Encyclopedia
Virginity is a term used to describe what a person has when he or she has not yet engaged in
sexual intercourse. A person who still has his or her virginity can accordingly be described as being a
virgin. In broader usage of these terms, they can characterize a state of unimpacted purity. This purity can be based around something's contents, such as a
margarita being described as virgin when it lacks
alcohol, or around a lack of experience, such as a player of bingo being described as virgin when he is a newcomer to the game. In other contexts, these terms can apply to someone who has not engaged in sexual activities in general, and
anal virgin can apply to someone who has not engaged in
anal sex .
With the standard usage of these terms , they have been more commonly applied to women than to men, both historically and in many present-day situations. In fact, the terms traditionally were used to simply describe a female unmarried person or a young girl . However, applying them to men as well has become common in modern times, as the word "maid" lost currency in reference to men. During the Middle English period, the word "maid" referred to a person, whether male or female, who had never been married or sexually active.
Geoffrey Chaucer, for instance, used that word in reference to Christ and St. Paul.
The status of virginity is respected and valued in certain societies, particularly when there are religious views regarding sexual conduct before marriage. A woman who is a virgin can also sometimes be referred to as a
maiden, although women who are simply unmarried can be referred to as maidens as well.
Physiology
Among human females, the
hymen is a membrane, part of the
vulva, which partially occludes the entrance to the
vagina and which is often physically torn when the woman first engages in
sexual intercourse. Hymens vary in thickness, shape, and flexibility. The presence of an intact membrane is often seen as physical evidence of virginity in the broader technical sense. The absence of one, however, is not necessarily an indication of participation in sexual intercourse, since in some women the hymen is either absent from birth, or sufficiently
vestigial not to be affected by sexual penetration. Also, the hymen can be broken before a woman engages in sexual intercourse, for example during strenuous exercise or during the insertion of a tampon. Conversely, in rare cases a woman's hymen is imperforate, and as menstrual discharge cannot then escape, surgical intervention to break it is necessary to protect her health.
In some cultures, women are not regarded as virgins after a sexual assault, but some people disavow this notion. There are also those who take this "spiritual" concept of virginity to its maximum, considering "born again virgins" to be virgins, regardless of their past sexual conduct. However, the word "chastity" is often used in this context rather than "virginity".
In males, there is no physically visible indicator of virginity; however, there may be social indicators, such as possible sexual anxiety and a lack of sexual knowledge.
In culture
Female virginity is closely interwoven with personal or even family honor in many cultures. Traditionally in some cultures there has been a widespread belief that the loss of virginity before marriage is a matter of deep shame.
In some cultures , virginity testing is commonplace. This would typically involve personal inspection by a female elder.
Traditionally in Western marriage ceremonies, a veil is taken as a symbol of the bride's virginity; the
white dress is also commonly considered a sign of virginity. The extent to which this symbolism is accurate is unclear, given that some women may choose to wear white even if they are no longer virgins. This may even hold true for women who are assumed to be non-virgins , but the practice is not universal.
Some elements within Western culture no longer regard premarital virginity as a virtue and may allude to it disparagingly. The increasingly-common belief of some Western youth that virginity is not to be regarded as a virtue has become a matter of considerable debate, especially related to controversies involving sexuality among young people. Continuing virginity after a certain age is even regarded by some to be a negative thing, implying that the person is unattractive, prudish or sexually immature.
The philosopher
Bertrand Russell, in his book
Why I Am Not a Christian, argued that to avoid sexual relationships before marriage was naive and unwise, and that to do so would in the long run lead to far more unhappiness than if sexual activity is engaged in. This is based on the idea that if one is ignorant of sexual desire and fulfilment, one will not be able to distinguish between a deep infatuation and what may be known as true affection, and thus may make an unfortunate choice of partner based upon misconception - a mistake that would not be committed by those aware of the distinction.
Some historians and
anthropologists note that many societies that place a high value on virginity before marriage, such as the
United States before the sexual revolution, actually have a large amount of premarital sexual activity that does not involve vaginal penetration, e.g.,
oral sex,
anal sex and
mutual masturbation. Some refer to this as "technical" virginity.
