What Does Virginity Mean?
Defining virginity can be confusing. For females, virginity used to be defined by an intact hymen. The hymen is located about a half-inch inside the vagina. Not all girls are born with hymens, which makes this definition of virginity somewhat misleading. Another definition of a virgin is a girl whose vagina has not been penetrated sexually. The problem with this definition is that there are different ways of penetration. You may need to first figure out how you define “sex” before you define “virginity.” For instance, one person might think that any penetration of the vagina equals sexual intercourse. Other people restrict the definition of “sex” to penetration by the penis. Some people believe oral sex is “sex;” others disagree. These concepts depend on both emotional and physical factors. You have to determine what virginity means to you. Two more terms you should be familiar with are “abstinence” and “celibacy.” “Abstinence” (based on the word “abstain”) can refer to voluntarily giv
