If somebody ask whether you ’re a virgin , you know the answer . But do you really ? The idea of “ virginity ” is actually amazingly difficult to define , and decidedly unscientific .
So let ’s start with some bedrock . In the west , most of us would define a Virgo as a person who has n’t yet engaged in any intimate activity . But of course “ intimate activity ” is a moderately vague notion . Are you still a virgin if you have unwritten and anal retentive , but not genital sex activity ? What if you have genital sex , but do n’t have an climax ? What if you have an orgasm from kissing someone ? Are you still a Virgo then ? And what if you ’ve never had sexuality but you get impregnated via IVF , and have a baby ? Is that a vestal birth ?
While you ’re think over that , regard that the definition of virginity has changed radically over the past several century . As Hanne Blank writes in her first-class bookVirgin : The Untouched History , the contemporary approximation of “ virginity ” can probably be traced to the 13th century theologian Thomas Aquinas . He and his fellow Christians consider that virginity was a state of mind , “ celibacy , ” that involve refusing to enjoy anything that had n’t been explicitly indorse by God . For hundreds of years , “ virginity ” was most often used as a metaphor for spectral purity — certainly it involved refuse sins of the flesh ( hence , sexual morality belt , which were really quite uncommon ) , but it went way beyond that .
A few hundred eld after Aquinas praised chastity , in the sixteenth 100 , a physician named Hilkiah Crooke was one of the first people to identify the hymen and describe it as a sign of virginity . ( Of course he also thought you could determine a woman ’s virginity by assess her header with a string . ) But as contemporary Dr. can attest , a rugged or intact hymen does n’t distinguish you much about a woman ’s intimate body process . It can be break from non - sexual strong-arm activities , or it can causea few medical problemsby remaining cussedly intact . There is also very little known about the development of the maidenhead , thoughsome researchers have suggest it may protect against infections too soon in life .
So there is no unfailing definition of virginity , nor is there any means to measure it scientifically .
As Blank argues :
What we mean when we say “ virginity ” is as transitory , as proportional , and as socially determined as what we entail when we say “ freedom . ”
Still , that does n’t halt the great unwashed from endeavor to lose or retain this nonmeaningful thing . 1000000 of teenager have take on virginity pledge , swearing to stay chaste until married couple . Onesociological work bump that virginity pledges do study , but only in surface area where a flock of other citizenry have taken the pledge too . So you take a lot of match pressure to raise the average age of first sexual activity . Other studies have show that people who take a virginity toast haveabout as much sex , andcatch as many STDs , as the average teenager .
Maybe church that tug for virginity pledges should focalize more on apparitional virginity and Aquinas ’ idea of chastity . It might be easier to remain pure of affection than to put off having sex .
But for some groups , a virginity pledge is n’t enough . They want to prove their virginity by having an intact hymen on their wedding ceremony nights . A late Swedish survey of doctors and social workers found that a substantial minority had been take by their patients about hymen revivify surgery . indite the research worker :
Questionnaires were sent to 1,086 woman’s doctor , midwives , youthfulness social welfare and societal officers , and school nurses and doctors in four Swedish cities . Of the 507 who render the questionnaire , 271 had seen patients seek virginity - bear on tutelage . Of these , 14 had turned the patient role away ; 221 had made 429 referral , mostly to a welfare policeman or a gynaecologist ; and 26 had referred patients to a moldable surgeon . Nine gynaecologists had carried out such surgery themselves .
Ten eld ago in North America , it be about $ 2500 to have what ’s called hymen resort surgery , andmany plastic surgeons still do a brisk line in it . If you ca n’t give operating theater , though , there ’s always the chintzy option : DiY virginity kits , stark with imitation line , to make your partner feel like he ’s taken the blossom of your womanhood .
Virginity has always been a commonwealth of mind . It ’s define by people who want to “ take ” someone ’s virginity ( literal or surgically - enhanced ) , by virginity pledgers , by sacred prostitutes , and by your friends . There is no way to be a Virgo , nor to prove that you are a virgin , because the definition changes count on where you are .
So the next time somebody require whether you ’re a Virgo the Virgin , what will you say ?
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