OPEN SCENE: MOM and DAUGHTER are walking through a sunny vale.

Daughter: "Mom, is there ever a time that you feel, not so virginal?"
Mom: "Of course, sweetheart. I've been married to your father for 30 years and had you and your brother and sister."
Daughter: "I know mom, but I just want to wear white for the wedding, not mother-of-pearl or 'hussy white.'"
Mom: "Oh, is there something I should know about? You know Danny Peterman doesn't count."
Daughter: "Hah, tell me about it. It's just that Keith's family is really old fashioned and they expect a little spotting on the wedding night sheets."
Mom: "Oh, … Read More

There has been a glut of virginity talk lately, on top of the howaboutthat stories regarding men and women having their v-card intact until an advanced age. Like the 36-year-old virgin blogger. Or the Albanian women who chose chastity and maidenhood so they could be the men of their houses. These stories are nowhere near as hilarious as something featuring Steve Carell. They're sad and touching and don't feature the underrated Catherine Keener in any capacity. There was even a brief Jane Austen craze in 2007. And the dubious achievement of hymen repair (or replacement).

Then Russel … Read More

Tales of a 36-Year-Old Virgin is a series of incredibly moving posts on BlogHer by a woman calling herself Always Beginning the World (click that link to see all five installments).

ABW describes how, during her first OBGYN exam, the doctor told her that her vagina was "unusually small." So little, in fact, that she couldn't have sex, use tampons or even receive a pap smear. ABW went through life "isolated on my own little island, in an icy ocean called celibacy."

More than twenty years later ABW found out that the doctors she consulted as … Read More

When a promise ring is not enough, abstinence-promoting underwear might do the trick.

Printed with slogans such as "True Love Will Wait" and "Earn your right to wear white: Abstain.", it's hard to tell if these $11 white cotton thongs are marketed facetiously or seriously as a last-ditch effort to preserve one's virginity. I can't imagine parents of abstinence-abiding teens would be excited to buy an undergarment that only exists thanks to form-fitting clothing, let alone one meant to be read by a second party. Regardless, we'll call the undies both inspiring and clever. My favorite pair? An image … Read More

Time magazine this weekend commented on the increasing frequency of hymenoplasty, surgery to recreate the hymen, or at least skin that will bleed during sex, in order to establish the appearance of virginity in women whose innocence-indicators have broken. The surgery is common in France, where some young women are expected to produce bloody bridal sheets or face humiliation and hostility.

With the advent of the surgery women are now able to do whatever they want -- have sex, ride horses, use large dildos, … Read More