Who's the oldest virgin on PC?

While I definitely do not wish I were a virgin, I acknowledge that I made two very good decisions in my late teens - early twenties NOT becoming sexual with two male friends, despite mutual attraction. We are still good friends, whereas I have no r/s whatsoever with boyfriends from early years / first H. So it does seem that not having sex pays off, in the long term.

They don't make music like that anymore. I hear they've made a park of Beauregard Square and named it in honor of Mister A.
Do you miss those moonlight strolls through the Cities of the Dead searching for the spirits of the past? I half expected to meet the ghost of Marie but of course she isn't dead is she.

Well I was 27 before I had sex. I dont know why I feel like writing about it.
Its something that hurt me and continues to hurt me. I still dont have sex. I dont even know how long its been now, 10 years or so I guess. The few times I have had sex I was drinking Somebody on here was asking about how important we thought sex was in life. To me its about someone caring enough about you that they want to be that close to you. I know my low opinion of myself has not helped but I guess I always hoped someone could see past my low self esteem and recognize that I was worth the time

Hopefully nobody minds if I chip in...

Male, 28, and haven't even had my first kiss. Guess I don't win this contest... yet. But I would eventually, if I live long enough. I'm just a plain straight guy and I want sex badly, but it's impossible. Mainly because I'm terrible with people. A social phobic with zero friends doesn't have a chance of a romantic relationship, right? Add in obstacles like morbid obesity, complete lack of self-esteem and confidence and so much more...

At this point I'm pretty much resigned to being desperately in love with love itself and living in my own fantasies. Reality probably can't compare, anyway.

There are morbidly obese single women who would love to connect with you, I am sure. There probably is a dating site specifically for people who are big.

I couldn't agree with what you said more.

Wow..been reading this thread..... thinking, mulling it over.

let's ask Mister wiki what a "Virgin" is?

:::
Virginity
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Virgin)
"Virgin" and "Maiden" redirect here. For other uses, see Virgin (disambiguation) and Maiden (disambiguation).

Invocation by Frederick Leighton
White has traditionally been associated with ritual purity, innocence and virginity.
Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. There are cultural and religious traditions which place special value and significance on this state, especially in the case of unmarried females, associated with notions of personal purity, honor and worth. Like chastity, the concept of virginity has traditionally involved sexual abstinence before marriage, and then to engage in sexual acts only with the marriage partner.
Unlike the term premarital sex, which can refer to more than one occasion of sexual activity and can be judgment neutral, the concept of virginity usually involves moral or religious issues and can have consequences in terms of social status and in interpersonal relationships.
The term originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern, and ethical concepts.[1][2][3][4] Heterosexual individuals may or may not consider loss of virginity to occur only through penile-vaginal penetration,[2][3][4][5] while people of other sexual orientations often include oral sex, **** sex or mutual masturbation in their definitions of losing one's virginity.[2][6][7] Further, whether a person can lose his or her virginity through rape is also subject to debate, with the belief that virginity can only be lost through consensual sex being prevalent in some studies.[1][2]
Contents [hide]
1 Origins of the term
2 Culture
2.1 Definitions of virginity loss
2.2 Female virginity
2.2.1 Cultural value
2.2.2 Proof of virginity
2.3 Male virginity
2.4 Prevalence of virginity
2.5 Social psychology
3 Sexual morality
3.1 Social norms and legal implications
3.2 Religious views
3.2.1 Buddhism
3.2.2 Hinduism
3.2.3 Judaism
3.2.4 Sikhism
3.2.5 Greece and Rome
3.2.6 Christianity
3.2.6.1 Catholic view
3.2.6.2 Christian Mysticism and Gnostic Christianity
3.2.7 Islam
4 See also
5 References
6 External links
[edit]Origins of the term

The word virgin comes via Old French virgine from the root form of Latin virgo, genitive virgin-is, meaning literally "maiden" or "virgin"—a sexually intact young woman[clarification needed][8] or "sexually inexperienced woman". As in Latin, the English word is also often used with wider reference, by relaxing the age, gender or sexual criteria.[9] Hence, more mature women can be virgins (The Virgin Queen), men can be virgins, and potential initiates into many fields can be colloquially termed virgins; for example, a skydiving "virgin". In the latter usage, virgin simply means uninitiated.
The Latin word likely arose by analogy with a suit of lexemes based on vireo, meaning "to be green, fresh or flourishing", mostly with botanic reference—in particular, virga meaning "strip of wood".[10]
The first known use of virgin in English is found in a Middle English manuscript held at Trinity College, Cambridge of about 1200:
Ðar haueð ... martirs, and confessors, and uirgines maked faier bode inne to women. — Trinity College Homilies 185 [ms B.15.34 (369)]
In this, and many later contexts, the reference is specifically Christian, alluding to members of the Ordo Virginum (Order of Virgins), which applies to the consecrated virgins known to have existed since the early church from the writings of the Church Fathers.[11]
By about 1300, the word was expanded to apply also to Mary, the mother of Jesus, hence to sexual virginity explicitly:
Conceiud o þe hali gast, born o þe virgine marie. — Cursor Mundi 24977
Further expansion of the word to include virtuous (or naïve) young women, irrespective of religious connection, occurred over about another century, until by about 1400 we find:
Voide & vacand of vices as virgyns it ware. — The Wars of Alexander 4665
These are just three of the eighteen definitions of virgin from the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED1, pages 230-232). Most of the OED1 definitions, however, are very similar.
The German word for "virgin" is Jungfrau. Jungfrau literally means "young woman", but is not used in this sense. Instead "junge Frau" can be used. The rather dated German word for a young (unmarried) woman, without implications regarding sexuality, is Fräulein. Fräulein was used in German as a title of respect, equivalent to current usage of Miss in English. Jungfrau is the word reserved specifically for sexual inexperience. As Frau means "woman", it suggests a female referent. Unlike English, German also has a specific word for a male virgin Jüngling ("Youngling"). It is, however, dated too and rarely used. Jungfrau, with some masculine modifier, is more typical, as evidenced by the film, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, about a 40 year-old male virgin, titled in German, "Jungfrau (40), männlich, sucht…".[12] Note that the term used for the starsign virgo also is Jungfrau, which makes the above movie title ambiguous. German also distinguishes between young women and girls, who are denoted by the word Mädchen. The English cognate "maid" was often used to imply virginity, especially in poetry.
German is not the only language to have a specific name for male virginity; in French, male virgins are called "puceau". Males presenting with phimosis who injure their frenulum during first penetration are said to be "uncartridged" as opposed to "cartridged" before first intercourse.[13][clarification needed]
By contrast, the Greek word for "virgin" is parthenos (παρθένος, see Parthenon). Although typically applied to women, like English, it is also applied to men, in both cases specifically denoting absence of sexual experience. When used of men, it does not carry a strong association of "never-married" status. However, in reference to women, historically, it was sometimes used to refer to an engaged woman—parthenos autou (παρθένος αὐτού, his virgin) = his fiancée as opposed to gunē autou (γυνή αὐτού, his woman) = his wife. This distinction is necessary due to there being no specific word for wife (or husband) in Greek.
By extension from its primary sense, the idea that a virgin has a sexual "blank slate",[14] unchanged by any past intimate connection or experience,[14] leads to the abstraction of unadulterated purity.
[edit]Culture

