Source: Michael Becker / Michael Becker
Whew chile!!! T.I. just can not seem to catch a break after his controversial comments regarding the state of his daughter’s virginity!
Since his initial statements, he’s paid a visit to Red Table Talk with Jada Pinkett Smith, in hopes of an opportunity to clear up some of the confusion. But for some folks, that just simply is not enough.
Now, New York state lawmakers have taken the initiative to introduce legislation that would ban doctors from performing or supervising virginity examinations, or “purity exams!” This all stemming off the heels of Atlanta rapper T.I.’s comment about attending annual gynecologist appointments with his 18-year-old daughter to “check her hymen” in efforts to confirm she’s still a virgin.
The New York Senate bill, S6879, is sponsored by state Senator Roxanne Persaud, state Assembly woman Michaelle Solages, who have called the procedure “abusive and unscientific”.
Persaud and Solages included in a memo for the bill, ‘”these examinations are not only a violation of women’s and girls’ human rights, but in cases of rape, can cause additional pain and mimic the original act of sexual violence, leading to re-experience, re-traumatization and re-victimization.”
T.I. caught a lot of heat not only due to his comments but also because scientifically, when checking a female patient’s hymen, it must be understood that medical professionals do not consider it a reliable indicator of past sexual activity. The hymen can be affected by a number of natural activities and situations.
The purpose of the bill is to prevent the performance of hymen examinations on women as a means to verify whether or not a she is a virgin.
If the legislation goes into effect, any doctors conducting the procedure would face professional misconduct penalties and a sexual abuse charge as a first degree felony.
“It’s misogynistic, its appalling,” Solages commented. “I was horrified to see this was happening. If a celebrity can impose his power to ensure his 18-year-old daughter gets checked, imagine what can be done in households across New York state?”
In his interview on Red Table Talk with Jada Pinkett-Smith, T.I. went on to explain that when he made those comments, he was talking about the situation in a “very joking matter.”
Source: Complex
