Editing Virginity (section)

====Cultural value====

The first act of sexual intercourse by a female is commonly considered within many cultures to be an important personal milestone. Its significance is reflected in expressions such as "saving oneself", "losing one's virginity," "taking someone's virginity" and sometimes as "deflowering". The occasion is at times seen as the end of innocence, integrity, or purity, and the [[sexualization]] of the individual.<ref name=":2">{{cite journal|last=Carpenter|first=Laura M.|date=May 2001|title=The Ambiguity of "Having Sex": The Subjective Experience of Virginity Loss in the United States|journal=The Journal of Sex Research|volume=38|issue=2|pages=127–139|doi=10.1080/00224490109552080|s2cid=143906218}}</ref>

Traditionally, there was a cultural expectation that a female would not engage in [[premarital sex]] and would come to her wedding a virgin and that she would "give up" her virginity to her new husband in the act of [[consummation]] of the marriage. Feminine sexual practices have revolved around the idea of females waiting to have sex until they are married.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Speaking of Sexuality: Interdisciplinary Readings Third Edition|last1=Moore|first1=Newlyn B.|last2=Davidson|first2=J. Kenneth Sr.|last3=Fisher|first3=Terri D.|publisher=Oxford University Press Inc.|year=2010|isbn=9780195389494|location=New York, New York|page=256}}</ref>

Some females who have been previously sexually active (or their hymen has been otherwise damaged) may undergo a surgical procedure, called [[hymenorrhaphy]] or hymenoplasty, to repair or replace her hymen, and cause vaginal bleeding on the next intercourse as proof of virginity ([[#Proof of virginity|see below]]).<ref name=Regain>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-muslimwomen-europe-virginity-idUSL2532025120070430?pageNumber=2&sp=true|title=Muslim women in France regain virginity in clinics|work=[[Reuters]]|date=April 30, 2007|access-date=July 3, 2017|archive-date=October 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016142640/http://www.reuters.com/article/2007/04/30/us-muslimwomen-europe-virginity-idUSL2532025120070430?pageNumber=2&sp=true|url-status=live}}</ref> In some cultures, an unmarried female who is found not to be a virgin, whether by choice or as a result of a [[rape]], can be subject to shame, ostracism or even an [[honor killing]]. In those cultures, female virginity is closely interwoven with personal or even family honor, especially those known as [[Shame society|shame societies]], in which the loss of virginity before marriage is a matter of deep shame.<ref name="Bennett"/> In some parts of Africa, the myth that [[virgin cleansing myth|sex with a virgin can cure]] [[HIV/AIDS]] continues to prevail, leading to girls and women being raped.<ref>"[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/southafrica/1362134/South-African-men-rape-babies-as-cure-for-Aids.html South African men rape babies as 'cure' for Aids] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008021044/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/southafrica/1362134/South-African-men-rape-babies-as-cure-for-Aids.html |date=2020-10-08 }}". ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]''. November 11, 2001</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Staging sex myths to save Zimbabwe's girls|last=Vickers|first=Steve|year=2006|publisher=BBC|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6076758.stm|access-date=2013-12-15|df=mdy-all|archive-date=2020-12-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204020657/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6076758.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> In other societies, such as many modern-day Western cultures, lack of [[sexual abstinence]] before marriage is not as socially stigmatized as it may be in the formerly mentioned cultures.<ref name=":2" /> Conversely, Western societies see premarital abstinence as prude or outdated, while encouraging and sometimes even pressuring virgin individuals into sexual encounters.<ref name="kaiser" />

Virginity is regarded as a valuable commodity in some cultures. In the past, within most societies a woman's options for marriage were largely dependent upon her status as a virgin. Those women who were not virgins experienced a dramatic decrease in opportunities for a socially advantageous marriage, and in some instances the premarital loss of virginity eliminated their chances of marriage entirely.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Schlegel|first=Alice|date=November 1991|title=Status, Property, and the Value on Virginity|journal=American Ethnologist|volume=18|issue=4|pages=719–734|doi=10.1525/ae.1991.18.4.02a00050}}</ref> Modern [[virginity auction]]s, like that of [[Natalie Dylan]], are discussed in the 2013 documentary ''[[How to Lose Your Virginity]].''

The Bible required a man who had sex with a virgin to pay her [[bride price]] to her father and marry the girl.<ref>{{bibleverse||Exodus|22:16–17|NIV}}, {{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|22:28–29|NIV}}. See also [[Shotgun wedding]].</ref> In some countries, until the late 20th century, a woman could [[Seduction (tort)|sue a man]] who had taken her virginity but did not marry her. In some languages, the compensation for these damages are called "[[wreath money]]".<ref>Brockhaus 2004, ''Kranzgeld''</ref>