The concept of virginity has significance only in a particular social, cultural and moral context. According to Hanne Blank, "virginity reflects no known biological imperative and grants no demonstrable evolutionary advantage."[7]
[edit]Definitions of virginity loss
There are varying understandings as to which types of sexual activities result in loss of virginity. The traditional view is that virginity is only lost through vaginal penetration by the penis, consensual or non-consensual, and that acts of oral sex, **** sex, mutual masturbation or other forms of non-penetrative sex do not result in loss of virginity. A person who engages in such acts with no history of having engaged in vaginal intercourse is often regarded among heterosexuals and researchers as "technically a virgin".[2][3][15][16][17] In contrast, gay or lesbian individuals often describe such acts as resulting in loss of virginity. Some gay males regard **** penetration as resulting in loss of virginity, but not oral sex or non-penetrative sex,[2][6] and lesbians may regard oral sex or fingering as loss of virginity.[2][7][18] Some lesbians who debate the traditional definition consider whether or not non-penile forms of vaginal penetration constitute virginity loss,[18] while other gay men and lesbians assert that the term "virginity" is useless to them because of the prevalence of the traditional definition.[2][6]
Researcher and author Laura M. Carpenter states that despite perceptions of what determines virginity loss being as varied among gay men and lesbians as they are among heterosexuals, and in some cases more varied among the former, that "a lot of people" view sexual acts relating to virginity loss as "acts that correspond to your sexual orientation" and view the matter the following way: "So if you're a gay male, you're supposed to have **** sex because that's what gay men do. And if you're a gay woman, then you're supposed to have oral sex, because that's what gay women do. And so those become, like markers, for when virginity is lost."[2]
Since the early 1990s, the concept of "technical virginity" has been popular among heterosexual American teenagers.[16][17] For example, oral sex is common among adolescent girls who fellate their boyfriends to create and maintain intimacy while preserving their virginity, avoiding pregnancy, or both.[16][17][19] In a 1999 study published in JAMA (the Journal of the American Medical Association), the definition of sex was examined based on a 1991 random sample of 599 college students from 29 US states; it found that 60% said oral-genital contact (like fellatio, cunnilingus) did not constitute having sex.[17][20] "That's the 'technical virginity' thing that's going on," said Stephanie Sanders, associate director of the Kinsey Institute. Sanders, as the co-author of the study, and along with other researchers, titled the findings "Would You Say You 'Had Sex' If ...?"[17] In another study, published in 2001 in The Journal of Sex Research, over half of respondents considered that virginity could only be lost through having consensual sex.[1] However, in a study released in 2008 by the Guttmacher Institute, author of the findings Laura Lindberg stated that there "is a widespread belief that teens engage in nonvaginal forms of sex, especially oral sex, as a way to be sexually active while still claiming that technically, they are virgins", but that her study drew the conclusion that "research shows that this supposed substitution of oral sex for vaginal sex is largely a myth".[21]
A 2003 study published in the Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality focusing on definitions of having sex and noting studies concerning university students from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia reported that "[w]hile the vast majority of respondents (more than 97%) in these three studies included penile-vaginal intercourse in their definition of sex, fewer (between 70% and 90%) respondents considered penile-**** intercourse to constitute having sex" and that "oral-genital behaviours were defined as sex by between 32% and 58% of respondents".[22] A different study by the Kinsey Institute sampled 484 people, ranging in ages 18–96. "Nearly 95 percent of people in the study agreed that penile-vaginal intercourse meant 'had sex.' But the numbers changed as the questions got more specific." 11 percent of respondents based "had sex" on whether the man had achieved an orgasm, concluding that absence of an orgasm does not constitute "having had" sex. "About 80 percent of respondents said penile-**** intercourse meant 'had sex.' About 70 percent of people believed oral sex was sex."[20]
Virginity pledges (or abstinence pledges) made by heterosexual teenagers and young adults may also include the practice of "technical virginity". In a peer-reviewed study by sociologists Peter Bearman and Hannah Brueckner, which looked at virginity pledgers five years after their pledge, they found that the pledgers have similar proportions of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and at least as high proportions of **** and oral sex as those who have not made a virginity pledge, and deduced that there was substitution of oral and **** sex for vaginal sex among the pledgers. However, the data for **** sex without vaginal sex reported by males did not reflect this directly.[23][24]
[edit]Female virginity
[edit]Cultural value

