1. Virginity
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Invocation by Frederick Leighton
White has traditionally been associated with ritual purity, innocence and virginity.
Virginity refers to the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual
intercourse. There are cultural and religious traditions which place special value
and significance on this state, especially in the case of unmarried females,
associated with notions of personal purity, honor and worth. Like chastity, the
concept of virginity has traditionally involved sexual abstinence before marriage,
and then to engage in sexual acts only with the marriage partner.
Unlike the term premarital sex, which can refer to more than one occasion of
sexual activity and can be judgment neutral, the concept of virginity usually
involves moral or religious issues and can have consequences in terms of social
status and in interpersonal relationships.
The term originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has
evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern, and
ethical concepts. Heterosexual individuals may or may not consider loss of
virginity to occur only through penile-vaginal penetration,[1][3][4] while people of
other sexual orientations may include oral sex, anal sex or mutual masturbation in
their definitions of losing one's virginity.[3][5][6] Further, whether a person can
lose his or her virginity through rape is also subject to debate, with the belief that
virginity can only be lost through consensual sex being prevalent in some studies.

2. Etymology and usage
The word virgin comes via Old French virgine from the root form of Latin virgo,
genitive virgin-is, meaning literally "maiden" or "virgin"—a sexually intact young
woman[7] or "sexually inexperienced woman". As in Latin, the English word is
also often used with wider reference, by relaxing the age, gender or sexual
criteria.[8] Hence, more mature women can be virgins (The Virgin Queen), men
can be virgins, and potential initiates into many fields can be colloquially termed
virgins; for example, a skydiving "virgin". In the latter usage, virgin simply means
uninitiated.
The Latin word likely arose by analogy with a suit of lexemes based on vireo,
meaning "to be green, fresh or flourishing", mostly with botanic reference—in
particular, virga meaning "strip of wood".[9] The first known use of virgin in
English comes from an Anglo-Saxon manuscript held at Trinity College,
Cambridge.
c. 1200: Ðar haueð ... martirs, and confessors, and uirgines maked faier bode inne
to women. — Trinity College Homilies 185 [ms B.15.34 (369)]
In this, and many later contexts, the reference is specifically Christian, alluding to
members of the Ordo Virginum known to have existed since the early church from
the writings of the Church Fathers.[10] However, within about a century, the word
was expanded to apply also to Mary, the mother of Jesus, hence to sexual virginity
explicitly.
c. 1300: Conceiud o þe hali gast, born o þe virgine marie. — Cursor Mundi 24977
Further expansion of the word to include virtuous (or naïve) young women,
irrespective of religious connection, occurred over about another century.
c. 1400: Voide & vacand of vices as virgyns it ware. — The Wars of Alexander
4665

3. These are just three of the eighteen definitions of virgin from the first edition of the
Oxford English Dictionary (OED1, pages 230-232). Most of the OED1 definitions,
however, are very similar.
The German word for "virgin" is Jungfrau. Jungfrau literally means "young
woman", but is not used in this sense. Instead "junge Frau" can be used. The rather
dated German word for a young (unmarried) woman, without implications
regarding sexuality, is Fräulein. Fräulein was used in German as a title of respect,
equivalent to current usage of Miss in English. Jungfrau is the word reserved
specifically for sexual inexperience. As Frau means "woman", it suggests a female
referent. Unlike English, German also has a specific word for a male virgin
Jüngling ("Youngling"). It is, however, dated too and rarely used. Jungfrau, with
some masculine modifier, is more typical, as evidenced by the film, The 40-Year-
Old Virgin, about a 40 year-old male virgin, titled in German, "Jungfrau (40),
männlich, sucht…".[11] Note that the term used for the starsign virgo also is
Jungfrau, which makes the above movie title ambiguous. German also
distinguishes between young women and girls, who are denoted by the word
Mädchen. The English cognate "maid" was often used to imply virginity,
especially in poetry.
German is not the only language to have a specific name for male virginity; in
French, male virgins are called "puceau". Males presenting with phimosis who
injure their frenulum during first penetration are said to be "uncartridged" as
opposed to "cartridged" before first intercourse.[12][clarification needed]
By contrast, the Greek word for "virgin" is parthenos (pa??????, see Parthenon).
Although typically applied to women, like English, it is also applied to men, in
both cases specifically denoting absence of sexual experience. When used of men,
it does not carry a strong association of "never-married" status. However, in
reference to women, historically, it was sometimes used to refer to an engaged
woman—parthenos autou (pa?????? a?t??, his virgin) = his fiancée as opposed to
gune autou (???? a?t??, his woman) = his wife. This distinction is necessary due to
there being no specific word for wife (or husband) in Greek.

