February 5, 2002

5:54 AM

Dark knees say it all.If a man's knees are dark, he is not a virgin. If a boy urinates straight up into the air, he is a virgin. If the urine sprays, he has had sex before.
posted by arrowhead (10 comments total)

""Virginity testing in no way helps halt the spread of Aids unless part of the testing is done with sex education."
While I understand that virginity testing is part of a cultural tradition it in no way educates the Zulu youth about the spread of sexually transmitted diseases nor will it stop them from having sex. Girls have obviously been going through rites of virginity testing for some time now and this has not impacted the spread of AIDS or other STDs in this area at all. I am not sure why they feel pronouncing a young man's virginity based on myth will help either. It is commonly known that there are many ways (note: scroll down for hymen information btw) a woman can break her hymen. Given that an intact hymen is the basis for the female virginity tests, I would dare say those are relatively inaccurate as well.

"She added that although virginity testing formed a part of Zulu tradition, certain aspects of that tradition needed to be modified."
And how, I just wish she had mentioned how she would modify it...

”If they say boys don't have hymen, what do they call the white part around the foreskin then?"
I am wondering the same thing myself??!!?? White part around the foreskin???

"When approached for comment, Linksfield clinic gynaecologist Merwyn Jacobson disagreed with all of Khumalo's male virginity tests. "There is no scientific basis for this, but I am open to education. "
True there is no scientific basis for this but can't we argue that virginity is NOT a strictly medical term, but rather a religious and cultural one?
posted by gloege at 6:27 AM on February 5, 2002

The question that remains unanswered by this story is this - what are the consequences of being identified as "not virginal?" I guess there must be some, since I can't imagine this kind of "testing" being done because there's nothing else to do on a Friday afternoon.

< standing up to take the abuse from the crowd >

This story is proof that some cultures are superior to others. It is also proof that Reggie Khumalo is not just uneducated, but rather a willfully ignorant fool.

BTW - the white stuff around the foreskin is called smegma. It can be eliminated, as the remarkably timid Merwyn Jacobson said - by careful cleaning.

< /standing>
posted by Irontom at 6:34 AM on February 5, 2002

This is, like, gross
posted by matteo at 6:37 AM on February 5, 2002

smegma: A sebaceous secretion, especially the cheesy secretion that collects under the prepuce or around the clitoris


mmm.. prepuce. I don't get why foreskin is a more popular term that prepuce...
posted by gloege at 6:43 AM on February 5, 2002

If the urine sprays, he has had sex before.

Or he has a Prince Albert =)
posted by starvingartist at 6:45 AM on February 5, 2002

If the urine sprays, you must acquit!

uh...never mind.
posted by Kafkaesque at 8:54 AM on February 5, 2002

You can tell if women have performed oral sex if they have dark knees too ;-)

Maybe there's something to it.
posted by bregdan at 9:45 AM on February 5, 2002

All Zulus must have dark knees. HOW DARK MAKES THEM NOT VIRGIN ???
posted by adnanbwp at 9:53 AM on February 5, 2002

bregdan says: "You can tell if women have performed oral sex if they have dark knees too ;-)"

geez man, lay down. you get to orgasm faster and she is not on her damn knees the whole time!
posted by gloege at 10:16 AM on February 5, 2002

The question that remains unanswered by this story is this - what are the consequences of being identified as "not virginal"

The girls were tested in order to be considered marriage material, I'm guessing with the current state of affairs vis a vis AIDS in that part of the country, the boys are now feeling the pressure too.

I remember reading that many girls were skipping the tests, as being declared a virgin meant that there was every chance of being raped by an AIDS victim who believed the myth that sex with a virgin would cure him. Wonder if that myth extends to sex with male virgins? For some reason, I doubt it.
posted by Salmonberry at 3:33 PM on February 5, 2002