Le Droit Du Seigneur (1872) by Jules-Arsène Garnier
The first act of sexual intercourse by a female is commonly considered within many cultures to be an important personal milestone. Its significance is reflected in expressions such as "saving oneself", "losing one's virginity," "taking someone's virginity" and sometimes as "deflowering." The occasion is at times seen as the end of innocence, integrity, or purity, and the sexualization of the individual.
Traditionally, there was a cultural expectation that a female would not engage in premarital sex and would come to her wedding a virgin, which would be indicated by the bride wearing a white gown, and that she would "give up" her virginity to her new husband in the act of consummation of the marriage.
In some cultures, it is so important that a female be a virgin that a female will refrain from inserting any object into her vagina, such as a tampon, menstrual cup or dildo, or undergoing some medical examinations, so as not to damage the hymen. Some females who have been previously sexually active (or their hymen has been otherwise damaged) may undergo a surgical procedure, called hymenorrhaphy or hymenoplasty, to repair or replace her hymen, and cause vaginal bleeding on the next intercourse as proof of virginity (see below).[25] In some cultures, an unmarried female who is found not to be a virgin, whether by choice or as a result of a rape, can be subject to shame, ostracism or even an honor killing. In those cultures, female virginity is closely interwoven with personal or even family honor, especially those known as shame societies, in which the loss of virginity before marriage is a matter of deep shame.[26] In other cultures, for example in many modern-day Western cultures, sexual abstinence before marriage is not taken as seriously as it is in those discussed above.
Virginity is regarded as a valuable commodity in some cultures, and the right to have sexual intercourse with a virgin can be bought. For example, in Japan, geishas would sell the right of first access in a ritual called mizuage. There is also a legendary droit du seigneur ("the lord's right", often conflated with the Latin phrase "ius primae noctis") which allegedly entitled the lord of an estate to take the virginity of the estate's virgins on the night of their marriage, a right which the lord can trade for money. In the film Pretty Baby (1978) there is an auction for the virginity of 12-year-old Violet.
It was the law and custom in some societies that required a man who seduced or raped a virgin to marry the girl or pay compensation to her father.[27] In some countries until the late 20th century, a woman could sue a man who had taken her virginity but did not marry her. In some languages, the compensation for these damages are called "wreath money".[28]
[edit]Proof of virginity
Main article: Virginity test
Some cultures require proof of a bride's virginity prior to her marriage. This has traditionally been tested by the presence of an intact hymen, which was verified by either a physical examination (usually by a physician, who provided a certificate of virginity) or by a "proof of blood," which refers to vaginal bleeding that results from the tearing of the hymen after the first sanctioned sexual contact.[29][30][31] In some cultures, the nuptial blood-spotted bed sheet would be displayed as proof of both consummation of marriage and that the bride was a virgin.[30][31]
Researchers stress that the presence or absence of a hymen is not a reliable indicator of whether or not a female has been vaginally penetrated.[29] The hymen is a thin film of membrane situated just inside the vulva which can partially occlude the entrance to the vaginal canal. It is flexible and can be stretched or torn during first engagement in vaginal intercourse. However, a hymen may also be broken during physical activity. Many women possess such thin, fragile hymens, easily stretched and already perforated at birth, that the hymen can be broken in childhood without the girl even being aware of it, often through athletic activities. One example is a slip while riding a bicycle may on occasion result in the bicycle's saddle-horn entering the introitus just far enough to break the hymen.[32] Further, there is the case of women with damaged hymens undergoing hymenorrhaphy (or hymenoplasty) to repair or replace their hymens, and cause vaginal bleeding on the next intercourse as proof of virginity.[25] Others consider the practice to be virginity fraud or unnecessary. Some call themselves born-again virgins.
There is a common belief that some women are born without a hymen,[33][34] but some doubt has been cast on this by a recent study.[35] It is likely that almost all women are born with a hymen, but not necessarily ones that will experience a measurable change during first experience of vaginal intercourse.
Some medical procedures, such as hymenotomy, may require a woman's hymen to be opened.
[edit]Male virginity
Historically, and in modern times, female virginity has been regarded as more significant than male virginity. The perception that sexual prowess is fundamental to masculinity has lowered the expectation of male virginity without lowering the social status.[2][26][36] For example, in some Islamic cultures, though premarital sex is forbidden in the Quran with regard to both men and women, unmarried women who have been sexually active or raped are subject to name-calling, shunning, or family shame, while unmarried men who have lost their virginities are not.[26] Among various countries or cultures, males are expected and/or encouraged to want to engage in sexual activity, and to be more sexually-experienced.[2][36][37][38] Not following these standards often leads to teasing and other such ridicule from their male peers.[2][36][39] A 2003 study by the Guttmacher Institute showed that, in most countries, most men have experienced sexual intercourse by their 20th birthdays.[40]
Females are more accepting of male virginity, but there exists negative feelings about the topic even among women. Reflective of the Guttmacher study, some women perceive men being virgins past their early twenties to be an undesirable trait and would decline marriage due to the man's sexual inexperience; in these cases, male virginity is considered to threaten the fantasy some women have about men knowing how to sexually please them.[38]
Within American culture in particular, male virginity has been made an object of embarrassment and ridicule in films such as Summer of '42, American Pie and The 40-Year-Old Virgin, with the male virgin typically being presented as socially inept.[2][39] However, some have challenged the negative connotations regarding male virginity, as well as the belief that males should want to lose their virginities at earlier ages than their female counterparts.[36][39] Noted are surveys and studies where adolescent males reported depression after losing their virginity, such as when discovering that their partners did not care about them and rather wanted "bragging rights" for having bedded a male virgin.[39]
[edit]Prevalence of virginity
Prevalence of sexually-experienced 15-year-olds based on self-reports[41]
Country Boys (%) Girls (%)
Austria 21.7 17.9
Canada 24.1 23.9
Croatia 21.9 8.2
England 34.9 39.9
Estonia 18.8 14.1
Finland 23.1 32.7
Belgium 24.6 23
France 25.1 17.7
Greece 32.5 9.5
Hungary 25 16.3
Israel 31 8.2
Latvia 19.2 12.4
Lithuania 24.4 9.2
Macedonia 34.2 2.7
Netherlands 23.3 20.5
Poland 20.5 9.3
Portugal 29.2 19.1
Scotland 32.1 34.1
Slovenia 28.2 20.1
Spain 17.2 13.9
Sweden 24.6 29.9
Switzerland 24.1 20.3
Ukraine 47.1 24
Wales 27.3 38.5
The prevalence of virginity varies from culture to culture. In cultures which place importance on a female's virginity at marriage, the age at which virginity is lost is in effect determined by the age at which marriages would normally take place in those cultures, as well as the minimum marriage age set by the laws of the country where the marriage takes place..[37] In some cultures, a female is encouraged or required to marry at a very early age so that she will not have the opportunity to lose her virginity before marriage, or so that a girl can experience her sexuality from an early age. In some cultures, for example in many modern-day Western cultures, sexual abstinence before marriage is not valued, and in some cultures, abstention is discouraged.
In a cross-cultural study, At what age do women and men have their first sexual intercourse? (2003), Michael Bozon of the French Institut national d'études démographiques found that contemporary cultures fall into three broad categories.[37] In the first group, the data indicated families arranging marriage for daughters as close to puberty as possible with significantly older men. Age of men at sexual initiation in these societies is at later ages than that of women, but is often extra-marital. This group included sub-Saharan Africa (the study listed Mali, Senegal and Ethiopia). The study considered the Indian subcontinent also fell into this group, although data was only available from Nepal.[37]
In the second group, the data indicated families encouraged daughters to delay marriage, and to abstain from sexual activity prior to it. However, sons are encouraged to gain experience with older women or prostitutes prior to marriage. Age of men at sexual initiation in these societies is at lower ages than that of women. This group includes Latin cultures, both from southern Europe (Portugal, Greece and Romania are noted) and from Latin America (Brazil, Chile, Dominican Republic). The study considered many Asian societies also fell into this group, although matching data were only available from Thailand.[37]
In the third group, age of men and women at sexual initiation was more closely matched. There were two sub-groups, however. In non-Latin, Catholic countries (Poland and Lithuania are mentioned), age at sexual initiation was higher, suggesting later marriage and reciprocal valuing of male and female virginity. The same pattern of late marriage and reciprocal valuing of virginity was reflected in Singapore and Sri Lanka. The study considered China and Vietnam also fell into this group, although data were not available.[37]
Finally, in northern and eastern European countries, age at sexual initiation was lower, with both men and women involved in sexual activity prior to any union formation. The study listed Switzerland, Germany and the Czech Republic as members of this group.[37]
According to a 2001 UNICEF survey, in 10 out of 12 developed nations with available data, more than two thirds of young people have had sexual intercourse while still in their teens. In Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States, the proportion is over 80%. In Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, approximately 25% of 15 year olds and 50% of 17 year olds have had sex.[42] A 2002 international survey sought to study the sexual behavior of teenagers. 33,943 students aged 15, from 24 countries, completed a self-administered, anonymous, classroom survey, consisting of a standard questionnaire, developed by the HBSC (Health Behaviour in School-aged Children) international research network. The survey revealed that the majority of the students were still virgins (they had no experience of sexual intercourse), and, among those who were sexually active, the majority (82%) used contraception.[43] In a 2005 Kaiser Family Foundation study of US teenagers, 29% of teens reported feeling pressure to have sex, 33% of sexually active teens reported "being in a relationship where they felt things were moving too fast sexually", and 24% had "done something sexual they didn’t really want to do".[44] Several polls have indicated peer pressure as a factor in encouraging both girls and boys to have sex.[45][46]
Some studies suggest that people commence sexual activity at an earlier age than previous generations.[47][48] However, the 2005 Durex Global sex survey found that people worldwide are having sex for the first time at an average age of 17.3, ranging from 15.6 in Iceland to 19.8 in India.[48] A 2008 survey of UK teenagers between the ages of 14 and 17 (conducted by YouGov for Channel 4), showed that only 6% of these teenagers intended waiting until marriage before having sex.[49]
The increased sexual activity among adolescents is manifested in increased teenage pregnancies and an increase in sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)[citation needed]. The rates of teenage pregnancy vary and range from 143 per 1000 girls in some sub-Saharan African countries to 2.9 per 1000 in South Korea. The rate for the United States is 52.1 per 1000, the highest in the developed world – and about four times the European Union average.[42][50] The teenage pregnancy rates between countries must take into account the level of general sex education available and access to contraceptive options. Many Western countries have instituted sex education programs, the main objective of which is to reduce such pregnancies and STDs. In 1996, the United States federal government shifted the objective of sex education towards "abstinence-only sex education" programs, promoting sexual abstinence before marriage (i.e., virginity) and prohibiting information on birth control and contraception. In 2004, President George W. Bush announced a Five-Year Global HIV/AIDS Strategy, also known as the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR),[51] which committed the U.S. to provide $15 billion over five years toward AIDS relief in 15 countries in Africa and the Caribbean, and in Vietnam.[52] A part of the funding was earmarked specifically for "abstinence-only-until-marriage" programs.
In a peer-reviewed study about virginity pledges (commitments made by teenagers and young adults to refrain from sexual intercourse until marriage), sociologists Peter Bearman of Columbia and Hannah Brueckner of Yale estimated that male pledgers were 4.1 times more likely to remain virgins by age 25 than those who did not pledge (25% vs 6%), and estimated that female pledgers were 3.5 times more likely to remain virgins by age 25 than those who did not pledge (21% vs 6%).[23][24]
[edit]Social psychology
Some cultural anthropologists argue that romantic love and sexual jealousy are universal features of human relationships.[53] Social values related to virginity reflect both sexual jealousy and ideals of romantic love, and appear to be deeply embedded in human nature.[citation needed]
Psychology explores the connection between thought and behavior. Seeking understanding of social (or anti-social) behaviors includes sexual behavior. Joan Kahn and Kathryn London studied U.S. women married between 1965 and 1985 to see if virginity at marriage influenced risk of divorce.
This article examines the relationship between premarital sexual activity and the long-term risk of divorce among U.S. women married between 1965 and 1985. Simple cross-tabulations from the 1988 National Survey of Family Growth indicate that women who were sexually active prior to marriage faced a considerably higher risk of marital disruption than women who were virgin brides. A bivariate probit model is employed to examine three possible explanations for this positive relationship: (a) a direct causal effect, (b) an indirect effect through intervening "high risk" behaviors (such as having a premarital birth or marrying at a young age), and (c) a selectivity effect representing prior differences between virgins and non-virgins (such as family background or attitudes and values). After a variety of observable characteristics are controlled, non-virgins still face a much higher risk of divorce than virgins. However, when the analysis controls for unobserved characteristics affecting both the likelihood of having premarital sex and the likelihood of divorce, the differential is no longer significant. These results suggest that the positive relationship between premarital sex and the risk of divorce can be attributed to prior unobserved differences (e.g., the willingness to break traditional norms) rather than to a direct causal effect.[54]
This study makes no recommendation; it simply notes that the women most likely to exercise freedom to enter sexual relationships prior to marriage, overlap significantly with the women most likely to exercise freedom to leave a relationship after marriage. Men were not the subject of this study.
[edit]Sexual morality

