Hypocrisy Surrounding Virginity

This is sad but true, in India even today, virginity seems to be somewhat proportional to one's character. You and I may completely disagree with the above statement, however, most if not all, people are in sync with this thought.

On one side we have some women who consider their virginity as some sort of a 'treasure box', whose key they are saving for their prince charming, aka their future husband. And on the other side are the men, who simply can't wait to get rid off their virginity tag (no waiting till Suhaag Raat for them). Some of these very men are so bloody keen to marry a bride who has an intact hymen.

The Indian mentality completely stinks on the topic of virginity. Women who lose their virgin status before marriage are labeled as whores, sluts and all sorts of demeaning/insulting names one could think of. Whereas for the men, it's more of a 'counting numbers' game. The more they get in bed, the more they are regarded as casanovas, hot property and eligible bachelors.

This makes me wonder why even in the 21st century there is so much hypocrisy and double standards surrounding physical intimacy. After all, what does virginity has to do with character? Why can't we take physical intimacy just for what it is?

While browsing the net, I came across this very interesting article written by an 18 year old named Prerona Prasad. In this article she has brilliantly reasoned the concept of virginity as an outdated idea.

Virgin wool, virgin oil, virgin forests-ever wonder why these terms evoke images of purity in our minds? It is because the meaning of the word virgin is pure. Although it is very easy to distinguish between the pure and the impure as far as objects and commodities are concerned, how far is it justified to apply the same principles of judgment to human beings? Does being a virgin lead us towards becoming higher, purer life forms? Or, does being sexually experienced bar one from leading a moral and wholesome life? In short, can virginity, in human beings, be linked with purity?

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It's easy to be flippant but there is a darker side to all of this. If boys are pressurised into discussing sexual exploits, they're either risking their lives in the arms of sex workers or are taking on tremendous feelings of guilt and inadequacy by fabricating tales of sexual conquests. Thus, the pressures of both, keeping one's virginity and losing it, have disastrous effects on our minds and bodies. Wouldn't it be better then, to get rid of this artificial concept of virginity altogether?

As far as I am concerned I will say that I believe that someone's sex life should be dictated by them and that what is right or wrong should be determined by an individual not the majority or a minority of people. It's high time we take sex as a natural need instead a yardstick to measure one's character. It's important to understand that sex isn't simply about penetration, just as being a virgin shouldn't define you as a person. Quite simply, it can mean as much or as little to your life as you like.