Virgin

From Freepedia

For other uses, see Virgin (disambiguation).

A virgin is most commonly seen as a person who has not engaged in sexual intercourse. Typically, it refers strictly to a person who has not yet engaged in vaginal intercourse. In broader terms, it sometimes refers to one who has not engaged in sexual activities. The status of "virginity" is sometimes respected and valued in certain societies, especially in relation to views of many religions on 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.

It could also mean something that has never been tried or explored before, as a 'virgin' territory. For example, a continent that was not explored before, would be an example of virgin territory.

It also refers to a state of purity or innocence. For example, virgin olive oil, would mean olive oil in its purest state and authentic composition.

Contents

Physiology

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 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, the hymen can be broken during strenuous exercise or during the insertion of a tampon. Conversely, in rare cases a hymen is imperforate, and as menstrual discharge cannot escape, surgical intervention is required to protect the health of the woman.

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 can also be applied to women.


In History

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 Virgin Mary (often called simply the Virgin), the Ten Virgins and the 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.

In Culture

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.

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 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 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 penetration, e.g., oral sex, anal sex and mutual masturbation. This has been termed technical virginity or hot virginity.

Religion

Christianity

Some Christian observers say that virginity indicates a requisite state of holiness in terms of 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 and lost their innocence, may regain that state of purity back.

Islam

Islam provides very strict conditions that sexual activity must occur between married individuals (or such was the case at the time, between a slave girl and her master). 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.

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.

Derived meanings

The term virgin is also used in a similar manner to describe:

  • Someone or something that has not yet achieved a significant goal of some sort (e.g., someone who has never participated in the audience of The Rocky Horror Picture Show)
  • Something unused or unspoiled (e.g., virgin forest, a forest that has never been logged; Virgin Lands Campaign in the Soviet Union)
  • Something "first" (virgin olive oil, so named by being from the first pressing of olives).

Likewise, a cocktail made without alcohol may be called virgin (e.g., Virgin Mary, Virgin Piña Colada).

Related Articles

External links

Look up Virgin on Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Retrieved from "http://en.freepedia.org/Virgin.html"


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