We, as human beings, tend to consider ourselves a relatively progressive, advanced species - especially us citizens of sovereign America, where gays can marry and women can run for president. So it’s rather baffling that we can’t seem to let go of the concept that inner worth is somehow tied to sexual virginity - or recognize the various and increasing harm that that notion is wreaking on our youth. The idea of virginity is held almost literally sacred by the vast majority of religious groups in this country, and parents nationwide are almost universally expected to teach their daughters to be chaste and their sons to be ladykillers. It’s an unseen, often unrecognized, and incredibly heavy pressure on the backs of adolescents and adults alike;
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Several of these overlapping problems are impossible to track to their source due to the sheer enormity of their scope, but the concept of virginity as we know it today can be traced back relatively clearly to the High Middle Ages. In order to fully grasp its growth, however, we must first explore the development of the societal ideals regarding basic sexuality and maturity that culminated into what we recognize …show more content…
This idea came into being at the same time that women began being treated as property; having sex with a man was, in a way, basically the equivalent of signing the deed to a house, as it meant that the woman now, for almost all intents and purposes, belonged to whatever man she had just banged. This concept was so prevalent for such a long time that traces of it affect us to this day; for a woman, losing one’s virginity is still often a momentous occasion, and we are encouraged not to “give it away” too soon/hastily and not to “waste” it on the “wrong” person (despite the fact that, scientifically, there is nothing to actually give away or waste). The general teachings and beliefs of society teach women that their self-worth is in some way directly tied to their sexual habits (or lack thereof), therefore lending notably more significance to the act of intercourse than is actually in any way necessary, considering the fact that, excluding pregnancy, disease, or infection, there are absolutely no permanent physical effects of
Several of these overlapping problems are impossible to track to their source due to the sheer enormity of their scope, but the concept of virginity as we know it today can be traced back relatively clearly to the High Middle Ages. In order to fully grasp its growth, however, we must first explore the development of the societal ideals regarding basic sexuality and maturity that culminated into what we recognize …show more content…
This idea came into being at the same time that women began being treated as property; having sex with a man was, in a way, basically the equivalent of signing the deed to a house, as it meant that the woman now, for almost all intents and purposes, belonged to whatever man she had just banged. This concept was so prevalent for such a long time that traces of it affect us to this day; for a woman, losing one’s virginity is still often a momentous occasion, and we are encouraged not to “give it away” too soon/hastily and not to “waste” it on the “wrong” person (despite the fact that, scientifically, there is nothing to actually give away or waste). The general teachings and beliefs of society teach women that their self-worth is in some way directly tied to their sexual habits (or lack thereof), therefore lending notably more significance to the act of intercourse than is actually in any way necessary, considering the fact that, excluding pregnancy, disease, or infection, there are absolutely no permanent physical effects of