Virginity Essay

1644 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Patriarchy in women in society

Virginity has always been a controversial subject in the battle for women’s rights. Since early on in history virginity has been representative of a women’s worth or usefulness. A woman who was not a virgin was impure and unworthy of marriage. This premise had carried on today and is present across the modern world. An analysis of virginity and marriage using the feminist theory demonstrates that the importance of virginity is merely a tool used by men to further oppress women.
A Virginity test can be performed in several ways; although the test is controversial it is still preformed across the world. To start the belief is that the hymen can only be broken (stretched) through sexual intercourse and that every girl has one; both these statements are false. It is possible and also common that a woman is not born without a hymen. In addition the hymen can be stretched in a multitude of daily activities such as sports or simple accidents. This test performed only on girls is sexist and is promoted in patriarchal society. It promotes acceptance of the idea that male premarital sex is alright but for female it is a grave sin. This widens the gender gap between male and females.
The issue of virginity is deep seeded into religious views. Most major religions have some doctrine on abstaining from sexual intercourse until marriage. In the bible common passages describe that men “shall (Leviticus 21:13-14) shall take a wife in her virginity., or a woman who has been defiled, or a prostitute, these he shall not marry.” Similar passages can be found in the Quran and Torah, all describing equal abstinence for men and women. These beliefs aren’t detrimental to any human being for they do not discriminate. But this belief has been al...

... middle of paper ...

...y piece of information. A woman should not be embarrassed chastised or criticized because of her virginity. It is respectable for those women who decide to abstain until marriage but it should be her choice and only hers. I respect ones religious belief that it is only right to have sex after marriage. It is the flawed nature that contorts these beliefs to focus on women that is wrong. It is in these patriarchal societies that unethical behaviour is performed in abundance, in most cases at the sake of women. Although we must ensure the rights of women here in Canada and North America are respected, it is in these societies that activists are most needed. It takes true bravery to stand up in a country, where you can be killed, beaten, or abused for your beliefs. In a country where a woman’s voice is not important, these women stand strong in the face of adversity.

Show More
Related

  • Case Study Of Jerry's Paramedic Collapse

    1287 Words  | 3 Pages

    I am not against people wanting to wait until marriage, and I don’t care if people personally do not want to use contraceptives. What does bother me is when people begin to limit other people’s freedoms and expect other people to adhere to the same religious code that they themselves follow. What also bothers me is parents who refuse to talk to their children about sex and healthy sexual behaviours, because they have the naïve mindset that their kids will abstain from sex until marriage, just because they told them it’s the only way. Not only is this a disservice to their children, it’s also dangerous, as kids will not know what a healthy sexual relationship looks like, but will rather form their own ideas of what a healthy sexual relationship looks like from unreliable sources, such as pornography or the media. They will also not be properly educated on what constitutes sexual assault, and they won’t be aware about STI’s and how to properly protect oneself from them. The bottom line is this: talk to your kids about sex, even if you don’t want them having

    Read More

  • The Existence of Medieval Gender Archetypes in Present Day Culture

    3403 Words  | 7 Pages

    It is undeniably true that an equality of the sexes exists today that was not even imagined in the medieval era. However, this rise in respect for women does not guarantee that all of the prejudices and stereotypes from preceding centuries have fallen by the wayside; on the contrary, most of the same archetypes are alive and well, even if modified to suit a new world. From the unattainably perfect virgin to the sexually insatiable temptress, these images appear throughout modern culture-but the disturbing nature of their existence is made far worse by the complacency with which women accept and further them. In many places, control of the image of women has passed into their own hands, yet broad generalizations and negative suggestions continue to fill daily life.

    Read More

  • Abstinence vs. Comprehensive Sex Education

    1345 Words  | 3 Pages

    It has been almost thirty three years since the first federal funding was put to use in “. . . sex education programs that promote abstinence-only-until-marriage to the exclusion of all other approaches . . .” according to the article “Sex education” (2010) published by “Opposing Viewpoints in Context;” a website that specializes in covering social issues. Since then a muddy controversy has arisen over whether that is the best approach. On one hand is the traditional approach of abstinence (not having sex before marriage), and on the other is the idea that what is being done is not enough, and that there needs to be a more comprehensive approach. This entails not only warning against sex, but also teaching teens about how to have “Safe Sex” (“Sex Education,” 2010).

