Virginity Is A Social Construct

In our reading of Leslie Bell’s “Hard to get: Twenty – Something Women and The Paradox of Sexual Freedom” she often refers to “conflicting” messages giving by society. These messages tell young women how they should live and express their sexual freedom during their ‘prime’ years. Messages given by society about sexual freedom are contradicting which cause women to feel anxious and confused on how to express themselves in relationships. In between all this confusion men have taken advantage of these vulnerable women who are trying exercise their sexual freedom.

You are to respond honestly and completely to each of the questions in the journal. It is important that I will be able to understand your point of view on each and every question - so short 'Yes' or 'No' responses will not suffice. ( Place your response in the ‘Answer’ section indicated.) Give examples and details to support your responses.

For my analysis I thought it would be interesting to look at the role of sex education and its importance within the Reproductive Justice narrative. I decided that I would talk to a group of friends about their middle school and high school sex education process so that I could get a better understanding of the wide range of sex education in America — or lack thereof in some cases. I conducted the interview in a group setting, as I thought it would be beneficial for everyone to compare their own experiences, while also listening to the similarities and differences within them. The first and second friend I interviewed had what I believe to be a typical high school sex education. Their classes touched upon things such as STI’s and safe sex practices, or more specifically the use of condoms.

Sexuality is a quagmire of ambiguity and frustration, especially during adolescence. The unpredictable hormonal ups and downs of puberty are difficult enough, without the societal pressures of abstinence versus promiscuity. The double standard of boys sowing their wild oats and slut shaming are still as prevalent today as they were in the 1950’s.

For centuries people have made decisions or assumptions of others based solely upon what they choose to do in their respective privacies. Societal institutions ranging from schools to religious affiliations have created guidelines surrounding sexual activity that determine when and if it should be done. While the topic of virginity may be taboo for some, people fail to realize the social stigmas associated with the term in itself. In “The Cult of Virginity”, the author succeeds at illuminating the notion that virginity is a socially constructed term that invokes or revokes the morality of women. Valenti does an excellent job of challenging the societal standards regarding virginity by comparing them to her personal experiences as well as referencing the observations of other authors.

Expectations about appropriate gender role characteristics and sexual behavior have evolved throughout history, especially for women. In the 1700’s and 1800’s, the men’s role included earning an

Abstinence pledges are becoming increasingly popular in adolescence, with over “2.5 million adolescence have taken public ‘virginity’ pledges”. Social movements have a set standard for these pledges, in which they promise to abstain from sex until marriage. The results have been a resounding success. This article shows that "abstinence pledge" programs are dramatically effective in reducing sexual activity among teenagers in grades 7 through 12. Based on a large national sample of adolescents, the study concludes that "adolescents who reported having taken a pledge to remain a virgin were at significantly lower risk of early age of sexual debut." Pledging delays intercourse for a long time. In this sense, the pledge works.

Contemporary hookup culture began to rise when the United States began to take the “virginity” topic to whole new level of discussion. Dating and intimate human interaction have always been a common conversation spoken by common people in our country. Moreover, the topic of casual sex has been the starting point for this increase attention on the Contemporary hook up culture. Certain authors have made claims that the problem is not casual sex, but a moral panic over the matter (Valenti, 23). According to Levy, “Levy’s concern isn’t necessarily moral, but rather that these young women seem less focused on their own sexual pleasure and more worried about being seen as “hot” by men” (Armstrong, England, and Hamiliton, 23). Similarly, the entire dating situation has been

Virginity, the subject of never having sexual intercourse based on ideas of tradition, gender, and sexual politics. Many people especially women tend to treasure their virginity and are only willing to lose their virginity to the “right” person. Traditional values of virginity all tie in with marriage. In earlier times and still in today’s society, women will stay a virgin until they were married. In many cultures “Virginity” is often viewed from the perspective that being a virgin is being pure. Delaying sexual initiation until marriage is the norm in countries such as Ethiopia (BMC Public Health, 2008). Historically, woman’s virginity is protected by a father and then “given” to a husband. A woman’s sexuality was believed to belong to the men in her life and to her God (Vagianos, 2013), but in today’s society this idea is not viewed as strongly. Fathers normally tend to be more overprotective of their daughters than they are towards their sons. It traditional gender roles women are seen as the ones that are meant to only give birth to children and care for them. If an unmarried women was to get pregnant at a young age, she would be seen as a disgrace to her family. It would ruin the reputation of her and her family. Some women believe that having

Women are taught to be very conservative growing up and the results to this study showcase the fear in judgement with participating in sexual acts. “Study 1 demonstrated that women were less likely to accept casual sex offers than men and that the gender difference was partially mediated by the more negative judgments women anticipated for accepting the casual sex offer”(Conley,2013). Growing up girls that participated in sex before marriage were seen as whores or sluts. The gender norm in this society is for men to be pleasured and for women to be the one pleasuring. When a women enjoys sexual pleasure they are talked down upon or seen different.

This is the twenty-first century, however, things have changed since back then. Ever since the Victorian era, both men and women have grown immensely more comfortable with with their sexuality. However, this fact doesn’t mean that both parties are satisfied with what actually happens during a sexual intercourse. During 1960s, teen pregnancies boomed resulting from the “Baby Boom” that occurred after the second World War and the Cold War. However, it slowly decreased into the late 1990s. As a result, public schools have started teaching sex education as a part of health and physical education in order to control

In the past, sexual intercourse has most commonly occurred between a man and a woman. So when someone lost their virginity it was with a person of the opposite sex. Nowadays, people are having sex regardless of the other person’s gender. Society is more open about their sexuality. It is not uncommon for sex to occur between a male and a female, two males, or two females. In the article, “The Ambiguity of "Having Sex": The Subjective Experience of Virginity Loss in the United States” by Laura M. Carpenter, they speak of the definition of virginity loss varying by sexual orientation. Meghan (The Ambiguity of “Having Sex”) states, “I guess virginity has to be defined within each type of relationship like woman-woman, man-man, heterosexual…” I think people get confused about sex between two women since neither

Many parents dread the day they see their teenage children having children of their own. The teens are not to blame for having sex without protection. They should not have been made to take virginity pledges in their past, because they do not work. The boyfriend should not be arrested just because he happens to be a couple years older than his girlfriend. Instead of hypothesizing ill-formed theories that teens do not know how to make decisions about sex, educate them on it. Girls should not be forced to have their virginity protected for them; it is their choice. Even though abstinence has been proven to prevent teenage pregnancy, virginity pledges have conflicting results of success –proving that consensual sex among teens is natural and should not be treated as a crime based on age, and that the solution is to teach teens of the risks involved.

Valenti argues that virginity does not possess a definition that is "medical, but subjective" (Berks, Meyers 2014, 335) and is only defined by who you ask. Her main focus of this article is to highlight how little the term virginity actually means do to the lack of a factual definition nx how virginity is almost always directly connected to women. When considering male virginity, my first thought is of the movie Forty Year Old Virgin. Valenti discusses the ways virginity is not defined but is used to critisize women and categorize them as 'pure' or "damaged goods" (Berk, Meyers 2014, 336) Valenti's argument is that women are effectively programmed to believe they can be defined by the status of their virginity though it is clear as to how it

Gender, sex, and sexuality are not new concepts in today’s society. These three terms have been around for a long time, but they have only just started to surface and be taught and understood by the nation. Slowly society is learning that sex does not determine one’s sexual orientation and gender and who you are is nothing to be ashamed about.