Rapper T.I. admitted that he was taking his daughter to yearly checkups to confirm her virginity. Yes, you’ve read that right. Since she was 15, her dad would take her to the gynaecologist every year to make sure her hymen is intact.
The doctor explained that hymens can actually break from physical activity or just tear on their own. Some women are even born without it. Still, he was persistent to ‘protect his daughter’s virginity’. When the entire thing came into the eyes of the public, his daughter felt ashamed and hid from the media.
Rapper T.I. speaking in his defence
He went on to defend himself for all the controversial comments that arrived. He defended that he needs to protect his daughter’s virginity more than his son’s. The reason was simple; she can get pregnant.
On ‘Red Table Talk’ with Jada Pinkett Smith, he said that he just wants to protect his daughter from ‘players’. He said that if his daughter gets pregnant, the household changes. However, if his son gets a girl pregnant, the household won’t change. ‘For women, the stakes are higher’ – he said.
This caused huge outrage, especially among women. It’s a sensitive topic but controlling a daughters sexuality in this way is absurd. He also spoke about his daughter’s sexuality in public, without her permission.
Despite Rapper T.I. has shown a positive attitude about it and talked like it’s a normal thing to do, the public doesn’t agree. This is a line that wasn’t supposed to be crossed. He showed a lack of trust and extremely controlling behaviour over her own body, so naturally, the situation didn’t just stay in the world of media.
New York to put a legal ban on ‘virginity tests’
New York state lawmakers are considering making laws regarding ‘virginity testing’. It didn’t take long until people reported this and demanded something to be done – legally. It’s expected that there would be a bill that would penalize and even criminally charge doctors who perform such a thing.
This will include the parent as well, who will also be charged for this act. If this act is performed outside a medical setting, then it would be treated as sexual assault.
While the myth that intact hymen means the female didn’t have intercourse has been debunked by science, doctors explained to Rapper T.I. why these check-ups don’t make sense. The doctor said it can break from playing sports, riding horses or just stay intact after the intercourse.
He said ‘Well she doesn’t play any sports and she rides no horses so just check her up and please give me back my results.’ These comments made lawmakers quite angry and consider that this is a serious violation of the female body.