A few weeks ago I saw this link on a discussion board. I have literally been thinking about it since the day I saw it, but it has taken until now for me to be able to write about it, because… really?
Here’s the gist if you don’t want to read the article:
Back in 1988 there was a girl in South Africa with no vagina (I think it’s a form of hermaphroditism, which by the way – I am fascinated with. I actually wrote a 30 page term paper about hermaphroditic conditions in college. I think gene disorders are really interesting, and I am especially captivated by sex determination factors [OK, we all know I’m warped! But this one stemmed from a curiosity about the biological factors of sexuality, and it just morphed a little out of control as I learned more!] Hermaphroditic conditions are actually much more prevalent than most people realize, and when you learn about how many different things can go wrong when a baby is being formed, it really makes you understand what a miracle a perfect, healthy baby is.) From the description it sounds like all of her interior parts were female, but on the outside she just had a very shallow dimple with no real entry point to her insides (nothing a penis could actually have been able to penetrate). She was giving oral sex to her boyfriend when a knife fight broke out (I know, already the most dramatic story you’ve ever heard, right?) She was stabbed, and her boyfriend must have just finished right before the fight began, because there was semen on the knife. Somehow those sturdy little spermies managed to find their way to her fallopian tubes (she was stabbed in the abdomen) and 9 months later she presented to the hospital with severe abdominal pain. They discovered she was in labor, and with no vaginal opening they proceeded to deliver the very unexpected/unplanned/unexplainable baby via C-section.
I’ll give you a minute to digest that.
Outrageous, right? The thing is, I’ve been doing a little bit of research, and it looks like it may be true. First of all, ABC news printed this story. Even though I get that you can’t believe everything you read, I also can’t imagine a big news agency like ABC would print something so implausible without some concrete evidence to back it up. There would just be way too many people saying “No way – not possible!” You couldn’t get away with printing this story if it weren’t true unless you were The National Enquirer (because that kind of nonsense is expected of them!) Second of all, it does seem to appear in some medical journals. It looks like this 1 in a bazillion chances of happening event – actually happened.
Which begs the question “What the F***!”
This girl got pregnant without trying, and she doesn’t even have a vagina? So basically, what you’re telling me, is that I would have a better chance of getting pregnant without serious medical intervention if I had no vagina than in my current state of having completely destroyed tubes. Seriously?
And please don’t get me wrong; I feel for this girl. First there is the whole “no vagina” scenario, which I think we can all recognize as being a pretty big bummer. I like my vagina; I would not be pleased if it was non-existent. Then you add in the whole unplanned pregnancy at 15 deal, and yep: that would be hard for anyone. Especially if you had no idea you were pregnant until you were actually in labor (and for once, I totally get the excuse “I didn’t know I was pregnant”. I never really believe it when I watch that show, but in this girls case – makes perfect sense!) I’m sure somewhere down the road she was probably grateful for this miracle, because I can’t imagine she was ever able to conceive again (I don’t even know that doctors would take on IVF without an actual entry point to work from), but in the moment? That’s some heavy stuff. Then you add in a knife fight resulting in a stabbing wound immediately after pleasing your boyfriend (and really, is that where any of us would expect that event to lead? I’ve been involved in a decent amount of oral sex in my life, and never has a knife been produced afterwards. That’s just not really within the confines of acceptable post blow job behavior.), and this poor girl clearly had it rough. I’m not denying that. But…
She got pregnant and SHE HAD NO VAGINA. I just can’t find any way in my brain to make that OK. As rough as it was for her, I still find myself thinking “just consider yourself lucky you didn’t have to pay $15,000 to go through IVF hoping with everything you’ve got that it works out the first time because you don’t know if you have it in you to go through multiple disappointments like some women do. That baby was practically handed to you!” And I realize that’s totally unfair, but still. She had no vagina.
It’s possible I’m still not in the right place to be writing about this, but I figured it was time I shared and found out if I am totally off base for being so irritated by this story.
What do you think? For those of you trying to conceive, does the idea of Miss No Vagina and her miraculous pregnancy leave you just the slightest bit annoyed?
Or is my “it’s not fair” 5 year old persona taking over my brain in a totally twisted way again?
ADSPACE
