Virginity
VIRGINITY is the condition of young male and female persons who have not had sexual intercourse and have preserved their sexual innocence. This state is partly biologically determined, in that children do not yet have sexual potency; but that condition can be voluntarily or obligatorily extended until marriage, so that virginal status becomes a social fact. The significance of virginity, therefore, has to be understood in a wider social context, in which it bears specific symbolic meanings. A basic fact in every society is the organization of the relationship of men and women into various kinship systems to guarantee the reproduction of the human species. Being a complete man or woman presupposes sexual potency and activity. A virgin boy or girl has not yet reached the condition of full maturity, and therefore retains a purity that makes him or her more suited for certain religious functions or specific activities.
In Classical Greece and Rome, virgin children of living parents often assisted with religious ceremonies. In Greece, they had the task of cutting the olive branches with which the victors at Delphi and at the Olympic games were crowned. They also had a ceremonial role at weddings comparable to that of bridesmaids and pages, who are supposed to be unmarried and consequently virgins.
This is a free page. This page contains 201 words. This
article contains 2,561 words (approx. 9 pages at 300
words per page).
Read the rest of this Article with our Virginity Access Pass.