[edit]Social norms and legal implications
Main articles: Sexual morality and Norm (sociology)
Each major religion has moral codes covering issues of sexuality, morality, ethics etc. (see below) Though these moral codes do not address issues of sexuality directly, they seek to regulate the situations which can give rise to sexual interest and to influence people's sexual activities and practices. However, the impact of religious teaching has at times been limited. For example, though most religions disapprove of premarital sexual relations, it has always been widely practiced. Nevertheless, these religious codes have always had a strong influence on peoples' attitudes to sexual issues.
Human sexual activity, even among adolescents, like many other kinds of activity engaged in by humans, is generally influenced by social rules that are culturally specific and vary widely. These social rules are referred to as sexual morality (what can and can not be done by society's rules) and sexual norms (what is and is not expected). There are a number of groups within societies promoting their views of sexual morality in a variety of ways, including through sex education, religious teachings, seeking commitments or virginity pledges, and other means.
Most countries have laws which set a minimum marriage age, with the most common age being 18 years, reduced to 16 in "special circumstances", typically when the female partner is pregnant, but the actual age at first marriage can be considerably higher. Laws also prescribe the minimum age at which a person is permitted to engage in sex, commonly called the age of consent. Social (and the resulting legal) attitudes toward the appropriate age of consent have drifted upwards in modern times. For example, while ages from 10 to 13 were typically acceptable in Western countries during the mid-19th century,[55] the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century were marked by changing attitudes resulting in raising the ages of consent to ages generally ranging from 16 to 18.[56] Today, the age of consent varies from 12 years (or onset of puberty) to 21, but 16 to 18 is the most common range of ages of consent, but some jurisdictions also have a "close-in-age" exception, allowing two adolescents (as young as 12 years of age) to have sex with each other provided their ages are not more than 2 years apart. For the average age at which adolescents have their first sexual experience, see "Prevalence of virginity" above. Some countries outlaw any sex outside marriage entirely.
Historically, and still in many countries and jurisdictions today, a female's sexual experience may be a relevant factor in the prosecution of a perpetrator of rape.[citation needed] Also, historically, a man who "took" a female's virginity could be forced to marry her. In addition, children born as a result of premarital sex were subject to various legal and social disabilities as illegitimate.
[edit]Religious views
Main article: Religion and sexuality
[edit]Buddhism
Main article: Buddhism and sexuality
The most common formulation of Buddhist ethics for lay followers are the Five Precepts and the Eightfold Path. These precepts take the form of voluntary, personal undertakings, not divine mandate or instruction. The third of the Five Precepts is "To refrain from committing sensual misconduct".[57] Sensual misconduct is defined in the Pali Canon as follows:
"Abandoning sensual misconduct, [a man] abstains from sensual misconduct. He does not get sexually involved with those who are protected by their mothers, their fathers, their brothers, their sisters, their relatives, or their Dhamma; those with husbands, those who entail punishments, or even those crowned with flowers by another man."[58]
Virginity, specifically, is not mentioned in the Canon. On the other hand, Buddhist monks and nuns of most traditions are expected to refrain from all sexual activity and the Buddha is said to have admonished his followers to avoid unchastity "as if it were a pit of burning cinders."[59]
[edit]Hinduism
For most of the history of Hinduism, premarital virginity on the part of the bride was ideal- as it is today.[60] The prevailing Hindu marriage ceremony or the Vedic wedding, centers around the Kanyadan ritual, which literally means gift of a virgin, by father of the maiden through which the Hindus believe they gain greatest spiritual merit, and marriages of the daughters are considered a spiritual obligation.[61]
However, in ancient India, virginity was not specially esteemed in the Hindu social system.[citation needed] Sex had never been a taboo in ancient India and intactness of the hymen had nothing to do with virginity.[62]
The worship of virgins, ie.Kumarika pujan, is still observed by many Hindus.[63]
[edit]Judaism
In Judaism, sex within marriage is not considered to be sinful, and is in fact considered a virtue (mitzvah, literally a 'commandment'). Though premarital sex is strongly disapproved of, there is no requirement for a female to be a virgin at her marriage, and a child born to an unmarried female is not regarded as illegitimate (mamzer) or subject to any social or religious disabilities. Jewish law contains rules related to protecting female virgins and dealing with consensual and non-consensual pre-marital sex. Jewish law's guidance on sex is that it should be valued as a wholesome part of life between two married partners.
[edit]Sikhism
In Sikhism, sexual activity occurs only between married individuals. Before marriage it is ill-advised, as it has a high potential of being an indulgence of kaam (lust or extreme sexual desire). Virginity is important aspect of spirituality and it has to be preserved before marriage, or when one is ready to move into another sacred state of being with their significant other.
[edit]Greece and Rome
Virginity was often considered a virtue denoting purity and physical self-restraint and is an important characteristic in Greek mythology.
In Roman times, Vestal Virgins were strictly celibate priestesses of Vesta. They were brought to the temple before puberty and were required to remain celibate for 30 years, on penalty of death.[64] In the documentary, What is a Virgin? it is mentioned that the vestal's virginity was more important for the state than to herself, because the sacred fire that they attended could not be allowed to go out. If a vestal virgin was found having sexual relations she would be buried alive.[65]
[edit]Christianity

