Many times, I have wondered and pondered a lot if other parts of the world take virginity as seriously as our society does. I’m not really the type of person that launches into controversial religiously) debates, otherwise, I would have gone ahead to do some research to know if the way our system gives deep value and weight to virginity is the same elsewhere especially in the bible days. To me, as much as I value and respect virginity, I think it’s a mere social construct, and the society has attached to it so many attributes we are living with today.
Thank God that the weight attached to virginity is reducing drastically. Ohhh! I shouldn’t say “Thank God,” right? Lol.😅
But the truth remains that the weight of societal attachment to virginity has reduced a lot because, back in those days, a lady who was not yet married and had been deflowered was rated as a loose lady.
But then, the weight has not gone away totally, and it’s still more like an unrealistic standard—the way society rates virginity. At the current age where we are, in my part of the world, a virgin lady is rated as innocent and as pure as gold, irrespective of the “things” the person in question may have done. People—both men and women—who are about to get married see it as a successful home already if the lady is a virgin, because they believe it will bring a more cultured home. But it’s not always like that.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not in support of ladies living a loose lifestyle. In fact, when I get married and have my children, of course, I’m an African man, and I would educate my children to keep their virginity intact for as long as their strength can carry them. But on a general note, I just believe that our society has been overdoing and over-attaching weight to the subject of virginity.
I have seen trends on social media about how some people claim they can’t marry someone who is not a virgin. No lies, this is actually a good step to make people sit up and not be loose, but what if, in this current era, everyone says they can’t marry someone who is not a virgin? Then what’s going to happen to people who have already lost their virginity? That means about 89% of people won’t get married because… Let me leave it there first.
Again, I’m not supporting the idea of sex before marriage, but that’s the order of the day, and the societal construct about virgins should die off because it’s unrealistic—at least in our world today.
Lest I forget, in some parts of Nigeria that are traditionally inclined, virgins are still being used for rituals because they’re considered extraordinary. I wonder if it’s the same life that the Creator gave everyone in the world that Africans are living, or if God created us differently and gave us rules and values that are different from the lifestyles of other continents.
Thanks for reading.
This is my entry to Week 188, Edition 03 of the Weekly Featured contest in Hive Learners Community