of instant virgin kits".

[Hugh_Pym]

Anybody read...

The Bell Jar? Now that is what I call proof of virginity.

[lukewarmdog]

women eh

" For a woman, medically, multiple partners has been associated with"

Yeah let's stop you right there shall we. Let's look at safe sex and then point out that women with multiple partners are happier, healthier mentally and physically and a lot more aware of what they want in a relationship and what they can contribute.

Alternatively we can look at the slavery and misery hat Islam imposes. But I guess we'll just stop at where I said earlier.

[Jay Castle]

@ AC, 00:22 GMT

"I hate this sort of story on the Reg. It just allows the bigots to let loose with their supposed intellectual and moral superiority. For a woman, medically, multiple partners has been associated with increased infection rates of clamidia, gardinella, thrush, herpes and HPV and these, in turn, lead to increased risk of cervical cancer and birth defects (in utero infection). Men with multiple partners are frequently passive infectors. Basically, a number of commentators, such as Germaine Greer have noted that the so-called "sexual freedom" of today does not benefit women, who may feel obliged to have sex to be percieved as desirable/wanted but rather men - for pretty obvious reasons.

So you may not like the idea of societies which value female and male virginity (yep, in Islam the man is supposed to be a virgin if he's never been married) but that's up to you lot to judge your of value system and why you have that set of filters. You might find judgementalism of others' value systems a bit low in validity after all."

Yeah, what-EVER....

[Sarah Bee]

Re: @ AC, 00:22 GMT

Well, it seems fairly obvious to me. Of course mindless careless shagging around is not unlikely to make you miserable if not actually sick, although it may work for some - if you're responsible in your promiscuity and don't spread nasties or produce unwanted children then it's up to you to behave how the hell you want. Society- or tradition- or religion-enforced celibacy is wrong - the freedom of choice to have sex or not is correct.

No?

[Jolyon]

@lukewarmdog

"we can look at the slavery and misery hat Islam imposes"

So it's not just the headscarf?

[Sarah Bee]

Re: @lukewarmdog

See, I do not approve of such noxious pedantry on the whole but - heh.

Some days you just have your misery hat on.

[Ben Rosenthal]

@ Anon Muslim

""sexual freedom" of today does not benefit women, who may feel obliged to have sex to be percieved as desirable/wanted but rather men - for pretty obvious reasons"

because only men get any pleasure from sex in your culture? Sucks to be you guys, maybe you should try some self help books to improve your technique.

Oh and as others have suggested, some books on safe sex would probably help allay all these fears you have of very easily avoidable diseases, welcome to the modern age, we hope you enjoy your stay.

Big brother, not only watching you, but also checking your sheets in the morning.

[YumDogfood]

UK != Egypt

On a personal level you comment or even pass judgment on another culture, discussion is fine, but its utter hubris to expect them to be you.

Oh, fun with stats (cue arguments over better information or infection rates?):

Genital warts — Initial visits to physicians’ offices: United States, 1966–2007

http://www.cdc.gov/STD/stats07/figures/44.htm

Genital herpes — Initial visits to physicians’ offices: United States, 1966–2007

http://www.cdc.gov/STD/stats07/figures/45.htm

[Anonymous Coward]

wait a minute

What's wrong with wanting a virgin? Virgins have 0% chance of carrying an STI. They don't have any kids from a 'previous relationship'. They have no prior experience on which to judge your performance on (assuming they've not been educated by watching pr0n). Best of all you get to learn, explore, play together and take that wonderful journey together exclusively.

As long as the rules work for both men and women, what's the problem?

You must all have had sh*t first time experiences.

[Andus McCoatover]

Hymen, Schlymen..

First obvious question, how would the husband prove his virginity? One rule, etc.

When I was about 17, I went out with a lovely girl, 15. Great relationship, no sexual contact. Introduced me as a 'commoner' to the fine arts, Shakespeare, Wordsworth, etc. Clever cookie, despite her tender years. Went on to be something big in - I think - the Tate.

