Conservatives condemn the Artificial Virginity Hymen Kit as technology that will promote promiscuity. Others say the furor over the device raises disturbing questions about double standards.
Reporting from Cairo - Whether it's seen as a clever little gadget to help a woman keep a secret or a devilish deception that threatens Islam, the Artificial Virginity Hymen Kit is not welcome in Egypt.
The kit allows a bride who is not a virgin to pretend that she is. A pouch inserted into the vagina on her wedding night ruptures and leaks a blood-like liquid designed to trick a new husband into believing that his wife is chaste. It's a wink of ingenuity to soothe a man's ego and keep the dowry intact.
Egyptian conservatives condemn the device as technology that will promote promiscuity in a culture that forbids premarital sex. Their protests are arising in a nation that over the last 40 years has gone from miniskirts and secularism to hijabs and religious devotion. But seldom have conservatives faced such brazen advertising.
"No more worry about losing your virginity. With this product, you can have your first night back any time," states the website of Gigimo, a Chinese mail-order company that sells the kit and other sexual products, including sex dolls and bondage toys, worldwide. "Add in a few moans and groans, you will pass through undetectable."
Members of the Muslim Brotherhood, which controls 20% of the seats in Egypt's parliament, have called for banning the kit and arresting anyone selling it on the black market. Cleric Abdul Moeti Bayoumi has issued a fatwa urging that peddlers of the $29.90 device be charged with banditry and punished for spreading immorality and sin.
"Egyptian girls are normally afraid to lose their virginity before marriage," Sayed Askar, a lawmaker and member of the Muslim Brotherhood, recently told parliament. "A product like that can make it easier and tempting for girls who don't have strong wills to commit such a sin. It will be a crying shame and a blot on the government if they allow the selling of this product in our markets."
Lina Samaan, an accountant, said the furor raises disturbing questions about her country and the double standards that often apply to women:
"I think it's a shame that we are discussing a product like this. If most girls don't have sex prior to marriage only because they want to keep virginity, then there is something wrong with the way we think," she said. "Sex is a right for every woman but unfortunately we started turning to products like these because men -- even non-religious ones who have sex before marriage -- wouldn't marry a girl if she's not virgin."
The emotion over the kit speaks to a traditional society that is increasingly pious, whether it's rich professionals seeking moderate Islam on websites of progressive imams or poor and middle-class families adopting strict religion as a buttress to the influence of Western media and a loss of confidence in a state that has failed to provide prosperity.Conservatives condemn the Artificial Virginity Hymen Kit as technology that will... more
Conservative Egyptian lawmakers have called for a ban on imports of a Chinese-made kit meant to help women fake their virginity and one scholar has even called for the "exile" of anyone who imports or uses it.
The Artificial Virginity Hymen kit, distributed by the Chinese company Gigimo, costs about $30. It is intended to help newly married women fool their husbands into believing they are virgins — culturally important in a conservative Middle East where sex before marriage is considered by many to be illicit. The product leaks a blood-like substance when inserted and broken.Conservative Egyptian lawmakers have called for a ban on imports of a Chinese-made kit... more
An Egyptian professor wants the death penalty for 'virginity' importers.
WTF, right? Well, for those of you that don't know, there's a growing business in Egypt for products that 'restore' a woman's virginity (see picture).
Professor Bayoumi says, according to The Inquisitr, that the device undermines the deterrent of fornication and anyone caught importing such a device should be sentenced to death.
Ooohkay...An Egyptian professor wants the death penalty for 'virginity' importers.
WTF,... more
Archaeologists are slowly unearthing the ghastly secrets of Cahokia, an ancient city under the American heartland
Ever since the first Europeans came to North America, only to discover the puzzling fact that other people were already living here, the question of how to understand the Native American past has been both difficult and politically charged. For many years, American Indian life was viewed through a scrim of interconnected bigotry and romance, which simultaneously served to idealize the pre-contact societies of the Americas and to justify their destruction. Pre-Columbian life might be understood as savage and brutal darkness or an eco-conscious Eden where man lived in perfect harmony with nature. But it seemed to exist outside history, as if the native people of this continent were for some reason exempt from greed, cruelty, warfare and other near-universal characteristics of human society.Archaeologists are slowly unearthing the ghastly secrets of Cahokia, an ancient city... more
How does one woman go through a five-year marriage without having sex even once?
"I was twenty-nine, single again after a five-year marriage, and a virgin. When I met my now ex-husband Mike, I had just turned 21. We met at small Catholic liberal arts college, and even though I no longer believed in Jesus, the Saints, the Bible, God, really any of that. I was a virgin then, and I was a virgin when we divorced."How does one woman go through a five-year marriage without having sex even once?