Detail of The Reading Madonna by Giorgione (c. 1500)
Paul the Apostle expressed the view that a person's body belongs to God and is God's temple (1 Corinthians 6:13, 3:16) and that premarital sex is sexual immorality and fornication, and is sinful (1 Corinthians 6:18), on an equal level as adultery. (1 Corinthians 6:9) Paul also expressed the view in 1 Corinthians 7:1-7 that sexual abstinence is the preferred state for both men and women. However, recognizing human weakness in matters of sexuality, he countenanced sexual relations, but only between marriage partners within marriage, with premarital and extramarital sex not allowed.
According to classicist Evelyn Stagg and New Testament scholar Frank Stagg, the New Testament holds that sex is reserved for marriage.[66] They maintain that the New Testament teaches that sex outside of marriage is a sin of adultery if either sexual participant is married, otherwise the sin of fornication if both sexual participants are unmarried. An imperative given in 1 Corinthians says, "Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins people commit are outside their bodies, but those who sin sexually sin against their own bodies."[1 Cor 6:18] Those who are sexually immoral or adulterers are listed in 1 Corinthians 6:9 in a list of "wrongdoers who...will not inherit the kingdom of God." Galatians 5:19 and 1 Corinthians 7:2 also address fornication. The Apostolic Decree of the Council of Jerusalem also includes a prohibition of fornication.
Aquinas went further, emphasizing that acts other than copulation destroy virginity, but also clarifying that involuntary sexual pleasure or pollution does not destroy virginity says in his Summa Theologica, "Pleasure resulting from resolution of semen may arise in two ways. If this be the result of the mind's purpose, it destroys virginity, whether copulation takes place or not. Augustine, however, mentions copulation, because such like resolution is the ordinary and natural result thereof. On another way this may happen beside the purpose of the mind, either during sleep, or through violence and without the mind's consent, although the flesh derives pleasure from it, or again through weakness of nature, as in the case of those who are subject to a flow of semen. On such cases virginity is not forfeit, because such like pollution is not the result of impurity which excludes virginity."[67][68]
Some have theorized that the New Testament was not against sex before marriage.[69] The discussion turns on two Greek words — moicheia (μοιχεία, adultery) and porneia (el:πορνεία, fornication see also pornography). The first word is restricted to contexts involving sexual betrayal of a spouse; however, the second word is used as a generic term for illegitimate sexual activity. Elsewhere in 1 Corinthians , incest, homosexual intercourse (according to some interpretations)[70] and prostitution are all explicitly forbidden by name (however, the Septuagint uses "porneia" to refer to male temple prostitution). Paul is preaching about activities based on levitical sexual prohibitions in the context of achieving holiness. The theory suggests it is these, and only these behaviours that are intended by Paul's prohibition in chapter seven.[71] The strongest argument against this theory is that the modern interpretation of the New Testament, outside Corinthians, speaks against premarital sex;[72]
Christian orthodoxy accepts that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a virgin at the time Jesus was conceived, based on the accounts in the gospels of Matthew and Luke.[73] The Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox denominations, additionally hold to the dogma of the perpetual virginity of Mary.[74][75][76] However, most Protestants reject the dogma, citing sources such as Mark 6:3: "Isn't this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And aren't His sisters here with us?". The Catholic Church holds[77] that in Semitic usage the terms "brother," "sister" are applied not only to children of the same parents, but to nephews, nieces, cousins, half-brothers, and half-sisters. Catholics, Orthodox Christians and other groups may refer to Mary as the Virgin Mary or the Blessed Virgin Mary.
There are references to virginity in Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. In the first reference, in Genesis 19:8, Lot offers his virgin daughters to the people of Sodom for undetermined sexual purposes in an attempt to protect his guests, with the implication that the people of Sodom would be more likely to accept the offer in view of the girls' virginity than they would otherwise. The next reference is at Genesis 24:16, where Eliezer is seeking a wife for his master, Abraham's son. He meets Rebekah, and the narrative tells us, "the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her" (in biblical terms, "to know" is a euphemism for sexual relations). It is noteworthy that Eliezer was not instructed to find a virgin bride, nor is anything further said about the prospective bride's virgin status. Exodus 22:16-17 and Deuteronomy 22:28-29 deal with the requirement for a man who seduces or rapes a virgin to marry her and pay a bride price at the virgin rate, which presumably is higher than that for a non-virgin.
Virginity is a recurring theme in the Bible — the nation is frequently personified as "the virgin daughter of Israel" in the prophetic poetry. It is a wistful phrase, since Genesis also says that Israel's (Jacob's) only daughter Dinah was, in fact, raped as she entered the promised land. The Torah also contains laws governing betrothal, marriage and divorce, with particular provisions regarding virginity in Deuteronomy 22.
[edit]Catholic view

