Root of the Construct
There are significant connections from virginity to the patriarchal conventions of our society and more specifically male ownership. Virginity has been used as a social and borderline economic agent for centuries. Fathers, in the traditional role as head-of-household during the middle ages, would use their daughter’s virginity as a bargaining tool in order to gain wealth, property, or status by trading the virgin bride into marriage for a dowry [ 5 ]. Virginity was also used as a ‘medical miracle’ as it supposedly cured cases of syphilis and gonorrhea in Europe during the 16th century. This sentiment is still considered in sub-Saharan Africa today as it is seen as a cure for HIV [ 6 ]. Not only do these medical misconceptions put women in danger, but they perpetuate the disregard for female bodily autonomy in their own sexual exploration. It reinforces male ownership that passes from father to husband during a marriage agreement. In a traditional marriage, when a woman loses her maiden name and takes on that of her husband, she is also expected to lose any self-preserved sexual identity she had prior.
The root of virginity still presents itself in American culture today with examples like the Purity Ball, a dance or celebration practiced in which daughters ‘vow their chastity’ to their fathers until marriage [ 7 ]. These ‘celebrations’ are often accompanied by a promise ring and stark white dresses to engage in the notion of purity. Many of the girls involved in these dances are between the ages of 5 and 18, promising their sexual freedom to their fathers before even entering adulthood. The tradition encourages a direct handoff from paternal to marital ownership. This ownership has remained medical as well, as practices like hymen tests exist to ‘prove’ whether or not a female has been sexually active as well as hymen reattachment surgery that women can get in order to regain a ‘false virginity.’
References
[ 5 ] Schlegel, Alice. “Status, Property, and the Value on Virginity.” American Ethnologist 18, no. 4 (1991): 719–34. http://www.jstor.org/stable/645449.
[ 6 ] d'Avignon, Angella. 2016. “Why Have We Always Been So Obsessed With Virginity?” Medium. https://medium.com/the-establishment/a-quick-and-dirty-history-of-virginity-9ceb24b7e08a.
[ 7 ] Weiss, Natasha. 2020. “Losing Your Virginity Is An Outdated Term.” INTIMINA. https://www.intimina.com/blog/losing-your-virginity/.