    Read More

  • Abstinence-Only vs. Comprehensive Sex Education

    2387 Words  | 5 Pages

    Since the HIV/AIDS epidemic began in the U.S. in the early 1980s the issue of sex education for American youth has had the attention of the nation. There are about 400,000 teen births every year in the U.S, with about 9 billion in associated public costs. STI contraction in general, as well as teen pregnancy, have put the subject even more so on the forefront of the nation’s leading issues. The approach and method for proper and effective sex education has been hotly debated. Some believe that teaching abstinence-only until marriage is the best method while others believe that a more comprehensive approach, which includes abstinence promotion as well as contraceptive information, is necessary. Abstinence-only program curriculums disregard medical ethics and scientific accuracy, and have been empirically proven to be ineffective; therefore, comprehensive sex education programs which are medically accurate, science-based and empirically proven should be the standard method of sex education for students/children in the U.S.

    Read More

  • How Sexuality and Faith Are Essential to a Person's Life

    1817 Words  | 4 Pages

    Gozalez-Lopez interviews people about their personal stories and how they dealth with situations similar to such. One of the people she interviews, Diego, talks about what he had to do to save his girlfriend from public shame because she had sex with him. “I married her because of honor. I had to come out and face the bull, to protect her image and her name” (Gonzalez-Lopez, 98). If a woman looses her virginity before marriage she can be seen as a whore, slut, or not properly raised. Many women are forced to marry men that they would never consider husband mate...

    Read More

  • Feminist Ideas the Screwball Comedy Film Genre

    1816 Words  | 4 Pages

    Feminism is motivated by the need to establish equality between the genders since most feminists attribute women’s problems to inequality between the two genders. Therefore, by way of a collection of political movements and social theories, feminists seek to curb this inequality between men and women. It is important to note that the equality sought after by feminists is not just economic and political, but also social equality. According to Heather Gilmour, The institution of marriage during the pre-modern era or the Victorian era was based on inequality as the roles to be fulfilled by both genders for the success of the marriage were essentially different (Heather 26). As the roles kept changing over time due to different circumstances, so did the expectations of marriage and along with that, the rise of feminist movement. Screwball comedies such as It...

    Read More

  • Single Sex Education Essay

    2068 Words  | 5 Pages

    Colleges and schools where both females and males are educated together are termed to be “coeducational.” Long previous to our modern day society, segregating male and female in education systems was considered the “norm.” During these traditionally dominant ancient times, coeducation was prevalent in Europe and the idea of integrating such unique groups became such a phenomenon. This widespread of coeducation was eventually developed in American countries and has grown to be a universally accepted mode of education. Not only was this idea “new” and “innovative,” but it also crossed the line of our ancestor’s valued practice of tradition. Although this system went against what tradition honored, this new system of education generated comradery between individuals of the opposite sex and has knowledged them of skills one was unable to exercise in a single-sex educational environment. Coeducation, being the more modern system of education, has caused single-sex systems to become more outdated and inconvenient to society’s evolving standards. Exposure to the opposite sex introduces students life skills vital to a professional workfield thus, it shows males and females the importance of maintaining a symbiotic relationship and how they benefit from one another. Schools worldwide should consider the practice of educating students of both sexes in the same educational institution to allow for opportunity for one to build character in accordance to our evolving society and acquire flexibility in social skills.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Sex Education

    840 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the United States, there are many school districts that are not required to teach sex education at all. Instead, these districts teach what they call “abstinence-only education”. This education is to teach teens and young adults about not having sex, instead of how to have sex safely. So, is abstinence-only education effective enough to continue it in these districts?

    Read More

  • The Role of Honor, Marriage, and Illegitimacy in Colonial Latin America

    809 Words  | 2 Pages

    Apparently, these male-defined concepts and stringent regulations imposed heavier penalties for women than men because women were mandated with the heaviest burden of keeping their honor. Central to the concept of honor was a woman’s need to keep their virginity intact otherwise she would be ostracized by the society. A woman who preserved her virginity was held with honor and esteem because she proved superior to her peers (Lavrin 11). Virginity in itself was a highly esteem social quality worth keeping (Lavrin 11).

    Read More

  • Sexuality Is Gendered Essay

    1580 Words  | 4 Pages

    This essay will discuss the ways sexuality is gendered and their impacts towards both men and women by exploring the contemporary heterosexual scripts from a sociological perspective on three main aspects; i.e. sex drive, desire and power. It studies how men are deemed to have a higher sexual edge than women, who acts as the relationship gatekeepers. This essay analyses the theory that women predictably pursuits love and relationships while men are more sexually controlled by lusts and cravings. Sexual dominance and passiveness is another traditional script inspected in this essay, focusing on how men are always expected to be the prevailing initiator thus devouring more power in relationships while women stays being the weaker, submissive receivers.

