I’ll never quite understand how the hymen, a thin piece of tissue located at the opening of the vagina, became the symbol of virginity. Yes, some people bleed during their first time having sex, creating the impression that hymens are ‘the hallmark of virgins’. However, a thorough examination of multiple people’s vulvas would have revealed that not every vagina has one.

Hymens also grow back once damaged, effectively disproving the myth that they are anything more than a bit of protective tissue. Yet, social and religious obsessions with the sexual purity of women, and only women, continue to purport the myth that hymens are an embodiment of innocence and virtue, leading many women to seek hymen reconstruction surgery and virginity testing.

Now, a company in Germany has been causing outrage for its decision to capitalise on this demand by selling blood capsules that women can use to fake their virginity during sex. No, I’m not kidding.

VirginiaCare, which was incorporated in 2010, is based in Karlsruhe, Germany but registered in the UK. It sells a variety of “vaginal care” products, such as retightening gels and vaginal lightening masks for bleaching intimate areas. “If you have intimate pigment disorders and/or want to give your labia a beautiful pink look,” this is the product for you apparently.

“You know that you are no longer a virgin and the situation makes you unhappy because you don’t know how to solve the problem!? Now you can restore your virginity without any surgery with our product[s] to repair hymen without surgery,” the website reads about its selection of products in imperfect English.

The company’s bestsellers include virginity blood pills that have to be inserted deep into the vagina at least one to three hours before sexual intercourse. The capsule will then dissolve, releasing a liquid that will leave behind blood traces to mimic the presence of a hymen.

VirginiaCare also sells artificial hymens in packages that contain two ultra-thin membranes a customer can insert to make it appear like her hymen is unbroken. According to the website, the membrane fixes itself in place from the warmth and moisture inside the vagina. When it is pierced during sex the blood mixture will deliver ‘proof’ that the customer is indeed a virgin. Hurray?

We have the solution for you! Our specially developed Artificial Hymen or Virginity Blood Capsules in addittion with our Vagina Tightening Gel Revitalize100. With the Products from VirginiaCare, you don't need an expensive hymen reconstruction surgery to solve your problem! pic.twitter.com/HUpzrVqPCr

— Artificial Hymen Shop (@ShopHymen) August 4, 2020

Of course, the website is filled with glowing reviews from customers: “I can really recommend it to all sisters. You do not need surgery with the products you can solve your problem [so] the man does not notice! Thank you so much VirginiaCare,” Nurcan from Turkey seemingly wrote. “I thank you with all my heart! You have saved my honour and thus my future. I hope that you can still help many women with your products,” Mona from Saudi Arabia allegedly commented.

Correct me if I’m wrong but if these women are genuinely terrified to be found out, why are they leaving reviews in the first place? In other words, this website is completely dodgy. Stay away.

However, these reviews are indicative of the market VirginiaCare is primarily targeting. The firm proudly lists international teams in India, Pakistan, Morocco, Algeria, Malaysia, Senegal and Uzbekistan. Its product induction videos also depict a range of women in hijabs, while the reviews are largely from women based in Muslim-majority countries, claiming that these products quite literally saved their lives and protected them from being publicly dishonoured.

And this scare rhetoric seems to work. Business has been booming for VirginiaCare since 2010, with the large influx of refugees from Muslim-populated countries into Germany according to The Daily Mail. At the same time, the company has faced consistent backlash over its dangerous advertising and use of the coveted ‘Made in Germany’ label to evoke the impression of quality, integrity and trustworthiness.

How large the demand for these products actually is or who exactly feels obligated to purchase them is hard to determine. Since the price for these creations is a fraction of the average £1,750 it costs for a procedure to replace the female hymen, the products are being bought up swiftly and anonymously.

In the UK, virginity testing and hymenoplasties are illegal due to the health risks they pose. The government also refers to research by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), which confirms that virginity tests have no scientific merit or clinical indication as it is not possible to tell whether a woman has had intercourse through this type of examination. Nevertheless, there is no real regulation for non-surgical or ‘non-invasive’ options.

So needless to say that this kind of business is highly controversial, perpetuating outdated and dangerous cultural myths, and operating in a legal blind spot.

And it’s not just Muslim women who are vulnerable to being exploited by companies like these. Most women should be familiar with the madonna-whore complex, a psychoanalytic framework conceptualised by Sigmund Freud which proposes that men are only able to view women as virginal Madonnas or debased whores. It is the result of sexist knowledge frameworks that emphasise the purity of virginity and present sex as an act that will degrade a woman’s body, placing the centre of her identity and worth between her thighs.

For a company to capitalise on this is both morally reprehensible and irresponsible. Women who fear stigma and potential violence by their partner or family members upon being discovered as ‘non-virgins’ don’t need cheap gimmicks, but comprehensive sexual education and resources that allow them to exit abusive environments.