“Virgins at IUP? Never!” This was a common response from many people when asked about virgins in college. Is this really true? According to an article on www.lifeslittlemysteries.com, virginity is on the rise.
So why are female students choosing to save their virginity longer? Within recent years, celebrities have spoken out about saving himself or herself until marriage or the right person to share their gift. For younger people, hearing their role model(s) speak out about abstaining from sex could help them come to their own decision to stay abstinent.
Who can forget the Jonas Brothers and their purity rings? These three brothers have a commitment to not have sex until they are married and Kevin Jonas wore his purity ring up until his wedding day. Jessica Simpson is also known for saving her virginity until her wedding night. When she was 12-years-old her father made her promise to stay a virgin until she was married.
Laura Sproull, senior communications media, is also saving her virginity until her wedding night.
“I view it as a gift for one person and one person only,” said Sproull during an interview on March 22, 2012.
Sproull said she never felt any pressure from peers to lose her virginity and no one has ever been rude to her about it. She grew up with Christian values and that is very important to her. When she has children, she will advise them to stay virgins until their wedding night. She also said that if she has any girls, she will not support their decision to be on birth control and if she has any sons, she will not allow them to purchase condoms.
“I encourage people that are virgins to stay that way until marriage. Those who aren’t virgins, it’s not too late to stop having sex and wait for the person you are going to marry,” said Sproull.
Stacey* is in graduate school at IUP and she is still a virgin.
“I think sex is very personal, especially the first time. It will be something you’ll remember for the rest of your life,” said Stacey during an interview on March 22, 2012.
When most of Stacey’s friends lost their virginity during their senior year of college, she felt like she should lose hers soon too. She has only really felt pressured to have sex when men find out she is a virgin. Some men have made comments to her such as “I can help you with that” and “you’ll like it, I promise.”
“Being a virgin is not a problem I am trying to solve,” said Stacey.
Once Stacey has children, she said she would probably tell them that it is their choice because it is their body.
“I think that virgins in college are unique and kind of strange, but I wouldn’t sleep with a virgin unless I really had feelings for her because I know that’s something important,” said Anthony, a sophomore with a major in International Business.
Not everyone who is a virgin in college chooses to wait until marriage. With the rising statistic of Sexually Transmitted Diseases, it makes people question who they want to have sex with.
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According to one article online, one in four college students has an STD. If this statistic is not alarming enough, then the following ones should be:
-54 percent of students regularly use condoms during vaginal intercourse, 29 percent during anal intercourse and 4 percent during oral sex.
-Over 45 percent of college freshman who have been binge drinking and under the influence of alcohol failed to use contraceptive aids when engaging in sexual intercourse. 15 percent of these students contracted and/or spread STD’s amongst other college students with 7 percent of these infected students unaware of their condition.
-87 percent of men know how to use a condom correctly and 70 percent believe men should carry a condom at all times “just in case.” 60 percent of women know how to use a condom correctly, and 60 percent said that they would still have sex even if their partner refused to wear a condom.
-19 million new sexually transmitted diseases occur each year.
-80 percent of people who have a sexually transmitted disease have no noticeable symptoms.
-HPV is the number one sexually transmitted disease on college campuses and the majority of those infected will not have any signs of carrying the disease.
In Sex Stats: Virgins On the Rise, it states that “29 percent of females between 15 and 24-year-old have never had sex…up from 22 percent at the time of the last study.”
Chelsea Forbes, senior communications media and theatre, shared her story with me about when she lost her virginity.
“All of my friends constantly made fun of me or made jokes at my expense,” said Chelsea. She lost her virginity during her junior year of college to a man that she is no longer with.
“I wanted to wait for the right person. That guy that made me weak in the knees. I never really loved him. I wanted to love him but I didn’t,” Said Chelsea. Along with making fun of her, Chelsea’s friends also told her that she was not a ‘real’ college student until she lost her virginity.
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Whether it is religious reasons or personal values, it is a woman’s right to choose when and to whom she loses her virginity. Unfortunately, not everyone will be understanding about a woman wanting to save herself for the right person.
“I read this on Facebook, ’People freak out a little when they lose their phone rather than hearing about someone losing their virginity’ and that is so true because sex is like nothing anymore. But when I hear people are still virgins in college I feel happy for them and it makes me kind of wish I was still one,” said Julia, a junior majoring in Art Studio.
“I know this sounds incredibly lame, but I don’t want losing my virginity to feel like I’m losing something. I want it to feel like I’m finding something. I want sex to be amazing. I want it to be life-alteringly wonderful. And I want it to happen with someone I love.” -Sonya Sones, One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies
*Name has been changed by request of interviewee
sources:
lifeslittlemysteries.com
http://www.nursingschools.net/blog/2010/05/10-truly-shocking-stats-on-stds-and-college-students
guyism.com
fashionablygeek.com
stdtestclinics.com