Loss of virginity
The act of
losing one's virginity, that is, of a first sexual experience, is commonly considered within Western culture to be an important life event and a
rite of passage. It is highlighted by many mainstream Western
movies . The loss of virginity can be viewed as a
milestone to be proud of or as a failure to be ashamed of , depending on cultural perceptions. Historically, these perceptions were heavily influenced by perceived
gender roles, such that for a male the association was more often with pride and for a
female the association was more often with shame. However, in recent years in Western culture, the influence of gender roles has weakened so that it is now much more common for females to experience pride, although fathers are still often portrayed as being disapproving of and highly concerned about the loss of virginity for their daughters.
The partner during the loss of virginity is sometimes colloquially said to "take" the virginity of the virgin partner. In some places, this colloquialism is only used when the partner is not a virgin, but in other places, the virginity of the partner does not matter. The archaic term "deflower" is sometimes used in modern times to also describe the act of the virgin's partner, and the clinical term "defloration" is another way to describe the event.
Religion
Mythology
Virginity has been often considered to be a virtue denoting purity and physical self-restraint and is an important characteristic of some mythical figures such as the
Greek goddesses
Athena,
Artemis, and
Hestia. The
Vestal Virgins were strictly celibate priestesses of Vesta. The Maiden or Virgin is one of the three persons of the
Triple Goddess in many Neopagan traditions. The constellation Virgo represents a wide selection of sacred virgins.
Christianity
Medieval Christian society regarded the loss of virginity as sinful, but not the worst of sins. In
Dante's Inferno , written by Dante Alighieri [i] between 1308 [i] and his death in 1321 [i], is wi ...
fornicators occupied more comfortable spaces than sinners of violence and deceit. In his
Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written by Geoffrey Chaucer [i] in the 14th century [i] ...
,
Geoffrey Chaucer's
Wife of Bath remarks that if virgins are so special, then where do they come from?
Until today, Christian states have or have had laws protecting virginity.
Germany abandoned a law only in 1998 that entitled the deflowered virgin to compensation if the relationship ended.
situation in other countries neededSome Christians today say that virginity indicates a requisite state of holiness in terms of sexuality before marriage. More fundamental Christians believe the
New Testament of the Christian
Bible forbids pre-marital sex of any form, while life-long celibacy is encouraged . Nevertheless, these ideas are more openly discussed throughout the Old Testament as it is there that most of the rules for Christianity are set, phrases that describe sex as the union of both man and woman in one flesh exemplify how important it is for both sexes to remain celibate until the day they find the right person to share their bodies with.
Islam
Islam provides very strict conditions that sexual activity must occur only between married individuals. Quotes such as 'Do not even go near Fornication' , are testament to this. While a young bride's virginity has traditionally been very important in Islamic societies, the common practice of divorce and remarriage, even in very traditional societies, means that many women enter marriages having had previous permissable sexual experience. Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, as a forty-year-old widow, was not a virgin when she became the first wife of the Prophet
Muhammad; this was not any bar to their marriage.
Judaism
One of the most fundamental aspects of Jewish tradition is the great significance attached to virginity. It appears in Judaism as early as the verse in Genesis, referring to Eliezer's encounter with Rebekah: 'And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her' and is a recurring theme throughout the Bible, especially with regard to the laws governing betrothal, marriage and divorce.
However, in practice, Judaism is fairly lenient about sexual relations. Sex is not seen as dirty or undesirable - in fact, sex within a marriage is considered a mitzvah. The more liberal denominations are relatively open to pre-marital sex: while it isn't encouraged, per se, it is not ignored, either - rules governing sexuality still apply, etc.
See also
External links
- , an exposition of the many possible meanings of "virgin"
- by Heather Corinna - Explores the historical context of virginity in a frank and easy-to-understand manner.
- - Interview with Hanne Blank, author of an upcoming book on virginity. Discusses relationship between hymen and concept of virginity.
- , survey results from CosmoGirl on definition of virginity and related questions
- - A scholarly research on the social construction of virginity.