4. By extension from its primary sense, the idea that a virgin has a sexual "blank
slate",[13] unchanged by any past intimate connection or experience,[13] leads to
the abstraction of unadulterated purity.
Culture
Definitions of virginity loss
There are varying understandings as to which types of sexual activities result in
loss of virginity. The traditional view is that virginity is only lost through vaginal
penetration by the penis, consensual or non-consensual, and that acts of oral sex,
anal sex and mutual masturbation do not constitute virginity loss. Engaging in such
acts with no history of having engaged in vaginal intercourse is considered
"technical virginity" among differing heterosexuals and
researchers.[4][14][15][16][17] In contrast, gay or lesbian individuals may
describe any of the latter acts as constituting virginity loss. Gay males may regard
anal penetration as resulting in loss of virginity, but not oral sex,[5] and lesbians
may regard oral sex or fingering as loss of virginity.[3][6][18] Some lesbians argue
that, according to the traditional definition – penile-vaginal penetration – they are
virgins,[18] while other gays and lesbians argue that the term "virginity" is useless
to them because of its prevailing heterosexist definition.[5][14]
Since the early 1990s, the concept of "technical virginity" has been popular among
heterosexual American teenagers.[16][17] For example, oral sex is common among
adolescent girls who fellate their boyfriends to create and maintain intimacy while
preserving their virginity, avoiding pregnancy, or both.[16][17] In a 1999 study
published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the definition of sex
was examined based on a 1991 random sample of 599 college students from 29 US
states; it found that 60% said oral-genital contact (like fellatio, cunnilingus) did not
constitute having sex. "That's the 'technical virginity' thing that's going on," said
Stephanie Sanders, associate director of the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex,
Gender and Reproduction. Sanders, as the co-author of the study, and along with
other researchers, titled the findings "Would You Say You 'Had Sex' If ...?"[17] In
another study, published in 2001 in The Journal of Sex Research, over half of
respondents considered that virginity could only be lost through having consensual

5. sex.[2] However, in a study released in 2008 by the Guttmacher Institute, author of
the findings Laura Lindberg stated that there "is a widespread belief that teens
engage in nonvaginal forms of sex, especially oral sex, as a way to be sexually
active while still claiming that technically, they are virgins," but that her study
drew the conclusion that "research shows that this supposed substitution of oral sex
for vaginal sex is largely a myth".[19]
Virginity pledges (or abstinence pledges) made by heterosexual teenagers and
young adults may also include the practice of "technical virginity." In a peer-
reviewed study by sociologists Peter Bearman and Hannah Brueckner, which
looked at virginity pledgers five years after their pledge, they found that the
pledgers have similar proportions of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and at
least as high proportions of anal and oral sex as those who have not made a
virginity pledge, and deduced that there was substitution of oral and anal sex for
vaginal sex among the pledgers. However, the data for anal sex without vaginal sex
reported by males did not reflect this directly.[20][21]
Some historians and anthropologists note that many societies before the sexual
revolution that place a high value on maintaining virginity for marriage actually
have a large amount of premarital sexual activity that does not involve vaginal
penetration.
Female virginity
Cultural value
Le Droit Du Seigneur (1872) by Jules Arsène Garnier
The first act of sexual intercourse by a female is commonly considered within
many cultures to be an important personal milestone. Its significance is reflected in
expressions such as "saving oneself", "losing one's virginity," "taking someone's
virginity" and sometimes as "deflowering." The occasion is at times seen as the
end of innocence, integrity, or purity, and the sexualization of the individual.
Traditionally, there was a cultural expectation that a female would not engage in
premarital sex and would come to her wedding a virgin, which would be indicated

