This week rapper T.I. went on the Ladies Like Us podcast with actress Nazanin Mandi and makeup artist Nadia Moham. They discussed music and family, but when the conversation turned to fatherhood things took an unexpected turn. The co-hosts asked the rapper if he’d had the sex talk with his daughters to which he responded that he’s not only broached the subject with them, but he takes his 18-year-old daughter, Deyjah Harris, to the gynecologist annually to “check her hymen,” presumably to check if she’s still a virgin.
“Deylah’s 18, just graduated high school now and she’s attending her first year of college, figuring it out for herself,” he said. “And yes, not only have we had the conversation, we have yearly trips to the gynecologist to check her hymen.”
The rapper also admitted that he make sure she checks the box on her medical form that allows the doctor to share information with him. It sounds like the hosts think the 39-year-old is kidding, but then he continued adding details about their doctor visits.
“So it’s this one time we go, I think this might have been after her 16th birthday,” said T.I. “This is what we do… Usually, like the day after the [birthday] party, she’s enjoying her gifts. I put a sticky note on the door: ‘Gyno. Tomorrow. 9:30.’”
“So we’ll go and sit down and the doctor will come and talk and the doctor’s maintaining a high level of professionalism,” he said. “He’s like, ‘Well, you know sir, I have to, in order to share information’ — I’m like, ‘Deyjah, they want you to sign this… so we can share information. Is there anything you would not want me to know?’ ‘See doc? No problem.’”
As is common knowledge, there are ways to break your hymen without having sex. Some women are even born without hymens. And while the doctor tried to warn T.I. about this, it fell on deaf ears.
“So then they say, ‘I just want you to know there are other ways besides sex that the hymen can be broken. Like bike riding, athletics, horseback riding and just other forms of athletic physical activity. So I said, ‘Look doc, she don’t ride no horses, she don’t ride no bikes, she don’t play no sports. Just check the hymen, please. And give me back my results expeditiously.”
The rapper then went on to say that, “As of [Deyjah’s] 18th birthday, her hymen is still intact.”
What T.I. is explaining is often known as virginity testing, the gynecological examination of female genitalia to attempt to determine whether or not a woman has had vaginal intercourse. Which is not only faulty science—the World Health Organization has said, “[it] has no scientific or clinical basis. There is no examination that can prove a girl or woman has had sex, and the appearance of girl’s or woman’s hymen cannot prove whether they have had sexual intercourse, or are sexually active or not”—but can be damaging to the women who undergo it. So much so that as of 2018, the U.N. has called these tests a violation of human rights and a form of gender discrimination.
After the clip circulated, many on social media were outraged by T.I.’s admission, as you’ll see below. Head here to listen to the interview in full.
