Is virgin 'just' a biblical term?

[AnnListersBlister]

And also what would you call a woman who is often referred to to as a 'gold star lesbian', a woman who hasn't had sexual intercourse with a man, is she a virgin?

Just had this discussion last night with some friends and didn't really figure it out.

Of course it’s not. Just look up the definition and remember that the further definition of sexual intercourse is man + woman, so a lifelong lesbian would be a virgin.

I have looked it up, and most definitions say 'sexual intercourse'. My partner is 44 and has only ever had sex with women-us and a group of friends were talking last night and about how it originated from Greek Mythology, but of course 'sexual intercourse', I mean, if that's just heterosexual sex, I've not had sex for 22 years I'd explode

I would think it very specifically refers to intercourse, hymen intact. it's different from the phrase 'sexually active' which I think would include any sexual stuff. I remember a lot of 'slutty virgins' in my youth. So yes I would say a lesbian who has never been penetrated is a virgin. Whether a man or object changes the definition I don't know.

No, I'd say it's had currency through a lot of more recent history.

The whole virgin obsession pretty much goes hand in hand with a heteronormative view of what sex is: m/f penetrative sex

So yes, talking in those terms, a woman who hasn't had penetrative sex with a man is a virgin

Definitely agree with that @Legomania . I wish it would become obsolete as a term but that's not going to happen and I guess we'd need a different word with different connotations. Of course it refers to males who've not had sex too, but the association with the 'goddess' and 'purity' and things such as...

I think most people define a virgin as someone who hasn't had sex. So most people wouldn't consider a lesbian in a relationship to be a virgin. It doesn't really matter which uglies get bumped, the point is if you've rubbed your bits on someone else's bits then you've done the deed.

The whole virginity thing is so strange to me.
There’s no word for before/after someone has skydived oe went to the North Pole, so why is there a need to have a word before/after having sex.

Few years ago it was stated that virginity is just a social construct, if only ut would have catched on, there’s still so much shaming if a person is one and I just don’t understan why.

’Virginity’ is a misogynistic concept invented to pressurise women and make them feel 'abnormal' if they haven't had sex!

In biblical terms, I believe it refers to an unmarried woman - so nothing to do with sex.

This is from a very old memory of reading a book on the Dead Sea Scrolls (draft of the bible)

@InterFactual rubbed your bits on someone else's bits 😂

That is a good point @IaskUanswer! Sex is just an activity really isn't it. I Agree it is a misogynistic concept-that's where my conversation came from last night

The more I think about it the misogynistic point is spot on. When you say the word virgin you think of a woman yet technically it could be either male or female.

I was raised Catholic so my first thought would be Mary. The word virgin was around a lot when I was growing up! We just thought it meant a holy woman. Mary was always referred to as free of sin. No one ever asked if Joseph was also a virgin.

Tbh I’ve always thought of the word just as someone sexually inexperienced, male or female. It does get distorted by misogyny of course but I just remember the painful teenage experience of feeling naive and ignorant until I’d got it “over with” and also thinking about when the boys I knew were no longer virgins.. Also didn’t have a religious upbringing.
Any other use of the word with sort of Victorian or religious or pervy connotations has always given me the ick.
I wouldn’t think of a lesbian as a virgin but that’s because I imagine many do have penetrative sex and are just imaginative about the range of things they do it with!