“The vagina can stretch in size for different reasons, such as sex and childbirth, but it doesn't stay that way,” sexologist Megan Stubbs told Teen Vogue in an earlier interview. After the fact, it returns to its normal size, kind of like an elastic band. Some people believe slut-shaming myths like if a woman has sex, her vagina becomes ‘loose.’ This is not true.”

And your labia — the part of your vagina that is represented by the sandwich meat in the photo – isn’t going through the changes that these myths insist on perpetuating at all.

"A lot of people have the false idea that the advent of sex or sexual activity will cause a woman's hips to widen or breasts to grow because it's common for that activity to start during puberty,” explains Heather Corinna, founder and author of Scarleteen. “In other words, those things happening at the same time is coincidental — it's also not likely sexual activity alone will cause radical color changes in the labia.”

In fact, the only thing that's guaranteed to change your resilient, excellent, wonderful vagina is the birth of an actual, new human.

Choosing to have sex is your decision, one hundred percent. If you feel comfortable, safe, and ready, it can be one of the absolute best ways to spend your time. If you're less sure or not in the right emotional or mental state, it's probably best to take a step back before engaging. But absolutely any decision about why and when sex in any form feels right or wrong is only and completely up to you and your partner.

The idea of abstaining from sex because it feels right is absolutely fine; the idea of abstaining from sex because being sexual makes you less pure, or less clean, or less like some random sandwich is a lie, distributed to women by patriarchal forces for centuries upon centuries in an effort to not only control but divide us. Don't ever fall for the idea that your sexual activity, whether constant or nonexistent, makes you better or worse than another person.

Related: 9 Fascinating Facts About Vaginas That Will Change Your Life