6. by the bride wearing a white gown, and that she would "give up" her virginity to
her new husband in the act of consummation of the marriage.
In some cultures, it is so important that a female be a virgin that a female will
refrain from inserting any object into her vagina, such as a tampon, menstrual cup
or dildo, or undergoing some medical examinations, so as not to damage the
hymen. Some females who have been previously sexually active (or their hymen
has been otherwise damaged) may undergo a surgical procedure, called
hymenorrhaphy or hymenoplasty, to repair or replace her hymen, and cause
vaginal bleeding on the next intercourse as proof of virginity (see below).[22] In
some cultures, an unmarried female who is found not to be a virgin, whether by
choice or as a result of a rape, can be subject to shame, ostracism or even an honor
killing. In those cultures, female virginity is closely interwoven with personal or
even family honor, especially those known as shame societies, in which the loss of
virginity before marriage is a matter of deep shame.[23] In other cultures, for
example in many modern-day Western cultures, sexual abstinence before marriage
is not taken as seriously as it is in those discussed above.
Virginity is regarded as a valuable commodity in some cultures, and the right to
have sexual intercourse with a virgin can be bought. For example, in Japan, geishas
would sell the right of first access in a ritual called mizuage. There is also a
legendary droit du seigneur ("the lord's right", often conflated with the Latin phrase
"ius primae noctis") which alleged entitled the lord of an estate to take the virginity
of the estate's virgins on the night of their marriage, a right which the lord can trade
for money.
It was the law and custom in some societies that required a man who seduced or
raped a virgin to marry the girl or pay compensation to her father.[24] In some
countries until the late 20th century, a woman could sue a man who had taken her
virginity but did not marry her. In some languages, the compensation for these
damages are called "wreath money".[25]

7. Proof of virginity
Main article: Virginity test
Some cultures require proof of a bride's virginity prior to her marriage. This has
traditionally been tested by the presence of an intact hymen, which was verified by
either a physical examination (usually by a physician, who provided a certificate of
virginity) or by a "proof of blood," which refers to vaginal bleeding that results
from the tearing of the hymen.[26][27][28] In some cultures, the nuptial blood-
spotted bed sheet would be displayed as proof of both consummation of marriage
and that the bride was a virgin.[27][28]
Researchers stress that the presence or absence of a hymen is not a reliable
indicator of whether or not a female has been vaginally penetrated.[26] The hymen
is a thin film of membrane situated just inside the vulva which can partially
occlude the entrance to the vaginal canal. It is flexible and can be stretched or torn
during first engagement in vaginal intercourse. However, a hymen may also be
broken during physical activity. Many women possess such thin, fragile hymens,
easily stretched and already perforated at birth, that the hymen can be broken in
childhood without the girl even being aware of it, often through athletic activities.
A slip while riding a bicycle may on occasion result in the bicycle's saddle-horn
entering the introitus just far enough to break the hymen.[29] Further, there is the
case of women with damaged hymens undergoing hymenorrhaphy (or
hymenoplasty) to repair or replace their hymens, and cause vaginal bleeding on the
next intercourse as proof of virginity.[22] Others consider the practice to be
virginity fraud or unnecessary.
There is a common belief that some women are born without a hymen,[30][31] but
some doubt has been cast on this by a recent study.[32] It is likely that almost all
women are born with a hymen, but not necessarily ones that will experience a
measurable change during first experience of vaginal intercourse.
Some medical procedures, such as hymenotomy, may require a woman's hymen to
be opened.

