OPINION: T.I. Should Respect His Daughter's Privacy

for Ramapo News

T.I. has joined the list of problematic celebrities when he stated on a podcast last week why he accompanies his daughter on her visits to the gynecologist.

When asked by the podcast hosts of “Ladies Like Us” on Nov. 5 if he had the sex talk with his daughter, rapper T.I. stated the following:

"Have I? Deyjah's 18, just graduated high school, now she's attending her first year of college, figuring it out for herself," T.I. said. "And, yes, not only have we had the conversation... we have yearly trips to the gynecologist to check her hymen." 

The annual trips to the gynecologist to “check her hymen” began once his daughter turned sixteen, he claims.

T.I. seemed to happily continue his story by stating how his daughter’s doctor requires her to sign a waiver to allow him to see the results of her examination. 

“So we’ll go and sit down and the doctor will come and talk, and the doctor’s maintaining a high level of professionalism,” T.I. said. “He’s like, ‘Well you know, sir, I have 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.’” 

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability (HIPAA) affirms that a doctor may discuss a patient’s health status or treatment with a family member, “if the patient agrees, or when given the opportunity, does not object.” 

In the story given by T.I., the gynecologist does not give Deyjah Harris a fair voice. 

T.I.’s daughter does not have a safe opportunity to deny her father’s access to her test results. Her father is stated to be present when she is asked if she would prefer privacy. Therefore, T.I. should not even have access to this information in the first place. 

The myth that the hymen, a thin membrane positioned at the opening of the vagina, remains intact until a woman has sex is still commonly believed. However, this symbol of virginity has been found to be a false measure by medical experts proven through multiple studies, and socially speaking “virginity testing” is considered both unnecessary and harmful for women.

This point is addressed by the rapper, but of course wrongfully so. 

T.I. stated that his daughter’s gynecologist also explained to him that there are various other ways that a hymen can stretch or break, and this includes bike riding, horseback riding and plenty of other physical activities. 

However, T.I. believes he is a better judge of a woman’s anatomy than a man that has professionally studied it alongside the woman that possesses it.

"I said, '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," T.I. said while laughing. "But I will say, as of her 18th birthday, her hymen is still intact." 

The podcast hosts should have been more opposed to T.I. publicly announcing that he invades his daughter’s privacy and considers it a decent strict parenting skill. Instead, they laughed along as if they agreed with each and every word. 

The mannerisms of T.I. and his confession with the pairing of publicly announcing his daughter’s test results is awkward and dispensable. There was no reason to have this conversation on a podcast for the world to hear, especially on one titled “Ladies Like Us.” 

There is no reason for anyone to be proud of forcing someone to feel yielding and submissive in situations they would wish to have a say.