In her home - not in my presence, natch but whilst I was in the 'drawing room - the family doctor had just examined her at her mother's request for virginity. Naturally I was inwardly seething at the suggestion, being a Christian at the time (I saw the light a few years later - or was it a TOC-H lamp??).

Knowing I was of 'low breed', council house dweller, whereas the parents were well-heeled, the doctor felt safe to pronounce his verdict in my presence thus:

"Virgo Intacto"

My anger kicked in.

"Virgo IntactA, moron. Didn't you study any Latin???" I screamed (Was going to say 'ejaculated' but thought better of it).

End of my welcome at that house. And the relationship.

[Anonymous Coward]

Anon @0:22 response

@By lukewarmdog

"Yeah let's stop you right there shall we. Let's look at safe sex and then point out that women with multiple partners are happier, healthier mentally and physically and a lot more aware of what they want in a relationship and what they can contribute.

Alternatively we can look at the slavery and misery hat Islam imposes. But I guess we'll just stop at where I said earlier"

You make an assumption that multiple partners make women happy and healthier. Mentally _and_ physically eh? Most women I've ever met seemed to prefer being in a solo relationship with someone they trusted and respected - this makes for happiness. and no, the medicos are saying that physical health is worsened by multiple partners.

As to your ludicrous statement re the misery etc that Islam imposes - that is just an uneducated opinion. Go ask some Muslim women for an opinion. There is likely to be a Muslim Women's group somewhere near you.

@Ben Rosenthal

"because only men get any pleasure from sex in your culture? Sucks to be you guys, maybe you should try some self help books to improve your technique"

Nope. Islam is clear that a woman has rights over her husband to some hanky panky when _she_ wants it. If he fails to give her some or she's unhappy with performance then she can initiate a divorce. BTW, if those books and safe sex classes were so effective, how come STIs are on the rise in UK, here in Oz etc?

@John Savard

"Such products are understandably attractive in societies where women are in danger.

I think we should just impose our values on Egypt with an iron fist, until such time as the mentality that leads to terrorism is completely wiped out there."

Danger? What are the rape stats in UK by the way? Teenage pregnancy? So you don't like the idea of Egyptians imposing something on themselves but you do like the idea of imposing your "iron fist" mentality on them. Cute. Your double standards are enlightening.

NB: In Islamic marriage, the marriage is a lawful contract in which both parties can and do impose conditions. For instance the woman can require a certain monthly stipend. Any condition as long as it doesn't break the law. A man may require his wife to be a virgin. If she's not she's in breach of contract. This is in addition to the Mahr or dowry the bloke is required to pay to the woman (an amount they agree on). Islamic marriage does not have a 'sacred" component, so divorce, while disliked, is a break in contract but must be done so as not to unfairly treat either party. In the west, the churchy 'sacredness' of marriage with all the freaky sex-guilt stuff was, I think, one of the main reasons why people started leaving marriage and shacking up together. Frankly, I think Islamic marriage is healthier but go ask at a Muslim ladies association for their opinion.

Grenade - for da bomb!

[Ben Rosenthal]

whats wrong

with only caring about one small aspect of a person and writing them off as a waste of humanity if they don't match up to your criteria?

If ignorance is bliss, you must be grinning like the Cheshire Cat there yumdogfood.

We've done the STI argument, if you take precautions then there is no need to suffer them. If you can't manage that, then you are best off not breeding anyway. Darwinism at it's best.

saying with one breath that a woman can go for divorce if she is not satisfied, and with another that you like to keep your women ignorant of what it is to be properly satisfied. How does that work out?

If it's all the same to you, I'll continue to judge people only on their individual merits rather than whether there is a chance of some blood squirting out of their vagoo if I get to have some consenting, adult, but most definitely not matrimonial sex with them .

[Kevin 43]

Artificial Clitori(ses?)

Is there a market for these in Egypt, given that its only been out and out banned a couple of years?

