What Does “Popping The Cherry” Mean? Is It Really In The Shape Of A Cherry?

Popping the cherry is used to indicate that someone has “lost their virginity” - a phrase I absolutely hate.

It’s usually used when referencing women making their sexual debut, though I’ve heard it used for people of all genders. And interestingly, its changed over time to mean someone doing something new for the first time that may not be sex related.

When talking about female parts, popping the cherry means breaking her hymen. The hymen is not really in the shape of a cherry, and it’s also not red. It’s the same color as the other vaginal tissue that surrounds it.

The idea of cherry/red may be tied to the fact that sometimes there’s blood when the hymen breaks.

So that brings us to two problems with this statement – the first is that someone who has never had penetrative intercourse may not have an intact hymen. Hymens can stretch and tear for a lot of reasons that have nothing to do with sex, like using a tampon, exercising, riding a bike… it’s a longer list than most people realize.

The second problem is this idea that there’s supposed to be  blood. Even if someone’s hymen does tear during penetrative sex  that doesn’t mean that there’s going to be blood.

This phrase helps perpetuate this myth that “virgins” will always bleed the first time they have sex, and honestly I’d be okay with this myth disappearing.

 Until next time, be safe and have fun!

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