Exactly one week before Christmas, the BMJ published a report on virgin births in the United States. That's right. So-called "virgin births" were self-reported to a medical journal. Approximately 1% of American women who become pregnant claim to have been virgins at the time of conception.
When you look deeper into the statistics, a higher percentage of the pregnant "virgins" signed chastity pledges vowing to remain virgins until they got married than the pregnant non-virgins. So, I can't help but believe that this nonsense is directly related to the idolization of virginity and purity in girls and women.
When we idolize virginity and purity, we are staying that what a woman does with her body says everything about who she is and how good or valuable she is. When we pressure women to be, remain or appear virginal and pure, we rob them of choice, of diversity of self-expression. Idolizing a girl's virginity and purity strengthens rape culture, results in the victimization of those who have been raped, and prevents women and girls from coming forward in instances of rape or sexual abuse. It is dangerous.
So, can we, as a society, stop? And while we're at it, let's leave immaculate conception to Mary.
When you look deeper into the statistics, a higher percentage of the pregnant "virgins" signed chastity pledges vowing to remain virgins until they got married than the pregnant non-virgins. So, I can't help but believe that this nonsense is directly related to the idolization of virginity and purity in girls and women.
When we idolize virginity and purity, we are staying that what a woman does with her body says everything about who she is and how good or valuable she is. When we pressure women to be, remain or appear virginal and pure, we rob them of choice, of diversity of self-expression. Idolizing a girl's virginity and purity strengthens rape culture, results in the victimization of those who have been raped, and prevents women and girls from coming forward in instances of rape or sexual abuse. It is dangerous.
So, can we, as a society, stop? And while we're at it, let's leave immaculate conception to Mary.