8. Male virginity
Historically, and in modern times, female virginity has been regarded as more
significant than male virginity. The perception that sexual prowess is fundamental
to masculinity has lowered the expectation of male virginity without lowering the
social status.[14][23][33] For example, in some Islamic cultures, though premarital
sex is forbidden in the Quran with regard to both men and women, unmarried
women who have been sexually active (or even raped) are subject to name-calling,
shunning, or family shame, while unmarried men who have lost their virginities are
not.[23] Cross-culturally, males are expected and/or encouraged to want to engage
in sexual activity, and to be more sexually-experienced.[14][33][34] Not following
these standards often leads to teasing and other such ridicule from their male
peers.[14][33][35] A 2003 study by the Guttmacher Institute showed that, in most
countries, most men have experienced sexual intercourse by their 20th
birthdays.[36]
Females are more accepting of male virginity, but there exists negative feelings
about the topic even among women. Reflective of the Guttmacher study, some
women perceive men being virgins past their early twenties to be an undesirable
trait and would decline marriage due to the man's sexual inexperience; in these
cases, male virginity is considered to threaten the fantasy some women have about
men knowing how to sexually please them.[34]
Within American culture in particular, male virginity has been made an object of
embarrassment and ridicule in films such as Summer of '42, American Pie and The
40-Year-Old Virgin, with the male virgin typically being presented as socially
inept.[14][35] However, some have challenged the negative connotations regarding
male virginity, as well as the belief that males should want to lose their virginities
at earlier ages than their female counterparts.[33][35][37][38] Noted are surveys
and studies where adolescent males reported depression after losing their virginity,
such as when discovering that their partners did not care about them and rather
wanted "bragging rights" for having bedded a male virgin.[35] There is less
research on male virginity, but the topic has started to gain more traction. While
some writers and researchers argue that male virginity does not exist because there
is nothing to identify male virginity, like there is in the case of hymens for females,

9. others argue that it is no less valid since virginity can be subjective and is a matter
of sexual experience.[37][38]
Prevalence of virginity
Prevalence of sexually-experienced 15-year-olds based on self-reports[39]
Country Boys (%) Girls (%)
Austria 21.7 17.9
Canada 24.1 23.9
Croatia 21.9 8.2
England 34.9 39.9
Estonia 18.8 14.1
Finland 23.1 32.7
Belgium 24.6 23
France 25.1 17.7
Greece 32.5 9.5
Hungary 25 16.3
Israel 31 8.2
Latvia19.2 12.4
Lithuania 24.4 9.2
Macedonia 34.2 2.7
Netherlands 23.3 20.5
Poland 20.5 9.3
Portugal 29.2 19.1

10. Scotland 32.1 34.1
Slovenia 28.2 20.1
Spain 17.2 13.9
Sweden 24.6 29.9
Switzerland 24.1 20.3
Ukraine 47.1 24
Wales 27.3 38.5
The prevalence of virginity varies from culture to culture. In cultures which place
importance on a female's virginity at marriage, the age at which virginity is loss is
in effect determined by the age at which marriages would normally take place in
those cultures, as well as the minimum marriage age set by the laws of the country
where the marriage takes place. In some cultures, a female is encouraged or
required to marry at a very early age so that she will not have the opportunity to
lose her virginity before marriage, or so that a girl can experience her sexuality
from an early age. In some cultures, for example in many modern-day Western
cultures, sexual abstinence before marriage is not valued, and in some cultures,
abstention is discouraged.
In a cross-cultural study, At what age do women and men have their first sexual
intercourse? (2003), Michael Bozon of the French Institut national d'études
démographiques found that contemporary cultures fall into three broad
categories.[40] In the first group, the data indicated families arranging marriage for
daughters as close to puberty as possible with significantly older men. Age of men
at sexual initiation in these societies is at later ages than that of women, but is often
extra-marital. This group included sub-Saharan Africa (the study listed Mali,
Senegal and Ethiopia). The study considered the Indian subcontinent also fell into
this group, although data was only available from Nepal.[40]
In the second group, the data indicated families encouraged daughters to delay
marriage, and to abstain from sexual activity prior to it. However, sons are
encouraged to gain experience with older women or prostitutes prior to marriage.
Age of men at sexual initiation in these societies is at lower ages than that of