Virgo inter Virgines (The Blessed virgin Mary with other holy virgins), anonymous, Bruges, last quarter of the 15th Century.
The Catholic Encyclopedia says: "There are two elements in virginity: the material element, that is to say, the absence, in the past and in the present, of all complete and voluntary delectation, whether from lust or from the lawful use of marriage; and the formal element, that is the firm resolution to abstain forever from sexual pleasure" and that "Virginity is irreparably lost by sexual pleasure, voluntarily and completely experienced."[78] However, for the purposes of consecrated virgins it is canonically enough that they have never been married or lived in open violation of chastity.
[edit]Christian Mysticism and Gnostic Christianity

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2009)
In Christian mysticism, Gnosticism, as well as some Hellenistic religions, there is a female spirit or goddess named Sophia that is said to embody wisdom and who is sometimes described as a virgin.[citation needed] In Roman Catholic mysticism, Hildegard of Bingen celebrated Sophia as a cosmic figure both in her writing and art. Within the Protestant tradition in England, 17th Century Christian Mystic, Universalist and founder of the Philadelphian Society Jane Leade wrote copious descriptions of her visions and dialogues with the "Virgin Sophia" who, she said, revealed to her the spiritual workings of the Universe. Leade was hugely influenced by the theosophical writings of 16th Century German Christian mystic Jakob Böhme, who also speaks of the Sophia in works such as The Way to Christ.[79] Jakob Böhme was very influential to a number of Christian mystics and religious leaders, including George Rapp and the Harmony Society. The Harmony Society was a religious pietist group that lived communally, were pacifistic, and advocated celibacy among its membership.
[edit]Islam
See also: Zina
Islam considers premarital sex to be sinful.[26]
[edit]See also

Sexuality portal
Almah
Brahmacharya
Sworn virgin
Vestal virgin
Virgo (astrology)
Virginity fraud
[edit]References

