In a world obsessed with sex and instant gratification, being a virgin can often feel like a one-way ticket to social awkwardness. However, you are not alone, there are millions of virgins out there.
Paramount completed a study that analysed responses from 12,000 adults aged between 18 and 49, from 21 different countries and found results that may comfort you. Globally, 38% of adults 18 to 24 are virgins, so if you’re feeling pressured that you haven’t yet lost your “v-card”, don’t worry. If we’re using this survey as a representation of the world, The United Nations claims there are 1.2 billion 15-24-year-olds on the planet, meaning there are at least 456,000,000 virgins in that age bracket.
However, this still doesn’t explain why people feel socially awkward or in some circumstances, ashamed, that they haven’t ‘done the deed’.
Lucy Horner, a sociology graduate from The University of Liverpool, completed her dissertation on how historical and social constructions of virginity have impacted society in a 21st-century context.
“If you asked anyone aged in their early 20s, what their opinion would be if they were called a virgin. Their answer would more often than not, have negative connotations. Sometimes it’s even younger connotations. If you’re behaving childish, you are said to be acting like a virgin.
“When you look at the links of that to the media, these jokes are made consistently, especially in shows like The Inbetweeners. It’s the main social institution that influences people.
“Once upon a time it was religion that influenced everyone’s decisions, and now an argument could be its social media and mass media.
In the “Journal of Sex Research”, Laura M Carpenter discusses the idea that virginity is ‘a gift’. This concept is primarily associated with a more religious sector of society, dating back to the original ‘Virgin Mary’, a role model and physical embodiment of grace to many individuals of faith.
Interestingly, the Paramount study also found that 20% of men 18 to 29 have had a fling with someone they met at church!
“The most recent census was the least religious the UK has ever been, so I assumed it wouldn’t have been relevant today, but in so many countries, it’s still a huge deal,” Lucy explained.
From their analysis, Paramount also found Asia-Pacific countries have the highest concentration of young adult virgins, with 84% in Malaysia and Singapore, 78% in Indonesia, 53% in Thailand, and 47% in the Philippines.
In some of these societies, not being a virgin is almost frowned upon. The partner you marry is seen as the person you should lose your virginity to.
Lucy said: “In around 20 countries, they do something called a ‘virginity test’. According to doctors, there’s no way to tell, but they do finger testing on young girls.”
Finger testing involves testing for the laxity of vaginal muscles with fingers. These tests are obviously viewed to be unethical and of course… unscientific. It is, however, still legal for tests of this nature to be performed in the United States.
Speaking of the US, virginity is also quite common among adults 18 to 24 in the US, as their figure came back at 53%.
Most of us will know, growing up as a teenager in school, losing your virginity is a huge deal. Often there is pressure put on you by mates to say you’ve lost it, but as we get older, generally as humans, we seem to put pressure on ourselves to lose it.
“In a school environment, from a boy’s perspective, I feel it’s more of a praised thing,” Lucy said.
“As a girl, I remember we all always wanted it to be with a boyfriend. The more that stays relevant the more expectations men have in themselves.
“They’re more likely to be anxious than women in that situation because they feel like they must be the dominant one.
“There’s more pressure on a man taking a woman’s virginity than the other way around.”
So, how do you stop this pressure, and what damage will it cause to future generations?
Lucy said: “I think it’s interesting for the future as it creates a generation where people feel like they may not have had sex how they wanted to just because of the social pressures of losing their virginity.
“If that’s not happened the way you want it to, I think that can influence the way their relationships are in the future.”