Girls lose their virginitys

Illustration by Shawna X. It should come as no surprise to Broadly readers that most of the world is organized around men. A man, Jacques Derrida, even created the word to express the idea: phallogocentrism. In short, the phallus defines the world, and for millennia it has defined sex. The insertion of a penis into a woman has been the defining line between virginity and its absence. How then, could two women—neither of whom happen to posses a penis—lose their virginity? How do they cross the slippery rubicon from innocence to experience?

JavaScript is required to view our full story experience. Please enable JavaScript in your browser preferences. Whether it's penis size, papillomavirus risk, or profligate pregnancies, it's good to know the numbers. Check out these stats to see if you are well within the sexual mean — or if you're off the charts.

Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. Like chastity , the concept of virginity has traditionally involved sexual abstinence. The concept of virginity usually involves moral or religious issues and can have consequences in terms of social status and in interpersonal relationships.