Notes
^ a b c Carpenter, Laura M. (2001). "The Ambiguity of "Having Sex": The Subjective Experience of Virginity Loss in the United States - Statistical Data Included". United States: The Journal of Sex Research. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m See here and pages 47-49 for male virginity, how gay and lesbian individuals define virginity loss, and for how the majority of researchers and heterosexuals define virginity loss/"technical virginity" by whether or not a person has engaged in vaginal sex. Laura M. Carpenter (2005). Virginity lost: an intimate portrait of first sexual experiences. NYU Press. pp. 295 pages. ISBN 0-8147-1652-0, 9780814716526. Retrieved October 9, 2011. "Many studies, moreover, seemed uncritically to lump nonvirgin teens (so designated if they'd had vaginal sex) together with their alcohol–and drug–using peers 'at risk' for negative outcomes from unintended pregnancy and STIs (sexually transmitted infections) to academic failure and low self-esteem."
^ a b c Bryan Strong, Christine DeVault, Theodore F. Cohen (2010). The Marriage and Family Experience: Intimate Relationship in a Changing Society. Cengage Learning. pp. 186. ISBN 0-534-62425-1, 9780534624255. Retrieved October 8, 2011. "Most people agree that we maintain virginity as long as we refrain from sexual (vaginal) intercourse. ... Other research, especially research looking into virginity loss, reports that 35% of virgins, defined as people who have never engaged in vaginal intercourse, have nontheless engaged in one or more other forms of heterosexual activity (e.g. oral sex, **** sex, or mutual masturbation). ... Data indicate that 'a very significant proportion of teens ha[ve] had experience with oral sex, even if they haven't had sexual intercourse, and may think of themselves as virgins'."
^ a b Friedman, Mindy (September 20, 2005). "Sex on Tuesday: Virginity: A Fluid Issue". The Daily Californian. Retrieved October 6, 2011.
^ Richard D. McAnulty, M. Michele Burnette (2000). Exploring human sexuality: making healthy decisions. Allyn and Bacon. pp. 692 pages. ISBN 0-205-19519-9, 9780205195190.
^ a b c Joseph Gross, Michael (2003). Like a Virgin. The Advocate, Here Publishing. p. 45. 0001-8996. Retrieved 2011-03-13.
^ a b c Hanne Blank (2008). Virgin: The Untouched History. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. pp. 304 pages. ISBN 1-59691-011-9, 9781-59691-011-9. Retrieved October 8, 2011.
^ Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short, 'virgo', in A Latin Dictionary.
^ 'virgin' in American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language.
^ 'Virgin', Online Etymology Dictionary.
^ 'Consecrated virgins and widows', Catechism of the Catholic Church 922–24.
^ Release dates for The 40-Year-Old Virgin at the Internet Movie Database
^ Phimosis-circumcision.com[dead link]
^ a b "The emotional stress of serial non-marriage plays havoc with the possibility of partnering for life." Angela Shanahan, 'Sex revolution robbed us of fertility', The Australian 15 September 2007.
^ Frederic C. Wood (1968, Digitized July 23, 2008). Sex and the new morality. Association Press, 1968/Original from the University of Michigan. pp. 157 pages.
^ a b c Mark Regnerus (2007). "The Technical Virginity Debate: Is Oral Sex Really Sex?". Forbidden fruit: sex & religion in the lives of American teenagers. Oxford University Press US. pp. 290 pages. ISBN 978-0-19-532094-7.
^ a b c d e Jayson, Sharon (2005-10-19). "'Technical virginity' becomes part of teens' equation". USA Today. Retrieved 2009-08-07.
^ a b Karen Bouris (1995). The first time: what parents and teenage girls should know about "losing your virginity". Conari Press. pp. 198. ISBN 0-943233-93-3, 9780943233932.
^ Sonya S. Brady, PhD and Bonnie L. Halpern-Felsher, PhD (2007). "Adolescents' Reported Consequences of Having Oral Sex Versus Vaginal Sex". Pediatrics 119 (2): 229–236. doi:10.1542/peds.2006-1727. PMID 17272611.
^ a b Cox, Lauren (March 8, 2010). "Study: Adults Can't Agree What 'Sex' Means". ABC.com. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
^ "Perception That Teens Frequently Substitute Oral Sex For Intercourse A Myth" (Press release). 2008-05-20. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
^ Randall, H. E., & Byers, S. E. (2003). "What is sex? Students’ definitions of having sex, sexual partner, and unfaithful sexual behaviour". The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality 12: 87–96. "Recently, researchers in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia have investigated university students' definitions of having sex. These studies found that students differ in their opinions of what sexual behaviours constitute having sex (Pitts & Rahman, 2001; Richters & Song, 1999; Sanders & Reinisch, 1999). While the vast majority of respondents (more than 97%) in these three studies included penile-vaginal intercourse in their definition of sex, fewer (between 70% and 90%) respondents considered penile-**** intercourse to constitute having sex. Oral-genital behaviours were defined as sex by between 32% and 58% of respondents."
^ a b "Virginity Pledges Don't Cut STD Rates". WebMD.com.
^ a b Brückner and Bearman; Bearman, Peter (April). "After the promise: The STD consequences of adolescent virginity pledges". Journal of Adolescent Health 36 (4): 271–278. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2005.01.005. PMID 15780782.
^ a b "Muslim women in France regain virginity in clinics". Reuters. April 30, 2007.
^ a b c d Linda Rae Bennett (2005). Women, Islam and modernity: single women, sexuality and reproductive health in contemporary Indonesia. Psychology Press. pp. 183 pages. ISBN 0-415-32929-9, 9780415329293. Retrieved October 9, 2011.
^ Exodus 22:16-17, Deuteronomy 22:28-29. See also Shotgun wedding.
^ Brockhaus 2004, Kranzgeld
^ a b Perlman, Sally E.; Nakajyma, Steven T. and Hertweck, S. Paige (2004). Clinical protocols in pediatric and adolescent gynecology. Parthenon. pp. 131. ISBN 1-84214-199-6.
^ a b The London medical and physical journal, Volume 51. Harvard University. Digitized May 15, 2007. Retrieved October 8, 2011.
^ a b Kathleen Coyne Kelly (2000). Performing virginity and testing chastity in the Middle Ages. Volume 2 of Routledge research in medieval studies. Psychology Press. pp. 197. ISBN 0-415-22181-1, 9780415221818. Retrieved October 8, 2011.
^ Torn hymen (virgin or not?)
^ Emans, S. Jean. "Physical Examination of the Child and Adolescent" (2000) in Evaluation of the Sexually Abused Child: A Medical Textbook and Photographic Atlas, Second edition, Oxford University Press. 61-65
^ McCann, J; Rosas, A. and Boos, S. (2003) "Child and adolescent sexual assaults (childhood sexual abuse)" in Payne-James, Jason; Busuttil, Anthony and Smock, William (eds). Forensic Medicine: Clinical and Pathological Aspects, Greenwich Medical Media: London, a)p.453, b)p.455 c)p.460.
^ The Marks of Childhood or the Marks of Abuse?, The New York Times
^ a b c d Marysol Asencio (2002). Sex and sexuality among New York's Puerto Rican youth. Lynne Rienner Publishers. pp. 197 pages. ISBN 1-58826-073-9, 9781588260734. Retrieved October 9, 2011.
^ a b c d e f g Bozon, Michael. 'At what age do women and men have their first sexual intercourse? World comparisons and recent trends'. Population and Societies 391 (2003) 1–4.
^ a b Christine A. Colón, Bonnie E. Field (2009). Singled Out: Why Celibacy Must Be Reinvented in Today's Church. Brazos Press. pp. 256 pages. ISBN 1-58743-237-4, 9781587432378. Retrieved October 9, 2011.
^ a b c d A. Leigh, Jennifer (June 27, 2009). "Male Virginity Myths". Psychology Today. Retrieved October 9, 2011.
^ Guttmacher Institute (2003) In Their Own Right: Addressing the Sexual and Reproductive Health Needs of Men Worldwide. pages 19–21.
^ Godeau, Emmanuelle; Nic Gabhainn, Saoirse; Vignes, Ce´line; Ross, Jim; Boyce, Will; Todd, Joanna (January 2008). "Contraceptive Use by 15-Year-Old Students at Their Last Sexual Intercourse Results From 24 Countries". Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine 162 (1). Retrieved 14 January 2012.
^ a b UNICEF. (2001). A League Table of Teenage Births in Rich Nations PDF (888 KB). Retrieved July 7, 2006.
^ Godeau E, Nic Gabhainn S, Vignes C, Ross J, Boyce W, Todd J (January 2008). "Contraceptive use by 15-year-old students at their last sexual intercourse: results from 24 countries". Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 162 (1): 66–73. doi:10.1001/archpediatrics.2007.8. PMID 18180415.
^ U.S.Teen Sexual Activity PDF (147 KB) Kaiser Family Foundation, January 2005. Retrieved 23 Jan 2007
^ The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. (1997). What the Polling Data Tell Us: A Summary of Past Surveys on Teen Pregnancy. Retrieved July 13, 2006.
^ Allen, Colin. (May 22, 2003). "Peer Pressure and Teen Sex." Psychology Today.'.' Retrieved July 14, 2006.
^ Judith Mackay, The Penguin Atlas of Human Sexual Behavior, Myriad Editions, published by Penguin, 2000; ISBN 978-0-14-051479-7 Human Sexual Behavior Atlas
^ a b Durex 2005 Face of global sex report
^ "Teen Sex Survey". Channel 4. 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-

