What's a hymen??

I've heard about it but is it

It's a thin layer of skin around the outside of a girl's vagina, it is something they are born with and USUALLY (but not always) it will tear the first time girl has sex I.e. popping their cherry (it is mainly what causes discomfort during first time sex and the little bit of bleeding)

It can also tear because of sport,inserting a tampon, horse riding etc and is not an indication of whether a girl is a virgin.

A hymen (also called a cherry) is a thin membrane of skin that partially covers the entrance to the vagina. It is up inside and if you put your penis in, it will stretch and tear the cherry (hymen) so that your penis fits in.

It will often start bleeding when it tears but there may only be a few drops of blood. We are not talking tidal waves here...

For some girls it is painful for others just a bit sore.

Also, it is very possible that a girls hymen has already torn/broken before her first sexual intercourse as this can easily happen through horse riding, exercise, fingering or just inserting a tampon.

To better understand what a hymen is - check out this link:

http://www.healthystrokes.com/hymengallery.html

Well done for at least bothering to ask the question.
I think all teen guys should read and understand this before they attempt to have sex with a virgin. The girl is giving up something for you so it would be nice to understand what this is.

You would be surprised at how many guys really dont understand what a hymen is. At least you just had the courage to ask the question on her rather than just pretend that you knew. (like many other teen guys do)

:-)

Kiasu