Virgin: The Untouched History
Back in high school and college, the topic of virginity was one of those topics that eventually got discussed in every group I was in. We all knew the virginity status of everyone in swing choir (in high school), at least at the beginning of the school year, and in my college dorm, the swiftly-changing virginity status of everyone was tracked with the sort of dedicated accuracy that should’ve earned us job offers from Bush Sr.’s Star Wars program (this being the early ’90’s). I don’t know quite how it is these days, but I’ve read those articles about “pledges of abstinence” and how teenagers have butt-sex in order to keep their virginity intact enough to know that it’s hardly no big deal.
What I’m trying to say here, is that even though we’ve, yes, come a long way baby, the topic of virginity is still hot, in more ways than one. Which brings me to this week’s book, Virgin: The Untouched History by Hanne Blank. Well-researched, well-written and extremely fascinating, this book takes a hard look at the history of one of the world’s slipperiest states of being. Divided into two sections, Blank tackles first the biological side, examining factors such as the hymen’s discovery, history and role in determining virginity and taking a hard look at the myth that having sex with a virgin will cure you of STI’s (spoiler: it won’t), as well as other fascinating biological misunderstandings, myths and actual facts. The second half of the book tackles the thorny cultural side, from misconceptions to horrific traditions surrounding this nebulous state of being. Beginning in ancient Greece and moving up through Buffy the Vampire Slayer (which earns major cool points with us), the role of virginity in society is examined in engrossing detail. It’s the kind of book that is both hard to put down and extremely educational at the same time, a combination that I find extremely satisfying. Two fins up!
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