Insight: June 25

Insight this week tackles the delicate subject of ‘virginity’ discussing everything from a wedding night bed sheet ceremony to hymen reconstructions.

“I know that my hymens have passed inspection in Australia and overseas and not been detected.”
– Les Blackstock, cosmetic surgeon

Les Blackstock is proud of his reconstructed hymens. He says women are requesting them for a variety of reasons: because they have had pre-marital sex, they are victims of rape, or they “want to achieve a sense of a clean slate”.

He’s not the only Australian medical professional getting involved in virginity matters. Dr Wafa Samen, a Sydney-based gynaecologist, issues doctor’s certificates in English and in Arabic certifying that a hymen is intact.

The two doctors join this week’s Insight program on virginity, which looks at who’s holding onto it, who can’t wait to get rid of it, and who’s trying to hide the fact that they do (or don’t) have it any more.

Guests include:

Inez Manu-Sione
The day after Inez Manu-Sione’s wedding night, she presented the bed sheet to her extended family so they could all inspect it for blood. Although she grew up in Australia, Inez is Tongan and the bed sheet ceremony is a part of her family’s cultural tradition. At first, Inez was reluctant to agree to the ceremony, thinking it was “barbaric”. But eventually she agreed to do it “to really honour my mum”.

Rose Russo
Rose Russo had been having sex with other women for many years but still felt like she was a virgin as she hadn’t slept with a man. At 22, with the permission of her long-term girlfriend, she hired a male sex worker. “Interesting, expensive, not really worth it” is how she describes the experience.

Nathan McGuire & Bek Stubbs
When Nathan McGuire and Bek Stubbs first had sex, Nathan was keeping a secret. Nathan, then 18 years old, was a virgin but told Bek that he’d previously had sex because he was worried Bek would think he was inexperienced and naïve. Nathan says amongst his mates, “losing your V-plates” was almost a competition.

Les Blackstock
Dr Les Blackstock performs hymen restorations. He says his clients request it because they have had pre-marital sex, they are victims of rape, or they “want to achieve a sense of a clean slate”. He says it’s impossible to tell if a hymen has been surgically restored. “I know that my hymens have passed inspection in Australia and overseas and not been detected.” He says he won’t do a hymen restoration if he thinks a woman has been forced into it.

Dr Wafa Samen
Dr Wafa Samen is an obstetrician and a gynaecologist based in Sydney. She provides some of her patients with doctor’s certificates stating that their hymens are intact. She says she receives such requests from brides who need to prove their virginity to their future husbands and in-laws, brides who didn’t bleed as expected on their wedding nights, or young women who are worried that they may have damaged their hymen while doing other physical activity.

Tuesday 25 June, 8.30pm on SBS ONE.