Gynecology Sexual health

Virgin Wikipedia

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In its most general sense, virginity is characterized by a state of unimpacted purity, usually stemming from a lack of experience (for example, newcomers to game Bingo could be referred to as virgins). Traditionally, virgin is used to describe a person who has not engaged in sexual intercourse. This use is traditionally restricted to a person who has not yet engaged in vaginal intercourse, but it is sometimes used to describe someone who has not engaged in sexual activities in general. Also, someone can be referred to as an "anal virgin," being a virgin to anal sex (specifically receiving anal sex). The status of "virginity" is often respected and valued in certain societies, especially in relation to views of many religions on human sexuality|sexual conduct before marriage. The term maiden is also sometimes used to mean a female virgin, although that can also refer to an unmarried or merely young woman. It has also (generally historically) been used to refer to a male virgin.

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|vaginal sexual intercourse. The presence of an intact membrane is therefore 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.

Traditionally, women were not regarded as virgins after a sexual assault, but some people disavow this notion. There are even women who take this "spiritual" conception of virginity to its maximum, considering "born again" Christians to be virgins, regardless of their past sexual conduct.

There is no obvious physical indicator of virginity in human males, though there may be social indicators, including possible sexual anxiety and a lack of sexual experience or prowess. The word "chastity" (or "celibacy," when referring to the lifestyle choice) is sometimes used for men in place of virginity, although these terms are usually applied to women.

Virginity has been often considered to be a virtue denoting purity and physical self-restraint and is an important characteristic of some religious figures such as the Mary, the mother of Jesus|Virgin Mary (often called simply the Virgin), the Ten Virgins and the Greek mythology|Greek goddesses Athena, Artemis, and Hestia. 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.

Female virginity is closely interwoven with personal or even family honor in many cultures. Traditionally in some cultures (especially those dominated by Christianity, Islam and Judaism) there has been a widespread belief that the loss of virginity before marriage is a matter of deep shame. In some countries, this loss has been linked to honor killings|honor killings.

Traditionally in western marriage ceremonies, a veil is taken as a symbol of the bride's virginity; it is a popular misconception that the white dress indicated virginity. It is unclear the extent to which this symbolism is accurate 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 (for example, those involved in a second marriage), 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 no longer to be regarded as a virtue has become a matter of considerable debate, especially related to controversies involving human sexual behavior|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.

Some historians and anthropology|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 sexual penetration|penetration, e.g., oral sex, anal sex and mutual masturbation. This has been termed technical virginity or hot virginity.

Christianity

Some Christian observers say that virginity indicates a requisite state of holiness in terms of human sexuality|sexuality before marriage. For example, some believe the New Testament of the Christian Bible forbids pre-marital sex of any form. Some theologians hold that once virginity is lost in a pre-marital context then one is polluted or defiled from that state through the consequence arising from the corruption of retaining unlawful carnal knowledge through experience. There are terms such as a "born again virgin", where a person who has had pre-marital sex may regain a state which they consider to be pure.

Islam

Islam provides very strict conditions that sexual activity must occur between married individuals. Quotes such as 'Do not even go near Fornication' (Al-Israa 17: 32), are testament to this. Despite this, people who are not virgins may still be allowed to marry each other. However, in many conservative Muslim societies an individual who is not a virgin may be looked upon unfavourably for a possible marriage. In Islamic communities it is sometimes, but rarely, known for sexually active but unmarried young girls to be killed by relatives protecting the family's honor (but that is not the punishment according to Islamic Law or Sharia' rather its more of a traditional and cultural norm found in some societies)

Judaism

One of the most fundamental aspects of Jewish tradition—which also may be going the way of other Victorian virtues—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' (Genesis 24:16) and is a recurring theme throughout the Bible, especially with regard to the laws governing betrothal, marriage and divorce.

• Celibacy

wiktionary

• http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=virgin Virgin at Dictionary.com, an exposition of the many possible meanings of "virgin"

Last Modified:   2005-12-19