Bride Presents Her Dad With TMI 'Certificate Of Purity' On Her Wedding Day

What do you need in order to walk down the aisle? Well, according to tradition, it’s something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue. But, if you ask one Maryland bride, you also need a special certificate of virginity to present to your father.

Brelyn Bowman took a purity vow when she was 13 years old and apparently she really meant it. According to Fox 5, she remained a virgin until her wedding ceremony last week, where she presented her father with the creepiest document ever created: a “certificate of purity” signed by her doctor, ensuring that her hymen was still intact.

Oh, yes. She went there.

Both Bowman and her father shared photos of the certificate on social media, where they quickly went viral. Some were outraged that she felt she needed to prove her virginity to her father. Others wanted to know what kind of doctor agrees to sign a document certifying a woman still has an intact hymen — because, you know, ew.

This isn’t the first time Bowman has been vocal about her, um, undercarriage. In fact, even before she was married she regularly shared updates on the state of her hymen and how it correlates to her value as a human being.

Since the wedding posts went viral, Bowman and her father have been pushing the purity agenda with all their might. She’s kept tabs on the related press and posted several messages about the importance of virginity and how the haters just don’t understand God. They’re apparently even trying to get the hashtag #PurityOnAPedestal going.

The problem with Bowman’s “certificate of purity” isn’t the abstinence itself. Rather, it’s the stunningly old fashioned idea that abstaining from sex has anything to do with your value. Bowman shouldn’t need to prove to her father, her husband, or anyone else that she’s a virgin in order to be seen as honorable and worthy of respect.

Presenting your father with a signed document certifying the state of your hymen is not only tasteless and creepy, but it also caters to old myths about purity and virginity that confuse young women. As most of us know — or should know — a woman can still be a virgin even without an intact hymen. So, kudos to Brelyn on being able to use her hymen as her “something old,” but ultimately it proves nothing about her or her purity.

If remaining a virgin until marriage is important to you, that’s awesome. You go forth and do the opposite of multiply! But let’s not make getting your hymen inspected, stamped, and knighted a thing. It’s creepy and completely unnecessary. Your vagina doesn’t need a certificate of authenticity to prove you’re a good person.