11. women. This group includes Latin cultures, both from southern Europe (Portugal,
Greece and Romania are noted) and from Latin America (Brazil, Chile, Dominican
Republic). The study considered many Asian societies also fell into this group,
although matching data were only available from Thailand.[40]
In the third group, age of men and women at sexual initiation was more closely
matched. There were two sub-groups, however. In non-Latin, Catholic countries
(Poland and Lithuania are mentioned), age at sexual initiation was higher,
suggesting later marriage and reciprocal valuing of male and female virginity. The
same pattern of late marriage and reciprocal valuing of virginity was reflected in
Singapore and Sri Lanka. The study considered China and Vietnam also fell into
this group, although data were not available.[40]
Finally, in northern and eastern European countries, age at sexual initiation was
lower, with both men and women involved in sexual activity prior to any union
formation. The study listed Switzerland, Germany and the Czech Republic as
members of this group.[40]
According to a 2001 UNICEF survey, in 10 out of 12 developed nations with
available data, more than two thirds of young people have had sexual intercourse
while still in their teens. In Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Norway, the
United Kingdom and the United States, the proportion is over 80%. In Australia,
the United Kingdom and the United States, approximately 25% of 15 year olds and
50% of 17 year olds have had sex.[41] A 2002 international survey sought to study
the sexual behavior of teenagers. 33,943 students aged 15, from 24 countries,
completed a self-administered, anonymous, classroom survey, consisting of a
standard questionnaire, developed by the HBSC (Health Behaviour in School-aged
Children) international research network. The survey revealed that the majority of
the students were still virgins (they had no experience of sexual intercourse), and,
among those who were sexually active, the majority (82%) used contraception.[42]
In a 2005 Kaiser Family Foundation study of US teenagers, 29% of teens reported
feeling pressure to have sex, 33% of sexually active teens reported "being in a
relationship where they felt things were moving too fast sexually", and 24% had
"done something sexual they didn’t really want to do".[43] Several polls have
indicated peer pressure as a factor in encouraging both girls and boys to have
sex.[44][45]

12. Some studies suggest that people commence sexual activity at an earlier age than
previous generations.[46][47] However, the 2005 Durex Global sex survey found
that people worldwide are having sex for the first time at an average age of 17.3,
ranging from 15.6 in Iceland to 19.8 in India.[47] A 2008 survey of UK teenagers
between the ages of 14 and 17 (conducted by YouGov for Channel 4), showed that
only 6% of these teenagers intended waiting until marriage before having sex.[48]
The increased sexual activity among adolescents is manifested in increased teenage
pregnancies and an increase in sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). The rates of
teenage pregnancy vary and range from 143 per 1000 girls in some sub-Saharan
African countries to 2.9 per 1000 in South Korea. The rate for the United States is
52.1 per 1000, the highest in the developed world – and about four times the
European Union average.[41][49] The teenage pregnancy rates between countries
must take into account the level of general sex education available and access to
contraceptive options. Many Western countries have instituted sex education
programs, the main objective of which is to reduce such pregnancies and STDs. In
1996, the United States federal government shifted the objective of sex education
towards "abstinence-only sex education" programs, promoting sexual abstinence
before marriage (i.e., virginity) and prohibiting information on birth control and
contraception. In 2004, President George W. Bush announced a Five-Year Global
HIV/AIDS Strategy, also known as the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS
Relief (PEPFAR),[50] which committed the U.S. to provide $15 billion over five
years toward AIDS relief in 15 countries in Africa and the Caribbean, and in
Vietnam.[51] A part of the funding was earmarked specifically for "abstinence-
only-until-marriage" programs.
In a peer-reviewed study about virginity pledges (commitments made by teenagers
and young adults to refrain from sexual intercourse until marriage), sociologists
Peter Bearman of Columbia and Hannah Brueckner of Yale estimated that male
pledgers were 4.1 times more likely to remain virgins by age 25 than those who did
not pledge (25% vs 6%), and estimated that female pledgers were 3.5 times more
likely to remain virgins by age 25 than those who did not pledge (21% vs
6%).[20][21]

