In your Mind section under the heading "Advice for the Young" and subheadings "Age, experience, corruption. Ignorance, innocence, naivety" and "Casual Sex" you stated that virginity is of no massive value. Your support being the evidence that the majority of people have a life partner and, in turn, have regular sex with that partner. Thus, the conclusion from your argument is that virginity is not important because we are all destined to have sex anyway. As a female, I believe that virginity is a very important part of one's life. To me it defines a person. Having sex isn't just about sex. It is about making a conscious decision to chose to take the action necessary to bring life into the world, to raise it and to teach it. That same feeling should hold for men as well. They, after all, are part of this life bringing process. Also, it is deciding whether or not one wants to be susceptible to so many sexually transmitted diseases, some of which can be deadly. Therefore, virginity is a choice. It is choosing to not reproduce which is a hard decision to make for any young person with the pressures he/she will face in today's world. It is also a decision to stay healthy and makes one positive that they will not die from some horrible disease. Please comment on this.

You seem to value virginity highly and at the same time be unaware of the existence of condoms. Also you describe yourself as female, and not as a woman. Just a stab in the dark, are you a Catholic?

I would appreciate your answer to this before I take this any further. You know a lot about where I am coming from already, I would like to know a bit more about you.

Martin Willett

http://mwillett.org/

Of course I know about the existence of condoms. But, any method of birth control is not going to be fool proof. Becoming sexually active is still a decision, whether or not young people are aware of it, to reproduce. As for describing myself as a female, I was simply showing that to any 'female' virginity should be important. After all, we are the ones who must ovulate every month, then we must carry the child for nine months once we do get pregnant, and bring that child into the world when the time comes. After that, we must breast feed that child. To me, losing ones virginity should be a hard decision for any female, girl, woman, whatever you want to call us, to make. And, for your information, I do not affiliate myself with any religion. If I did, I would be saying that a woman's only purpose on this earth is to reproduce and I cannot, will not, believe that. This is why I regard virginity so highly. Choosing to remain a virgin is choosing another purpose for one's life other than reproduction. That, also, is a hard decision to make.

I would say that I am choosing to remain a virgin. My choice is neither out of necessity nor is it out of bitterness. It is just a choice. Instead of succumbing to my 'primitive instincts' I will live life like a higher level thinking being should...by thinking before I act. I still believe that becoming sexually active is deciding to reproduce for two main reasons. As anyone should know, about 87% of the world follows some kind of religion with the major religious groups not believing in the use of contraceptives. Therefore, members of those religious groups will inevitably produce offspring when they become sexually active. You also stated that this is an "era of contraceptive choice" but there are many countries in this world who do not have the money or resources to make such a choice. So what happens to them? The answer...they have kids! I would also like to point out that sex is the only means by which to reproduce (unless you count artificial insemination which is a different issue altogether). It is common in every species on the planet, but there is a difference between us and them. We have the ability to choose. In the animal kingdom, it is just an instinct that comes and goes with the seasons, but in the world of human beings, IT IS A CHOICE. Of course there are other decisions that are made along with that choice. Should you use birth control, what kind, how often. Those decisions are about how to stop reproduction so, in the end, it is all about REPRODUCTION.

Well said, Mr. Willett. To demand virginity on a species who is accustomed to casual intercourse is certainly unreasonable. My only wish is that individuals would take the time to think about what they are doing before the jump into a situation head first. Thank you for the discussion; it was quite enjoyable. Perhaps we can discuss another topic some other time.

Sincerely, Michelle