{"id":29129,"date":"2013-03-24T16:40:00","date_gmt":"2013-03-24T20:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"\/news\/?p=29129"},"modified":"2013-03-23T11:16:06","modified_gmt":"2013-03-23T15:16:06","slug":"virgin-sacred-choice-or-shameful-status","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/virgin-sacred-choice-or-shameful-status\/","title":{"rendered":"Virgin: Sacred choice or shameful status?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"sean-lowe-Giudici\"<\/a>Our society is obsessed with talking about sex, regardless if you\u2019re having it or not. Take for instance the recent March\u00a0cover<\/a> of People<\/em> magazine, which featured the title, \u201cBachelor<\/em>\u2019s Sean & Catherine, Waiting for Our Wedding night.\u201d To make things a bit clearer, they added below the title, \u201cNo sex until ‘I do.\u2019\u201d The cover may intrigue those who scratch their heads, wondering in earnest why anyone would (gasp) wait<\/em> to have sex.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not a fan of The Bachelor<\/em>. Twenty-plus girls making out with one guy who professes his love to multiple ladies isn\u2019t my cup of tea. Nevertheless, I think it\u2019s interesting that America is so intrigued by Sean\u2019s \u201cborn-again virgin\u201d status. A “BAV” in Sean\u2019s definition stands for someone who\u2019s had sex in the past but no longer chooses to. A common and accepted word for that lifestyle choice is “celibate.”<\/p>\n

In 2012, 29-year-old Olympic track star Lola Jones made headlines<\/a> for this statement about her virginity:<\/p>\n

It\u2019s just something, a gift that I want to give to my husband.\u00a0But please understand this journey has been hard. If there\u2019s virgins out there, I just want to let them know, it\u2019s the hardest thing I\u2019ve ever done in my life. Harder than\u00a0training\u00a0for the Olympics, harder than graduating from college, it’s been to stay a virgin before marriage.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Lolo_Jones\"

Photo by Erik van Leeuwen.<\/p><\/div>\n

While Lola\u2019s decision was respected by some, others openly mocked her for it. The Blaze<\/em> reports<\/a>:<\/p>\n

After Jones came in fourth place during the finals of the 100-meter hurdles on Tuesday, many Twitter users started talking about her sex life. Using the loss as an opportunity to lambaste the athlete, they seemed to allege that, had she been sexually active, perhaps she would have performed better at the Olympics.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Football star Tim Tebow is considered one of sport\u2019s most famous virgins. Ashley\u00a0Madison (the\u00a0despicable\u00a0website that sets up adulterous affairs) offered 1 million dollars to anyone who could offer proof of having had sex with Tebow. CEO and Founder Noel Biderman said in a news release<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201cSports and sex (and of course, infidelity) go hand in hand. If Mr. Tebow is indeed abstaining from adult relationships, I would encourage him to find a nice lady or two and enjoy his youth and fame as much as possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are beyond the days where pre-marital sex has a social stigma, and it is my hope that soon we will also feel the same about infidelity.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Biderman may be partly right in his assumptions that we’re beyond the days where premarital sex has a social stigma. However, his million-dollar bounty was never claimed. That proves there are still people in the world who value waiting for marriage.<\/p>\n

The Washington Times<\/em> reports these facts<\/a> on teenagers and sexual activity:<\/p>\n

According to a 2011 survey from the National Center for Health Statistics,\u00a068 percent of boys and 67 percent of girls between the ages of 15 and 17 have never had sexual intercourse<\/a>. A 2009 survey commissioned by\u00a0government agencies including the Department of Health and Human Services<\/a>\u00a0further found that adolescents opposed pre-marital sexual intercourse both in general and for themselves, with 53 percent strongly or somewhat agreeing that it\u2019s against their values to have sex before marriage and 62 percent strongly or somewhat agreeing that sex is something only married people should do.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I find the efforts of one group super-encouraging. Pinky Promise<\/a> is a movement comprising 9,000-plus mostly minority women\u00a0who’ve\u00a0committed themselves to abstain from sex before marriage if they’re single and stay faithful to their spouses if already married.<\/p>\n

Some people believe that waiting ’til marriage is a joke. Comedian Chelsea Handler recently made news<\/a> for the rude comments she made assuming Taylor Swift’s multiple break-ups were the result of her being a virgin who refuses to give it up. Chelsea, who wrote the book<\/a> My\u00a0Horizontal\u00a0Love Life: A Collection of One-Night Stands<\/em>, <\/em>has no problem sharing her sexcapades with the world, yet she thinks virginity is a laughing matter.<\/p>\n

Abstaining from sex is a decision that should be respected. People who chose abstinence are making a brave choice. I\u2019m a 31-year-old woman who\u2019s proud to admit I\u2019m a virgin who’s waiting for my wedding night to have sex. I wholeheartedly support abstinence education because I believe that it teaches people valuable lessons on self-worth, self-discipline, patience, commitment, loyalty, and responsibility.<\/p>\n

Even Planned Parenthood has to admit that abstinence has its benefits. On their website, they share these<\/a> questions and answers:<\/p>\n

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