13. Social psychology
Some cultural anthropologists argue that romantic love and sexual jealousy are
universal features of human relationships.[52] Social values related to virginity
reflect both sexual jealousy and ideals of romantic love, and appear to be deeply
embedded in human nature.[citation needed]
Psychology explores the connection between thought and behavior. Seeking
understanding of social (or anti-social) behaviors includes sexual behavior. Joan
Kahn and Kathryn London studied U.S. women married between 1965 and 1985 to
see if virginity at marriage influenced risk of divorce.
― This article examines the relationship between premarital sexual activity and
the long-term risk of divorce among U.S. women married between 1965 and 1985.
Simple cross-tabulations from the 1988 National Survey of Family Growth
indicate that women who were sexually active prior to marriage faced a
considerably higher risk of marital disruption than women who were virgin brides.
A bivariate probit model is employed to examine three possible explanations for
this positive relationship: (a) a direct causal effect, (b) an indirect effect through
intervening "high risk" behaviors (such as having a premarital birth or marrying at
a young age), and (c) a selectivity effect representing prior differences between
virgins and non-virgins (such as family background or attitudes and values). After
a variety of observable characteristics are controlled, non-virgins still face a much
higher risk of divorce than virgins. However, when the analysis controls for
unobserved characteristics affecting both the likelihood of having premarital sex
and the likelihood of divorce, the differential is no longer significant. These results
suggest that the positive relationship between premarital sex and the risk of divorce
can be attributed to prior unobserved differences (e.g., the willingness to break
traditional norms) rather than to a direct causal effect.[53] ‖
This study makes no recommendation; it simply notes that the women most likely
to exercise freedom to enter sexual relationships prior to marriage, overlap
significantly with the women most likely to exercise freedom to leave a
relationship after marriage. Men were not the subject of this study.

14. Sexual morality
Social norms
Main articles: Sexual morality and Norm (sociology)
Each major religion has moral codes covering issues of sexuality, morality, ethics
etc. (see below) Though these moral codes do not address issues of sexuality
directly, they seek to regulate the situations which can give rise to sexual interest
and to influence people's sexual activities and practices. However, the impact of
religious teaching has at times been limited. For example, though most religions
disapprove of premarital sexual relations, it has always been widely practiced.
Nevertheless, these religious codes have always had a strong influence on peoples'
attitudes to sexual issues.
Human sexual activity, even among adolescents, like many other kinds of activity
engaged in by humans, is generally influenced by social rules that are culturally
specific and vary widely. These social rules are referred to as sexual morality
(what can and can not be done by society's rules) and sexual norms (what is and is
not expected). There are a number of groups within societies promoting their views
of sexual morality in a variety of ways, including through sex education, religious
teachings, seeking commitments or virginity pledges, and other means.
Most countries have laws which set a minimum marriage age, with the most
common age being 18 years, but the actual age at first marriage can be
considerably higher. Laws also prescribe the minimum age at which a person is
permitted to engage in sex, commonly called the age of consent. Social (and the
resulting legal) attitudes toward the appropriate age of consent have drifted
upwards in modern times. For example, while ages from 10 to 13 were typically
acceptable in Western countries during the mid-19th century,[54] the end of the
19th century and the beginning of the 20th century were marked by changing
attitudes resulting in raising the ages of consent to ages generally ranging from 16
to 18.[55] Today, the age of consent varies from 12 years (or onset of puberty) to
21, but 16 to 18 is the most common range of ages of consent, but some
jurisdictions also have a "close-in-age" exception, allowing two adolescents (as
young as 12 years of age) to have sex with each other provided their ages are not
more than 2 years apart. For the average age at which adolescents have their first

15. sexual experience, see "Prevalence of virginity" above. Some countries outlaw any
sex outside marriage entirely.

16. Religious views
Main article: Religion and sexuality
Buddhism
Main article: Buddhism and sexuality
Buddhism does not go into detail regarding what is right and what is wrong within
the mundane activities of life. Details of accepted or unaccepted human sexual
conduct is not specifically mentioned in any of the religious scriptures. The most
common formulation of Buddhist ethics for lay followers are the Five Precepts and
the Eightfold Path, which say that one should neither be attached to nor crave
sensual pleasure. These precepts take the form of voluntary, personal undertakings,
not divine mandate or instruction. The third of the Five Precepts is "To refrain
from committing sexual misconduct".[56] "Sexual misconduct" is a broad term,
which is clearly subject to interpretation relative to the social norms of each
community. This interpretation is not a religious matter as far as Buddhism is
concerned.
On the other hand, Buddhist monks and nuns of most traditions are expected to
refrain from all sexual activity and the Buddha is said to have admonished his
followers to avoid unchastity "as if it were a pit of burning cinders."[57]
Hinduism
For most of the history of Hinduism, premarital virginity on the part of the bride
was ideal- as it is today.[58] The prevailing Hindu marriage ceremony or the Vedic
wedding, centers around the Kanyadan ritual, which literally means gift of a virgin,
by father of the maiden through which the Hindus believe they gain greatest
spiritual merit, and marriages of the daughters are considered a spiritual
obligation.[59]

