by Why His Purity Doesn’t Matter
The striking disparity between how religious communities treat male versus female virginity reveals that purity culture has always been about controlling women specifically, not promoting sexual morality generally.
Identical sexual behavior receives completely different responses based on gender. A sexually active teenage girl faces community scandal, family disappointment, and diminished marriage prospects. A sexually active teenage boy faces mild disapproval followed by shoulder shrugs and “boys will be boys” acceptance.
Purity ceremonies demonstrate the gap perfectly. Father-daughter purity balls where girls pledge virginity to their fathers are common. Mother-son equivalents? Essentially nonexistent. The asymmetry isn’t subtle.
Virginity testingmedically invalid procedures that persist anywayapplies almost exclusively to women. Male virginity cannot be physically verified, but religious communities show no interest in developing equivalent invasive procedures for men. The goal is female control, not consistent standards.
Marriage negotiations in traditional communities assess female virginity carefully while treating male sexual history as largely irrelevant. The commodity being traded isn’t general virtueit’s specifically female sexual purity.
Religious authorities defending these double standards typically resort to arguments about “different roles” or “natural differences” that conveniently justify whatever existing power structures prefer. The theological reasoning adapts to justify predetermined conclusions.
Young women increasingly reject these double standards, creating generational conflicts as they demand equality in both expectations and consequences. Religious institutions respond with defensive traditionalism that accelerates youth departure from religious communities.
SOURCE: https://newsstand.us/the-virginity-rankings/
SOURCE: Bohiney.com (https://newsstand.us/the-virginity-rankings/)
