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Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse.^[1][2] There are cultural and religious traditions which place special value and significance on this state (predominantly towards unmarried females) associated with notions of personal purity, honor and worth.

The term virgin originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern, and ethical concepts.^[3][5][6][7] Heterosexual individuals may or may not consider loss of virginity to occur only through penile-vaginal penetration,^[3][6][8][9] while people of other sexual orientations often include oral sex, anal sex or mutual masturbation in their definitions of losing one's virginity.^[3][7][10]

The concept of virginity usually involves moral or religious issues and can have consequences in terms of social status and within interpersonal relationships.^[3][4] Although virginity has had significant legal implications in some societies in the past, it has no legal consequences in most societies today. ***The social implications of virginity still remain in many societies, and can have varying affects on an individual's social agency based upon location.***

Cultural value

The first act of sexual intercourse by a female is 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.

The traditional cultural expectation is that a female will not engage in premarital sex, and after a wedding will "give up" her virginity to her new husband in the act of consummation of the marriage. Such views have at times encouraged feminine sexual practices to revolve around the idea of females waiting to have sex until after marriage.^[31]

In some cultures, it is so important that an unmarried female be a virgin that such a female will refrain from inserting any object into her vagina, such as a tampon, menstrual cup or undergoing some medical examinations, so as not to damage the hymen.^{[citation needed]} 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.^[32] Within some societies, 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.^[4] In some parts of Africa, the myth that sex with a virgin can cure HIV/AIDS continues to prevail, leading to girls and women being raped.^[33][34]

In many western cultures, advocacy of sexual abstinence has seen a decline over time, and there are fewer social consequences for a female who loses her virginity prior to marriage.

Virginity is regarded as a valuable commodity in some cultures. In the past, within most societies a woman's options for marriage were largely dependent upon her status as a virgin. Those women who were not virgins experienced dramatically decreased options for a socially advantageous marriage, and in some instances the premarital loss of virginity eliminated their chances of marriage. Though there is scholarly debate over its legal roots, droit du seigneur ("the lord's right", often conflated with the Latin phrase "jus primae noctis") was a historical cultural practice which 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. Modern virginity auctions, like that of Natalie Dylan, are discussed in the 2013 documentary How to Lose Your Virginity.

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.^[35] 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".^[36]

Virginity as a Social Construct

***Some psychologists and sociologists have made the argument that the notion of virginity is itself a social construct, with "diverse meanings to sexual activity" spanning across societies. Sociologists frequently argue that to conceptualize female virginity as being directly dependent upon intactness of the hymen only serves to erase both male heterosexual virginity and non-heteronormative virginities.

These academics also point out that the variety of emotional and social experiences upon losing virginity across global societies further reinforces the concept of virginity as a social construct. Such scholars will cite the evolution of sexual behavior in United States adolescents throughout the early 1900s through the 2000s as an example of perceptions of virginity adapting to fit changing societal norms for within a particular demographic. In regards to shifting definitions of virginity, Laura Carpenter notes that "increasing awareness of and tolerance for lesbigay sexuality" have caused heterosexual individuals to over time reconceptualize what acts they consider a loss of virginity. Scholars who share Carpenter's views tend to assert sliding definitions for virginity indicate that virginity is closer to a social construct than a physiological state.

Feminist writer Jessica Valenti has described the societal focus on women's virginity as a way of projecting moral judgement onto female sexuality. Within her novel The Purity Myth, she describes what she considers a culture which conflates a woman's value with the sexual purity conferred by virginity. She cites examples of culture which reinforce the importance of virginity, such as Purity balls and societal associations between youth, purity, and innocence. Valenti also addresses what she believes are inconsistent definitions in regards to what constitutes virginity, particularly in regards to many definitions focusing on women rather than those of another gender. She writes that the level of societal emphasis on a state of virginity began as a means of differentiating women as commodities, and is now a way of arbitrarily measuring a woman's morality through her ability to "resist" the temptations of sexual intercourse.***

Ancient Greece and Rome

Virginity was often considered a virtue denoting purity and physical self-restraint and is an important characteristic in Greek mythology.

***In ancient Greek literature such as the Homeric Hymns, there are references to the Parthenon goddesses Artemis, Athena, and Hestia proclaiming pledges to eternal virginity (Greek: παρθενία). However, it has been argued a maiden's state of parthenia (Greek: παρθένος), as invoked by these deities, carries a slightly different meaning from what is normally understood as virginity in western religions such as Christianity. Rather, parthenia focused more on marriageability and abstract concepts without strict physical requirements which would be adversely affected, but not entirely relinquished, by pre-marital sexual intercourse. For these reasons, other goddesses not eternally committed to parthenia within the Homeric Hymns are able to renew theirs through ritual (such as Hera) or choose an appearance which implies the possession of it (such as Aphrodite).***

In Roman times, the Vestal Virgins were the highly respected, strictly celibate (although not necessarily virginal) priestesses of Vesta, and keepers of the sacred fire of Vesta. The Vestals were committed to the priesthood before puberty (when 6–10 years old) and sworn to celibacy for a period of 30 years.^[76] The chastity of the Vestals was considered to have a direct bearing on the health of the Roman state. Allowing the sacred fire of Vesta to die out, suggesting that the goddess had withdrawn her protection from the city, was a serious offence and was punishable by scourging.^[77] Because a Vestal's chastity was thought to be directly correlated to the sacred burning of the fire, if the fire were extinguished it might be assumed that a Vestal had been unchaste. The penalty for a Vestal Virgin found to have had sexual relations while in office was being buried alive.^[76]

Islam

See also: Zina

Islam considers extramarital sex to be sinful and forbidden.^[4] Though Islamic law prescribes punishments for Muslim men and women for the act of zinā, in practice it is an extremely difficult offense to prove, requiring four respectable witnesses to the actual act of penetration. Though in Western cultures premarital sex and loss of virginity may be considered shameful to the individual, in some Muslim societies an act of premarital sex, even if not falling within the legal standards of proof, may result in personal shame and loss of family honor.^[4]

***In some modern-day largely Muslim societies such as Turkey, vaginal examinations for verifying a woman's virginity are a clinical practice which are at times state-enforced. These types of examinations are typically ordered for women who go against traditional societal notions of "public morality and rules of modesty", though in 1999 the Turkish penal code was altered to require a woman's consent prior to performing such an examination.***