17. However, in ancient India, virginity was not specially esteemed in the Hindu social
system. On the contrary, it was believed that a virgin can never attain spiritual
enlightenment. Sex had never been a taboo in ancient India and intactness of the
hymen had nothing to do with virginity.[60] But these rules were not applicable to
women of elite birth.
The worship of virgins, ie.Kumarika pujan, is still observed by many Hindus.[61]
Judaism
In Judaism, sex is not considered to be sinful. Though premarital sex is
disapproved, there is no requirement for a female to be a virgin at her marriage,
and a child born to an unmarried female is not regarded as illegitimate (mamzer) or
subject to any social or religious disabilities.
Sex within marriage is considered a virtue (mitzvah, literally a 'commandment').
Jewish law contains rules related to protecting female virgins and dealing with
consensual and non-consensual pre-marital sex. The thrust of Jewish law's
guidance on sex is effectively that it should not be rejected, but should be lived as a
wholesome part of life.
Greece and Rome
Virginity was often considered a virtue denoting purity and physical self-restraint
and is an important characteristic in Greek mythology.
In Roman times, Vestal Virgins were strictly celibate priestesses of Vesta. They
were brought to the temple before puberty and were required to remain celibate for
30 years, on penalty of death.[62] In the documentary, What is a Virgin? it is
mentioned that the vestal's virginity was more important for the state than to
herself, because the sacred fire that they attended could not be allowed to go out. If
a vestal virgin was found having sexual relations she would be buried alive.[63]

18. Christianity
Detail of The Reading Madonna by Giorgione (c. 1500)
Paul the Apostle expressed the view that a person's body belongs to God and is
God's temple (1 Corinthians 6:13, 3:16) and that premarital sex is sexual
immorality and fornication, and is sinful (1 Corinthians 6:18), on an equal level as
adultery. (1 Corinthians 6:9) Paul also expressed the view in 1 Corinthians 7:1-7
that sexual abstinence is the preferred state for both men and women. However,
recognizing human weakness in matters of sexuality, he countenanced sexual
relations, but only between marriage partners within marriage, with premarital and
extramarital sex not allowed.
According to classicist Evelyn Stagg and New Testament scholar Frank Stagg, the
New Testament holds that sex is reserved for marriage.[64] They maintain that the
New Testament teaches that sex outside of marriage is a sin of adultery if either
sexual participant is married, otherwise the sin of fornication if both sexual
participants are unmarried. An imperative given in 1 Corinthians says, "Flee from
sexual immorality. All other sins people commit are outside their bodies, but those
who sin sexually sin against their own bodies."[1 Cor 6:18] Those who are
sexually immoral or adulterers are listed in 1 Corinthians 6:9 in a list of
"wrongdoers who...will not inherit the kingdom of God." Galatians 5:19 and 1
Corinthians 7:2 also address fornication. The Apostolic Decree of the Council of
Jerusalem also includes a prohibition of fornication.
Aquinas went further, emphasizing that acts other than copulation destroy
virginity, but also clarifying that involuntary sexual pleasure or pollution does not
destroy virginity says in his Summa Theologica, "Pleasure resulting from
resolution of semen may arise in two ways. If this be the result of the mind's
purpose, it destroys virginity, whether copulation takes place or not. Augustine,
however, mentions copulation, because such like resolution is the ordinary and
natural result thereof. On another way this may happen beside the purpose of the
mind, either during sleep, or through violence and without the mind's consent,
although the flesh derives pleasure from it, or again through weakness of nature, as
in the case of those who are subject to a flow of semen. On such cases virginity is

