Abstract
How do young people interpret virginity loss, and does saving sex for marriage have any socially constructed benefit for marriage? This study answers this question using data obtained from a peer-led Facebook group with more than 175,000 participants, mostly in African countries, particularly Nigeria. A reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyze 100 public wall posts and 3860 comments posted on the group between June 2018 and May 2019. Four distinctive interpretations of virginity loss comprising the gift, precondition, stigma, and process emerged from the data. These interpretations were also gendered, such that a woman’s virginity was interpreted as a gift but a stigma for men. The wall posts and comments further suggest that saving sex for marriage may have some culturally sensitive benefits, including trust, and marital sexual satisfaction. Altogether the findings expand the current understanding of the diverse perceived benefits of virginity that move beyond honour and respect to more complex benefits like trust in a union, sexual satisfaction and ultimate satisfaction in marriage.
Highlights
Nothing gives you honour and respect like when you keep yourself till after your wedding-Comment from a group member.1 3 Vol.:(0123456789)E
We concentrate on two key questions: How do young Africans conceptualize virginity loss, and what are the socially implied benefits of saving sex for marriage for women and men? In answering these questions, we address several shortcomings of the literature on gender, sexuality, culture, and women’s well-being
This study has attempted to illustrate the potential for understanding the complexity of social issues using data from social media platforms like Facebook
Summary
Nothing gives you honour and respect like when you keep yourself till after your wedding-Comment from a group member.1 3 Vol.:(0123456789)E. Premarital sexual activity among adolescents and young African adults is generating intense discussion in sexuality research primarily because of the risks of unintended pregnancies and sexually transmittable infections in this population group (Biddlecom et al, 2008; Ghebremichael & Finkelman, 2013; Gyan, 2018; Melhado, 2009; Mensch et al, 2006). Many sexuality education across African countries solely promotes sexual abstinence until marriage as a strategy for the prevention of sexually transmittable infections, while other means of safe sex practices such as condom use and non-penetrative sex are often ignored and excluded in sexuality education as a result of religious and social norms (Chirawu et al, 2014; Mukoro, 2017; Van Dyk, 2017). The continuous emphasis on sexual abstinence until marriage means that young people have to wait until marriage, not when they want or feel empowered to have safe, healthy and satisfying sexual relations (Berer, 2006)
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