I Beg to Differ, Mister Wiki! YOU are far too wordy on this subject, you defy understanding of this word for me!!!

This quote DEFINES THE WORD FOR ME:

"Sex without love is ridiculous. Sex follows love, it never precedes it." — Sophia Loren


Final analysis of my definition= A "virgin" is one who has never had "sexual intercourse" with another which included LOVE, such "sex"="unfounded"imo, and "ridiculous" in Ms. Loren's opinion.

thus...2 adult children, 2 grandchildren...26 years of an abusive marriage, (yes, your spouse CAN RAPE YOU!), abused sexually prior to memory and throughout my marriage~~~

I will, by MY DEFINITION OF THE WORD lay claim to this Title!

..............some of you on this thread sound as if you have the same definition of the word "Virgin" I send you all my hugs!

Including the OP, (((((IT))))) LOVE, a relationship, and Meaning must be part of the act!. in accord with my definition!..............sorry Mister Wiki was so long. --theoldestvirago here........lol (4 meanings for "virago"~~~no, not the car, and no, not the vestal virgin, and may haps the "bothersome woman"? ...or possibly the Hellenistic female warrior ???????? No one tried to define the term before).......**grinning, most innocently here, ankles crossed too! lolol*** PAX ALL!!

A description fit for me!

Except I am a 22 year old virgin, average weight, with Asperger’s Syndrome, PTSD, and an extensive history of SI.

Just myself to talk to all day while feeling unlovable.

Sophia Loren probably falls in love easily, hence her definition.

((((((((hampster_bamster))))))) --that is not true from what I have read of her; many fell in love with her, (Cary Grant, amongst all her leading men! but she was married to Carlo Ponti, and believes in the vows of marriage) and she loved none of them.

I can relate to that on a personal level. She grew up in filth and squalor, during a bad time of famine in Europe. She was poor, and always believed herself to be "Ugly"> can you believe?

I relate to her views on many levels, inclusive was being an "ugly" duckling, knowing there was only one man out there for her/me, and that life is NOW! and it is to be lived --with spaghetti! LOLOLOL Especially if you knew famine and neglect and abuse as a child.

Sophia Loren loved one man in her life to whom she was married for 50 years, she was 15, he 37 when they married..... she was with him till his death.
She is alone today...following his death. She had two children with him. It must have been a great blow to her to lose him. But she goes on living...

She is 78 today, and still views life with hope, and anticipation. A woman of great fortitude! If what I read is true, and I believe it is!~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My point in my post is that "Casual Sex," "Sex for the sake of 'Experimentation'", "Sex without commitment to a relationship based on trust, friendship, and REAL LOVE" or "Nonconsensual sex" does not count. Rape is not sex. Rape is AN ACT OF VIOLENCE!--therefore, IT does not count in my definition!

In my life...LOOOOOOONG! I have learned to define most things in accord with what feels "right" inside me; thusly: I have always believed that Sex is the EXPRESSION of LOVE in physical form, and it must be wonderful! I have ne'er experienced such, nor have many I have spoken with!...."Falling in Love" does not="LOVE" for me, it means "Infatuation" and that is not worth trusting another in a world rife with AIDS, HERPES...in other words, it is not worth risking your life for. pax.

Hence,

by my own definition of the word "Virgin" which Mister Wiki insists on being utterly "Ambiguous" about in his definition:

I take the Title.......... kill the thread...

and send much love to all my fellow "Virgins" on this thread who fit MY definition of this most "Ambiguous" word!

Postscript: I am also a "Virgin" to skydiving..............la di da

Wow, Virago, I had no idea that Sophia Loren believed herself to be ugly!

Sent you a Wiki on her hamster-bamster... Yes......................

Yes, an admirable woman:

“I was so skinny, they gave me the nickname stechetto - the stick. I was tall, thin, ugly and dark like an Arab girl. I looked strange. All eyes. No flesh on my bones.”~~~
Sophia Loren

and I looked much like that as a young girl too; and I am half Christian Lebanese/half Swedish... I was "strange looking" till I was 9 or ten..still thought I was "ugly"... I'm only "ugly" now when I think "ugly" thoughts....I think that goes for all of us, yes?

KUDOS to all the Virgins on this thread........................gotta fly.......la di da ankles-crossed--ain't easy either.