"I... more
Mazen Abdul Jawad, a Saudi man who spoke about losing his virginity and his sexual conquests on Lebanese channel LBC was arrested due to Saudi Arabian religious customs that forbid talk about sex in public and pre-marital sex.Mazen Abdul Jawad, a Saudi man who spoke about losing his virginity and his sexual... more
There is a clear distinction between 2 groups of people: group 1 is wise, and group 2 is fool.
apocalypse, bride, bridegroom, crisis, end time, godly, heaven, return of jesus, tribulation, virginity, wiseThere is a clear distinction between 2 groups of people: group 1 is wise, and group 2... more
Would you save a million dogs for Hitler? What does the future hold for the Jonas Brothers and Disney. Find out in this conversation between two guys.Would you save a million dogs for Hitler? What does the future hold for the Jonas... more
Girls living in a small province of Sierra Leone called northern Biriwa are being offered scholarships to college -- but only if they can prove they are virgins, an African news website has reported. A community nurse will perform the test, and if the girls pass, they may receive “a lucrative scholarship … for girls between 12 years to 16 years and they could even go to universities with all expenses paid,” said Samuel Kamara, administrative secretary of the Biriwa Youth Alliance for Development Organisation.Girls living in a small province of Sierra Leone called northern Biriwa are being... more
An 18-year-old German student who auctioned her virginity for £8,800 could have half of that snatched by the tax man. Prostitutes in Germany are taxed at 50% of earnings and German tax authorities feel that Alina Percea selling her virginity was 'tantamount to prostitution'.
She had hoped to make £50,000 in exchange for her cherry. With tax and VAT, she could be looking at an overall windfall of just over £3000.
Ouch.An 18-year-old German student who auctioned her virginity for £8,800 could have half... more
A Romanian teenager who sold her virginity online for £8,800 has revealed the details of her tryst with the winning bidder.
Alina Percea, 18, auctioned her virginity on a website so that she could afford to pay for her computing degree. She was inspired to do so after hearing about American Natalie Dylan who put her virginity up for sale for £2.5million earlier this year.
The winner of the auction was a 45-year-old Italian businessman who paid for her to fly to Venice where the couple toured the sights before spending a night in a luxury hotel.
Alina, who underwent two medical examinations to prove her virginity, described the big day: "At the arrivals lounge, a man came over, smiled, handed me a box of chocolates and said: "Welcome to Venice." He looked much younger than 45, short, but nicely dressed, with dark hair, green eyes and a kind smile."
The two went sightseeing, then to a five-star hotel where they had unprotected sex.
"We kissed, then undressed each other," Alina says. "I'd never done that before, so I was nervous. He laid me on the bed and started kissing my body, then we had sex. I was attracted to him, so I enjoyed it, even though it was quite painful. We only had sex once, then fell asleep. Next morning, we had breakfast together like any other couple, and I took the morning-after pill. He told me he'd like to see me again, and I agreed."
Wow, how romantic. Would you sell your virginity to the highest bidder?A Romanian teenager who sold her virginity online for £8,800 has revealed the details... more
Why is our culture so obsessed with girls' chastity? Author Jessica Valenti talks about how purity balls and "barely legal" porn both feed the same idea: That a woman's worth is between her legs.Why is our culture so obsessed with girls' chastity? Author Jessica Valenti talks... more
Jessica Valenti, on of the founders of Feministing.com, just released a new book this month called "The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity is Hurting Young Women".
The book specifically looks at America's obsession with virginity because, as the author explains, America's hypersexualized pop culture and conservative values produces this weird storm of fetishistic thinking about the subject.
Here is a selection that deals with consumer aspects of the issue:
Q: I'd also like to hear more about the complex intersection of chastity movements with various feminist movements regarding both movements' denunciation of the sexualization of young girls and the marketing of consumer goods to them (i.e. t shirts, panties, etc. with "naughty girl" messages.) What do you think about this crossover?
JESSICA: Well I think the biggest difference is that the virginity movement denounces the sexualization of young women and girls, but fights back against it with more sexualization. After all, how is it not focusing on young women's sexuality by talking constantly about their virginity or bringing them to purity balls? If you are telling young women over and over that what's most important is their virginity, that what makes them valuable is their chastity – then you're sending the message that it's the body and sexuality that defines who they are.
With the consumer goods, I found it so, so telling that that abstinence educators and purity pushers would rail against sex, female sexuality in particular, and then sell "Virgins are hot" t-shirts! It's just too funny. Of course, folks could argue that third wave feminism does something similar in its adopting pin-up sexuality, etc, but the big difference of course is that with feminists we're choosing what kind of sexuality we'd like to put out there; with the virginity movement it's adults (and a lot of men) deciding what appropriate sexuality is for younger women. It's anyone and everyone except young women themselves defining young women's sexuality.
