HOME | POLITICS | SPORTS | LIFE | SCI/TECH | OPEDS | HELPFUL TIPS
|
Jan. 14, 2005 After an email conversation with a friend about olive oil, I have been thinking about the value of virginity. Not of extra virgin olive oil, but of women. It is quite a difficult subject, absolutely loaded with social and historical resonances. Looking back into human history, women have usually been dominated by men. In many (most?) societies their lower status made them chattels of their males. Society could not imagine the situation in which they had the freedom to choose who to have sex with, or when to start. Those decisions belonged to males. They did not own the access to their own bodies, and virginity became a symbol of their submission. The husband with a virgin bride knew that she had followed the male rules as a child and would continue to do so as his wife. In the days before organised religion, virginity in their wives, sisters and daughters was a concept treasured by men. They did not value it at all highly in themselves, of course, and took every opportunity to indulge in illicit sex with other men’s women. And then came organised religion to provide a philosophical rationale for men’s view of virginity. Clerics of Judaism, Christianity and Islam all assured us that women are essentially evil, tainted by Original Sin, and given half a chance will behave in a lewd and lustful manner - and lose their virginities. (Which women did they meet? That doesn’t sound like anyone I’m aware of.) These clerics are the ones responsible for equating ‘virgin’ with ‘pure’. We’re back to the olive oil – the best oil is the purest i.e. Extra Virgin. If we want to look at Christianity’s attitude to women, read Paul’s opinions of women and marriage. He was the primary ideologue of the early Church and looked at them both as necessary evils. And, of course, he followed the contemporary culture in condemning any woman who went to her marriage in a less than Extra Virgin condition. Sex before marriage is a SIN. Men had always said so and – surprise, surprise – the Church had the same opinion. Perhaps it is in Islam today that we see the clearest examples of cultural taboos being expressed in a religious guise. In Saudi Arabia a woman may not drive a car (immodest), wear short sleeves (immodest), complain about male chauvinism in public (immodest) or demand a divorce from an errant husband (definitely immodest). And as for unmarried non-virgins, well, stoning is too good for them. None of this has anything to do with God’s requirements, any more than has priestly celibacy in the Roman Catholic Church. So what is it that makes modern society value virginity so highly? In religious terms, it does signify that a girl has not committed the ultimate sexual sin, but it is a bit of a black and white qualification. It says nothing about what she might have done on the sliding scale between holding hands (probably not too sinful) and indulging in the wide variety of sexual practices that we don’t discuss on Useless Knowledge (very definitely very SINFUL, in capital letters). Note that these ideas ONLY apply if you accept their attached religion. Athetists are exempt. In non-religious terms, virginity is much less valued in the modern Western world. A 25 year old virgin woman might be suspected of a personality disorder. In more traditional Middle Eastern societies, virginity in women is still highly prized by men. Women – pillars of the status quo as always – tend to support them. Men want their brides to be virgins for the same reason that they want the women in their families to dress ‘modestly’ and wear head-scarves – because they want to reinforce their dominance over women. Personally, I always steered clear of known virgins in my younger days. I hope my grown-up kids will have played the field and gained a wide range of experience with relationships before they settle down. So what is the value of virginity? Not a great deal, if you ask me. I prefer to buy my oil in my own bottle from a Mediterranean village. It is rich and aromatic, and the smell coming from a pan of fried eggs is heavenly. And definitely not virginal. ------------ About the author: Eric lives in tropical Queensland and writes books - some naughty, some nice - that can be found through Renaissance eBooks (renebooks.com) He reads widely and when he is not thinking about lunch, worries about the state of the world. Email: ericge@westnet.com.au Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
||||||
|
|
|||||||
|
