What is a microperforate hymen? Sydney Bean shares details of life-changing anatomical discovery

A microperforate hymen is a congenital disorder that occurs when a woman's hymen almost completely covers her vagina, leaving out one tiny hole that can accommodate menstrual blood flow but can also lead to painful symptoms. The condition is quite rare but can be treated through surgery. There is still no absolute proof as to why this condition, which develops during the fetal stage, can occur.

24-year-old TikToker Sydney Bean's story has captured headlines. In an October 29 episode of YouTube channel Truly's Born Different, Sidney detailed her experience finding out that she was intersex. Sidney, who was prescribed hormones by doctors to treat a heightened level of androgen, later found out when she was sixteen that she did not have a vaginal orifice.

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What is a microperforate hymen? How do you treat it?

The thin, elastic tissue membrane located at the opening of the vagina is known as the hymen. The membrane is initially quite thick but eventually loses its elasticity due to tampon usage, physical activities, and hormonal changes, resulting in its eventual tear. The hymen could also be torn the first time a person has intercourse.

Very rarely, some people are born with a microperforate hymen. A condition where the hymen covers up the opening to the vagina, leaving room for only one tiny hole. According to Boston Children's Hospital, this situation is due to the hymenal tissue not forming properly during embryological development.

The Cleveland Clinic cites some of the symptoms of having a microperforate hymen. These include amenorrhea or an absence of periods, periods that last for more than the normal 7 days, pain in the pelvic or abdominal region, difficulties in the insertion or removal of a tampon, and bacterial infections in the vagina.

The clinic also states that sometimes people can ignore or not go through the aforementioned symptoms and may only recognize the existence of a microperforate hymen when they start having intercourse. Pain and bleeding during intercourse and an inability to have vaginal intercourse are also considered symptoms of a microperforate hymen.

Even though a microperforate hymen can be detected in infants, it is most commonly diagnosed at the onset of menstruation. Sometimes, the extra layer of hymen stretches and tears due to natural hormonal activity during adolescence. It can also tear due to intercourse and attempting to use tampons. In these cases, treatment is not necessary, and normal, pain-free menstruation and intercourse can continue.

However, if this does not happen and extra tissue membranes remain, they can be cleared using a minor surgery called hymenectomy, where scissors and a scalpel are used to cut away the extra hymenal tissue. The edges of the membrane will be stitched into the vaginal wall using absorbable stitches. The Cleveland Clinic specifies that the treatment bears no long-term complications.

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Sydney Bean discovered she had a microperforate hymen when she was 16

Sunday's Born Different segment on the Truly YouTube channel featured TikToker Sydney Bean, who commands an impressive TikTok following of 315,400. The segment told the story of how Sydney discovered that she had a microperforate hymen and was an intersex person. Sidney states in the very beginning of the video:

"Biological sex is not a binary and I am living proof of that."

The episode then follows Sydney as she goes on a date, in which she plans to tell the other person she is intersex "pretty quickly," as the longer she waits, the more nervous she becomes. She revealed that dating as an intersex person can be difficult, as there is so much that people do not understand about being intersex. She explains to her date:

"I have characterstics that fall outside of the binary, like there are some things that are neither male or female when it comes to my hormones and my physical anatomy."

Sidney revealed that she had no idea she was intersex until she turned 17. She was raised as a girl but decided to go to the doctor when she turned 15 to treat her severe cystic acne. The doctors found that she had a heightened level of androgen, a male sex hormone. She was prescribed hormones for acne. However, she later discovered when she was about to turn 17 that she didn't have "an opening".

In a viral TikTok post, she revealed that she tried putting a tampon in, excited at finally getting spotting at the age of 16, only to realize that there was nowhere for her to put it. She did some research about hymens and arrived at the conclusion that she had a microperforate hymen. The gynecologists did not believe her until they saw for themselves and decided to proceed with surgery. She revealed:

"It felt like I had a proper body, like I'm getting closer to the being the female that I was intended to be."

However, she lamented:

"I do wish the word ‘intersex’ had been uttered, I wish I knew why this was happening, I wish they didn't treat it as an anomaly."

It was in her early 20s, when she made a lot of friends in the queer community, that she first started identifying as intersex. She had earlier stated in a TikTok video that she doesn't mind being called "she, he, they, or whatever". Sydney started TikTok to create a new community for herself, as she had some thoughts and did not feel like the people around her understood.

Sydney's mother, being very protective of her, thought it was "amazing" that she put her vulnerabilities out in the open but was very weary of the online "haters". Sydney revealed that she receives a lot of comments calling her a liar and stating that she is not intersex, which initially caused her to doubt herself. She hoped that her content would continue to introduce people to what it meant to be intersex.