Re:Anon @0:22 response

Not much point asking for statistics about rape and teenage pregnancy - are any reported? are women allowed to go to a doctor alone?

Interesting way to argue your corner though - by reinforcing the contractual nature of (medieval) marriage and its objectification of women.

[northern monkey]

@Anonymous Coward

"What are the rape stats in UK by the way?"

As for reported rapes then they're probably higher than they are in any conservative Islamic state since here the rapist is prosecuted, cf. the situation in Islamic states where the woman would be arrested for extramarital sex.

[Anonymous Coward]

@TeeCee

new keyboard please

[P. Lee]

@ah, the abrahamic religions

Not sure about Islam, but this has nothing to do with Judaism or Christianity.

Exodus 20: [If you want to be God's people,] Thou shalt not commit adultery... Thou shalt not bear false witness.... Thou shalt not covert thy neighbours ass (really!)...

As for wanting more forgiveness and less punishment... in the Bible, God takes your punishment when you say sorry, but you do have to say sorry, not lie about it and at least make an effort not to do it again.

Personally, I'd suggest that anyone who has the self-control to remain a virgin until married may have the self-control to not cheat afterwards. I'm not convinced that lying and deceiving your partner on your wedding night is really the best start.

Perhaps wedding-night virginity is an admirable goal. Would you rather have someone to learn sex with from scratch, or someone who is comparing you to previous partners? Perhaps there is some bonding process involved in sex which weakens when applied to multiple partners.

Of course, I don't think this is relevant to the Egyptian outcry. I suspect that's just the protection of pride and privilege - the antithesis of the abrahamic religions.

@John Savard - you sir, owe me a keyboard! :D

[Stewart Haywood]

Good grief

you can buy them in boxes of 50!

Nothing wrong with 50 bonks, but 50 first times is stretching it a bit.

Well, I suppose it would .

[Anonymous Coward]

@P.Lee

"in the Bible, God takes your punishment when you say sorry, but you do have to say sorry, not lie about it and at least make an effort not to do it again."

Does he? I thought he persecuted people he didn't like - unto the 4th generation. When he isn't doing that, he's persecuting the enemies of the Israelites. Don't try to tell us that the god of the bible is just or forgiving - we only have to read it to find out that he's not.

[ElFatbob]

Sadly

Something like this might actually save a few women in Islamic countries. And we shouldn't be so smug. Women in the UK are having hymen reconstruction for fear of their lives.

I have expected to see this being marketed in Japan, given their prediliction for school girls and the like.

-----------------------------------

'Does he? I thought he persecuted people he didn't like - unto the 4th generation. When he isn't doing that, he's persecuting the enemies of the Israelites. Don't try to tell us that the god of the bible is just or forgiving - we only have to read it to find out that he's not.'

An object lesson in how to read something and miss the point entirely. You only have to read it to find out that He is. Try reading the bit about Jesus.

[Andus McCoatover]

@ElFatbob

"Don't try to tell us that the god of the bible is just or forgiving - we only have to read it to find out that he's not."

Yep. Just try to steady a tottering 'Ark of the Covenant' by hand, to feel real Global Warming*. So what happened to the poor fuc*ker that made it??

Does anyone still believe this shit? Yes, and they live in Utah trailer parks, kidnapping and raping young girls for years in the name of Jesus.

*1 Chr. 13:10-11

[Jason DePriest]

The virgins supplied in heaven

are *perpetual* virgins. Every night their hymen regenerates so you can have the honor of being their first time every day.

Is it just me, or is it sort of one-sided and unfair that the women has to medically prove virginity while the guy can just shrug his shoulders and say "I am a virgin" whether he is or isn't.

Of course, this would be the same culture that has stoned women to death for being raped.

The United States, for better or worse, keeps blatant Christianity out of political offices. Hence, it is not illegal to have premarital sex, it is not illegal to have an abortion, it is not illegal to commit adultery and it is illegal to force one of your children to marry someone. Although in some places, it is still illegal to do anything other than the ol' missionary (States' Rights for the win!).