Here is one on race and virginity:
"Q: I was really interested in your repeated mentions of the absence of women of color in the Virginity Industrial Complex, and how the "desirable virgin is...young, white, and skinny." (I wonder if it's any coincidence that the title of the Abstinence Clearinghouse's 2007 conference was "Abstinence Is a Black and White Issue: Purity vs. Promiscuity".) In your research for the book, did you come across ANY advocates for abstinence and/or abstinence-only education who were men or women of color? Why hasn't this aspect of the abstinence movements been given more press, you think?
JESSICA: Oh my god, even better from the Abstinence Clearinghouse's conference was when one year they had a "Wizard of Oz" theme. One of their panels was named "A Horse of a Different Color" – it was the hip-hop dance group. Yeah.
Regarding the absence of women of color in the perfect virgin model – that's been around for a long time, of course. Feminists like bell hooks have been talking about the way black women's bodies are positioned as hypersexual for years. (Mostly because it's a great way for men to have an excuse for sexual assault – you can't "dirty" something that was already "unclean.")
The thing is, there is certainly an abstinence movement in communities of color and purity advocates who are people of color – but they're not really shown in the mainstream abstinence movement. What do you see in the media? You see purity balls and "perfect virgins." What you're also much more likely to see is the white leadership of purity organizations holding up young white women as examples of perfect virgins. I remember watching this great documentary, Abstinence Comes to Albuquerque, and noticing that all of the teachers and abstinence leaders were overwhelmingly white Christian women, and that many of the students were Latina youth.Jessica Valenti, on of the founders of Feministing.com, just released a new book this... more
According to Jake at Glamour, guys are thinking about how you smell, flexing, and how to get you off the first time they’re doing you. But what are women thinking the first time they have sex? Follow the link to find out.According to Jake at Glamour, guys are thinking about how you smell, flexing, and how... more
A devout Christian virgin who doesn't believe in marriage has landed what could be called many guys' dream job - managing the dancers at a lap dance club.
26-year-old Dave Dragas, who has never had a girlfriend, says that fun can't come in the way of profesionalism.
'I've been propositioned more than 20 times but the girls won't have much luck,' he said.
Arm yourselves with an apple, girls, and he'll crack. Trust me.A devout Christian virgin who doesn't believe in marriage has landed what could be... more
The Japan Cherry Boy Association is facing a crisis after the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research revealed that almost one in four Japanese men aged 30 to 34 remains a virgin.
The Japan Cherry Boy Association currently boasts of 517 members whose ages range from their teens to their 40s. Many join the association in the hopes that women will visit its website and try to pick them up. Some members, albeit only a few, actually succeed in "graduating" from the club by successfully experiencing sex.
Japan Cherry Boy Association members meet regularly for parties, where they frequently tell stories about how they cope with not having had sex, including this tale from a 32-year-old member.
"I've been going to yoga classes for ages and can finally get my body flexible enough to move however I want it to," he tells Weekly Playboy. "Just the other day, I finally achieved my dream of giving myself fellatio."
Cherry Boys Association members can't just be lumbered into the single lump of virgins, either. "Now, there are progressive virgins, who are striving to lose their virginity, and conservative virgins, who do everything they can to protect it," Watanabe says.The Japan Cherry Boy Association is facing a crisis after the National Institute of... more
A 22-year-old woman is selling her virginity online, offering her body in an auction that reportedly has netted a $3.7 million offer and the law isn’t doing a thing to stop her.A 22-year-old woman is selling her virginity online, offering her body in an auction... more
Virginity is at a premium these days - a $3.7 million premium it seems. Well, at least it is for Natalie Dylan.
Dylan, a 22-year old student from San Diego, is selling her virginity to the highest bidder, according to the Daily Telegraph.
She claims she has received offers up to $3.7M for a one-night stand with her, the paper reported.
Dylan says that 10,000 men have bid to have sex with her, according to the paper. “I think me and the person I do it with will both profit greatly from the deal,” Dylan told the paper.
Dylan wants to auction off her virginity to pay for her master’s degree in Family and Marriage Therapy.
She was inspired to do this by the actions of her sister, Avia, who worked as a prostitute for three weeks to help pay for her degree, the paper reported.
“I know that a lot of people will condemn me for this because it’s so taboo but I really don’t have a problem with that,” Dylan told the Daily Telegraph.
Dylan is confident that she is not degrading herself by auctioning her virginity. “My study is completely authentic in that I truly am auctioning my virginity but I am not being sold into this. I’m not being taken advantage of in any way,” she told the paper.
“It’s shocking that men will pay so much for someone’s virginity, which isn’t even prized so highly anymore,” she told the paper.Virginity is at a premium these days - a $3.7 million premium it seems. Well, at least... more
A 22-year-old Women's Studies student is getting offers for more than £2.5 million for her virginity. She is auctioning it off as a way to pay for her master's degree in Family and Marriage therapy. Her sister allegedly paid for her master's degree by working as a prostitute for three weeks. She says selling her virginity is not demeaning herself in any way. Do you agree?A 22-year-old Women's Studies student is getting offers for more than £2.5 million... more
