If I understand you correctly, you are asking whether a woman with an annular hymen (a hymen that surrounds the vaginal opening but leaves an open hole in the center) can have sex without damaging her hymen or leaving any evidence that she was sexually active.

The answer is, it depends. It may be possible for a woman to have sex with an annular hymen without it tearing, but there is certainly no guarantee of this. It is likely that even with a hole in the center, the penis will stretch or rip the hymen, which may be detected by a doctor if the woman was examined to see if she was a virgin.

However, the hymen is not always intact even in women who are virgins. It is possible to break or rip the hymen during sports, horseback riding, tampon use, masturbation, or any of a number of other ways. Therefore, the hymen's presence or absence is not a reliable indicator of virginity anyway.

Still, there are many people out there (including doctors) who don't understand this and may assume a woman with a torn or broken hymen has been sexually active, whether this is the case or not.

I hope this helps.

Best, Blaise

Reviewed by: Scott Gross M. Ed.