Virginity is highly appreciated on women and in many communities, and countless are religions and beliefs which praise that state of being. In many circumstances, sexual behavior intervenes in the assumptions people make on women and how much respect they are given. Unmarried women, at least in most western societies influenced by Judeo-Christian religions, have been for a long time expected to be virgins. A virgin unmarried woman was assumed to be virtuous and pure. Nowadays, however, things are very different and there is being more libertinism in women’s sexual behavior. While some people accept this fact in the idea of progress, others don’t. In some places, as in my country in West Africa, unmarried sexually active women are treated unfairly. The assumptions people make on women based on their sexual activity represent an obstacle to their success in life. Is a social marginalization of women based on their sexual activity or sexual behavior justified?

Konrad Jankowski is a researcher at the University of Warsaw in Poland. He made an interesting study on “heterosexual, unmarried female students not having children and living in a city”(Jankowski). The purpose was to establish their personality profile. Some of those students were virgins. The study revealed that “virgins were less extraverted, more emotionally stable, less Machiavellian, less accepting casual sex, and less desiring sex without commitment”(Jankowski). These results, if they are what drives some people’s reactions towards unmarried sexually active women, seem to validate the idea that virgin unmarried women have a better morality. Nevertheless, being extraverted is not necessarily negative even if accepting and desiring sex without commitment is another question. Also, emotional instability is not a fatality; it can be managed. Another interesting question is how deep the difference is. Is the apparent overall good state of mind of unmarried virgin women so far from the sexually active ones that these latter deserve to be marginalized? Or are those differences so important that unmarried women have no choice but to wait for their marriage to consider sexual intercourse?

The researcher considered in the subgroup of sexually active women, “sociosexually unrestricted” ones and those who are not(Jankowski). “In the subgroup of sexually active females, sociosexually unrestricted behavior was related to lower conscientiousness, higher openness to experience, higher psychopathy, greater eveningness, greater acceptance of casual sex, greater desire to engage in sexual activity without commitment and younger age at first intercourse”(Jankowski).  A research published on the U.S. National Library of Medicine website defined sociosexuality as the “differences in people’s willingness to have sex without commitment”(Ramos-Villagrasa et al.). In the study, sociosexually unrestricted women are referred to as women who don’t give themselves conditions to engage in sexual intercourse. Thus, it sounds logical that those women have lower consciousness. However, assuming that being “sociosexually unrestricted” is an unhealthy manner, is discrimination effective to help young women take the right decision(Jankowski)? Also, the limits women give themselves regarding sexual activity are influenced by many things such as education, culture, religion, etc. Sex education, instead of discrimination, could be established as a tradition to ameliorate the general psychological well being of women in society. Sexual openness is recognized to have “a high influence on individual well-being and happiness” (Rausch et al.). Sexual openness should not be confused with unrestricted sociosexuality. Mixing healthy and responsible sexually active women and women with unhealthy sexual behavior is the source of many injustices and misfortunes. Some women never get married just because they have had sexual intercourse, even in a committed and serious relationship. Some of those women might be disinherited or rejected by her family.

The study made by Jankowski confirms some biases about virginity and how women’s sexuality should be. The study is very interesting and useful because it helps to know why sex education should be part of human societies. Women must have access to opportunities regardless of their sexual life. They also have to be educated so that they have a responsible and healthy sexual life. When it is a matter of sex, women are very easily targeted compared to men. Men, more than women are prone to unhealthy sexual behavior but they are often less judged or biased. Just as a man’s personality is not narrowed down to their sexual life, women’s personality should not be weighted with their sexual history. Marriage is the ultimate authorization for sex. How different are married women from sexually active ones who are not? 

Works Cited

Jankowski, Konrad S. “Personality Profile of Virgin and Sociosexually Restricted Heterosexual Female Students.” Personality and Individual Differences, www.academia.edu/28698705/Personality_profile_of_virgin_and_sociosexually_restricted_heterosexual_female_students.

Fernández Del Río, Elena, et al. “Sociosexuality and Bright and Dark Personality: The Prediction of Behavior, Attitude, and Desire to Engage in Casual Sex.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, MDPI, 31 July 2019, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6695927/.

Rausch, Diana, et al. “The Construct of Sexual Openness for Females in Steady Intimate Relationships.” PloS One, Public Library of Science, 21 June 2017, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5479499/.