Rapper T.I. proudly admitted on a podcast this week that he takes his daughter to the gynecologist every year to ensure she’s still a virgin.

The father of six told “Ladies Like Us” podcast hosts Nazanin Mandi and Nadia Moham that he takes his 18-year-old daughter Deyjah Harris to the gynecologist after her birthday every year to check that her hymen is still intact. T.I. told Mandi and Moham that he does this to protect his daughter.

“I think that most kids, man, in hindsight, looking back, they always thank their parents for not allowing them to damage themselves as much as they could have,” he said.

T.I., whose real name is Clifford Joseph Harris Jr., is married to, Tameka “Tiny” Cottle, who stars alongside T.I. in their reality TV show “T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle.” The couple has three children together, in addition to four other children from past relationships including Harris.

When Mandi and Moham asked if T.I. has had the sex talk with any of his daughters, he said he’s done way more than just talk.

“This is the thing. Deyjah’s 18, just graduated high school now and she’s attending her first year of college, figuring it out for herself,” the rapper said. “And yes, not only have we had the [sex] conversation, we have yearly trips to the gynecologist to check her hymen.”

Mandi and Moham both began laughing, with one jokingly crying out: “Somebody check on Deyjah, she’s a prisoner!”

T.I. with his daughters Deyjah Harris (left) and Heiress Diana Harris (right) on July 19, 2018, in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo: Paras Griffin via Getty Images)

The hymen has long been used as a symbol of virginity, but many medical professionals have disproved the idea that a doctor can tell if a woman is a virgin by looking at her hymen. The hymen is a doughnut-shaped tissue that sits at the opening of the vagina. Hymens come in all shapes and sizes, and some girls aren’t even born with hymens. The hymen is usually open from birth to death ― sometimes it has one hole in the middle, other times it has small honey-comb-like holes throughout it. Over the course of a woman’s life, the hymen stretches (like a hair tie). Sexual activity and physical activity, like riding a bike or a horse, can stretch the hymen ― and sometimes tear it, which is why some women bleed during their first sexual activity ― but it won’t fully break the hymen.

Story continues

Additionally, pointing to an intact hymen furthers the heteronormative assumption that the only definition of sex is penetrative sex between a penis and vagina.

T.I. went on to explain how he makes an appointment with the gynecologist for his daughter each year and accompanies her to the doctor’s office. Since Harris is 18, the doctor has to have her sign a consent form to share medical information with her father:

This is what we do. Right after the birthday we celebrate. Usually like the day after the party she’s enjoying her gifts. I put a sticky note on the door: “Gyno. Tomorrow. 9:30.” So we’ll go and sit down and the doctor will come and talk and, you know, the doctor’s maintaining a high level of professionalism. He’s like, “You know sir, I have to, in order for me to share information” ― I’m like, “Deyjah they want you to sign this… so we can share information. Is there anything you would not want me to know? See, doc? Ain’t no problem.” And so then [the doctor] come and say, “Well I just want you to know that there are other ways besides sex that the hymen can be broken like bike-riding, athletics, horseback riding and just other forms of athletic physical activity.” So I say, “Look doc, she don’t ride no horses, she don’t ride no bike, she don’t play no sports. Man, just check the hymen please and give me back my results expeditiously.”

The rapper proudly added that as of his daughter’s 18th birthday, “Her hymen is still intact.”

Head over to “Ladies Like Us” to listen to the full podcast.

CORRECTION: This article has been updated to reflect that Deyjah Harris is T.I.’s daughter from a past relationship. Additionally, the explanation of the hymen has been clarified to better reflect that hymens don’t actually break, but tear.

Related Coverage

7 Absurd Things Pop Culture Taught You About Losing Your Virginity

11 Things Everyone Should Know About Virginity Culture

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.