There is no one definition of virginity. Others may define virginity as never engaging in vaginal penetration with a penis, despite having had other types of sex, including oral stimulation and anal penetration. Some people may no longer call themselves a virgin after engaging in anal penetration or penetration with a finger or sex toy. Others may reconsider their virginity status after receiving or giving oral stimulation. Oh, the hymen — the stuff of legend. Depending on its size, a hymen can be torn during penetrative sex, exercise, or some other physical activity. Your hymen — like your finger or your ear — is just a body part. Plus, not everyone is born with a hymen, and if they are, it may be a very small piece of tissue. You — and you alone — decide the status of your virginity.
Phase 1: Desire (You start to really want sex.)
The sexual response, step by step
Sex can elicit a roller coaster of emotions, so much so it's oftentimes confusing what's actually going on— in both your body and your brain. Whether it's casual, committed, or somewhere in-between, you're always going to feel something. Even if it's just I want to have sex more. What's interesting, though, is those feelings can oftentimes be traced back to biology and brain chemistry.
Phase 2: Arousal (Sexual stimulation starts to feel even better.)
This process is known as the sexual response cycle. Experts usually categorize the sexual response cycle in four phases spanning from the second you get turned on mentally or physically to the blissful, tapped-out close of events. Different bodies of thought proceed through the sexual response cycle in slightly different ways, with some separating certain parts of the sexual response cycle that others lump together.
S ex is the most talked-about, joked about, thought-about issue in our culture. We are not short of information on sexual practices — thank you, Fifty Shades of Grey — but there is a general absence of accurate detail of what happens to our bodies during, and as a result of, the act. Yet sex is good for our mental and physical health.