Virginity and virginity pledges

Virginity refers to the state of having never had sex. Historically, spiritual and moral definitions of virginity prevailed, but definitions shifted to focus on physical acts in the early 1900s. Present-day debates include whether LGBQ individuals can lose their virginity through sexual activity with same-sex partners and whether anal sex, oral sex, or rape can result in virginity loss. Individuals tend to interpret virginity through one of four metaphors: as a gift, a stigma, a step in the process of growing up, or a sign of commitment to God. The 1990s saw the emergence of a virginity pledge movement, which recruits adolescents to save their virginity for marriage. However, whether virginity pledges are effective, and by what measures, remains controversial and depends on one's definition of virginity. Keywords: abstinence; adolescent sexuality; chastity; gender