It’s gross, but my friends and I are arguing about masturbation. Does it break your virginal seal?

Masturbation isn’t gross, but talking about it can be embarrassing. It’s super-private, after all!

Touching yourself cannot break the seal, called the hymen, which is a ring of tissue inside the opening of a girl’s vagina, explains Dr. Larrian Gillespie, a urogynecologist in Los Angeles.

Tampons usually don’t break the hymen either. Most often, they hymen only tears after sexual intercourse—although horseback riding or bike riding might cause it to rip. There can be slight bleeding and a bit of pain when it does break.

By: Kristen Kemp