19. not forfeit, because such like pollution is not the result of impurity which excludes
virginity."[65][66]
Some have theorized that the New Testament was not against sex before
marriage.[67] The discussion turns on two Greek words — moicheia (µ???e?a,
adultery) and porneia (el:p???e?a, fornication see also pornography). The first
word is restricted to contexts involving sexual betrayal of a spouse, however the
second word is used as a generic term for illegitimate sexual activity. Elsewhere in
1 Corinthians , incest, homosexual intercourse (according to some
interpretations)[68] and prostitution are all explicitly forbidden by name. Paul is
preaching about activities based on levitical sexual prohibitions in the context of
achieving holiness. The theory suggests it is these, and only these behaviours that
are intended by Paul's prohibition in chapter seven.[69] The strongest argument
against this theory is that the modern interpretation of the New Testament, outside
Corinthians, speaks against premarital sex;[70]
Christian orthodoxy accepts that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a virgin at the
time Jesus was conceived, based on the accounts in the gospels of Matthew and
Luke.[71] The Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox
denominations, additionally hold to the dogma of the perpetual virginity of
Mary.[72][73][74] However, most Protestants reject the dogma, citing sources
such as Mark 6:3: "Isn't this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of
James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And aren't His sisters here with us?". The
Catholic Church holds[75] that in Semitic usage the terms "brother," "sister" are
applied not only to children of the same parents, but to nephews, nieces, cousins,
half-brothers, and half-sisters. Catholics, Orthodox Christians and other groups
may refer to Mary as the Virgin Mary or the Blessed Virgin Mary.
There are references to virginity in Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. In the
first reference, in Genesis 19:8, Lot offers his virgin daughters to the people of
Sodom for undetermined sexual purposes in an attempt to protect his guests, with
the implication that the people of Sodom would be more likely to accept the offer
in view of the girls' virginity than they would otherwise. The next reference is at
Genesis 24:16, where Eliezer is seeking a wife for his master, Abraham's son. He
meets Rebekah, and the narrative tells us, "the damsel was very fair to look upon, a
virgin, neither had any man known her" (in biblical terms, "to know" is a

20. euphemism for sexual relations). It is noteworthy that Eliezer was not instructed to
find a virgin bride, nor is anything further said about the prospective bride's virgin
status. Exodus 22:16-17 and Deuteronomy 22:28-29 deal with the requirement for
a man who seduces or rapes a virgin to marry her and pay a bride price at the
virgin rate, which presumably is higher than that for a non-virgin.
Virginity is a recurring theme in the Bible — the nation is frequently personified as
"the virgin daughter of Israel" in the prophetic poetry. It is a wistful phrase, since
Genesis also says that Israel's (Jacob's) only daughter Dinah was, in fact, raped as
she entered the promised land. The Torah also contains laws governing betrothal,
marriage and divorce, with particular provisions regarding virginity in
Deuteronomy 22.
Catholic view
Virgo inter Virgines (The Blessed virgin Mary with other holy virgins),
anonymous, Bruges, last quarter of the 15th Century.
The Catholic Encyclopedia says: "There are two elements in virginity: the material
element, that is to say, the absence, in the past and in the present, of all complete
and voluntary delectation, whether from lust or from the lawful use of marriage;
and the formal element, that is the firm resolution to abstain forever from sexual
pleasure." And, "Virginity is irreparably lost by sexual pleasure, voluntarily and
completely experienced."[76] However, for the purposes of consecrated virgins it
is canonically enough that they have never been married or lived in open violation
of chastity.
Christian Mysticism and Gnostic Christianity
This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.
In Christian mysticism, Gnosticism, as well as some Hellenistic religions, there is a
female spirit or goddess named Sophia that is said to embody wisdom and who is
sometimes described as a virgin.[citation needed] In Roman Catholic mysticism,
Hildegard of Bingen celebrated Sophia as a cosmic figure both in her writing and
art. Within the Protestant tradition in England, 17th Century Christian Mystic,
Universalist and founder of the Philadelphian Society Jane Leade wrote copious
descriptions of her visions and dialogues with the "Virgin Sophia" who, she said,

21. revealed to her the spiritual workings of the Universe. Leade was hugely
influenced by the theosophical writings of 16th Century German Christian mystic
Jakob Böhme, who also speaks of the Sophia in works such as The Way to
Christ.[77] Jakob Böhme was very influential to a number of Christian mystics and
religious leaders, including George Rapp and the Harmony Society. The Harmony
Society was a religious pietist group that lived communally, were pacifistic, and
advocated celibacy among its membership.
Islam
See also: Zina
Islam considers premarital sex to be sinful, though of a lesser quality than adultery.
Most forms of sexual contact within marriage are permissible.