    Read More

  • Gender and Sexuality

    1230 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sexuality has become one of the key determining factors in one’s gender. While many want to initially say that gender is solely based on sexual orientation fail to take in to account many cultural practices, which not only influence gender, but create certain gender roles. The initial creation of Mexican gender roles, as Gloria Gonzalez-Lopez suggests, is the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church “over the course of almost five hundred years,” created beliefs that virgins are desirable and that a non-virgin is of a lower moral class (38). From this Mexican women began maintaining their virginity, not because of the moral implications, but because of social mobility. Virginity has been created to be something beautif...

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Sex Before Marriage

    1300 Words  | 3 Pages

    The typical morals that were set in the early times are not the same social norms we have in the 21st century. In today 's society, it is perfectly fine to lose your virginity at a young age or even as an adult, as long as you are using protection and other alternative methods such as birth control to reduce your risks of teen pregnancy. I was sixteen years old when I first got on birth control. Although I was still a virgin up until my senior year my grandmother still didn’t want to take that chance and not try to protect me from jeopardizing my future by getting pregnant before I graduated from high school because condoms are not 100% effective. Although I was raised in a Christian household and was taught that you should always value your virginity at that age the person I lost it to I thought I was “madly in love” with them. Sex is perceived to be a great thing from the time we are young from television shows, movies, magazines, and from older friends. It’s a form of satisfaction sex is all over society and it’s absolutely normal. It’s almost impossible to even engage in television shows without seeing people kissing intimately, or even having sex. I believe that sex before marriage is ok for couples in a committed relationship, who are of age and capable of making of responsible decisions. Also, I think that many people have a misunderstanding about sex. Sometimes religion can

    Read More

  • Teenage Pregnancy Essay

    852 Words  | 2 Pages

    Teen pregnancy is the term used in reference to those young ladies who get pregnant before attainment of legal adulthood that is between 13-18 years age group. It is a circumstance under which a teenager becomes pregnant unintentionally affecting her life-span development. Teen pregnancy is a prevalent factor among many teenage women especially in their 16th to 19th birthday. Pregnant teenagers are today faced with many obstetrics problems similar to those of the women in their age gap of 20s and 30s. Additional medical concerns are experienced by pregnant teenagers in the developing countries especially women aged 14 or younger. A wide range of teenage pregnancy is unplanned and therefore more risk factors are experienced especially the socioeconomic risks. In the developing countries, teen pregnancies lead to social issues and life complications due to early motherhood. The associated social issues include lower educational levels, increasingly poverty level and other poor life outcomes. In the developed countries, teenage pregnancy occurs outside of marriage, thus leads to the development of social stigma in variety of cultures and communities (Carlson, 2009).

    Read More

  • Gender And Sexuality Essay

    1078 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gender And Sexuality: Productive and Non Productive Aspects Gender carries a more social tone. It refers to socially constructed differences between the sexes and to the social relationships between women and men. These differences between the sexes are shaped over the history of social relations and change over time and across cultures. Gender identity depends on the circumstances in which women and men live and includes economic, cultural, historical, ideological, and religious factors. Gender relations also vary according to the economic and social conditions of the society and differ between social and ethnic groups. The definition of sexuality can encompass many things. This can mean the feelings we have about ourselves as sexual beings, the ways in which we choose to express these feelings with ourselves and others, and the physical capability each of us has to give and experience sexual pleasure. Sex is the total sum of physical characteristics that distinguish males and females from each other. The most distinctive difference in characteristics is that man and women have different reproductive organs. This is pretty obvious and so are other traits like facial hair, deep voices, and muscular builds. Current Scenario: If you are questioning your sexual orientation or gender identity, you probably have already figured out that society is telling you what it wants you to be. Families, religions, and different cultural and ethnic institutions communicate expectations to us, both in direct and indirect ways, about how to be. Often as children queer people get a sense that they don't fit with society's codes. It may not be completely clear to some individuals at first in what way they don't fit; instead they feel a vague sense o...

    Read More

  • Teaching Sex Education in Schools

    2307 Words  | 5 Pages

    Before moving on, one must know that sex education is about, but not limited to the discussion of sexual intercourse. As a Buzzle article states, it involves a multitude of topics that introduce human sexual behaviors such as puberty, sexual health, sexual reproduction, sexuality, and more (Iyer). If formally received in school, these topics are brought up and discussed at age-appropriate times over the course of children’s junior high and high school education. Moreover, as I have introduced earlier, the way sex education should be taught is divided into two approaches. It is between taking either a conservative, abstinence-only approach or a more liberal, comprehensive approach. Abstinence-only education, approaches students by stressing the importance of “no sex before marriage” as be...

    Read More

More about Virginity Essay

Open Document