Virginity Discourse in the AIDS Era: A Case Analysis of Sexual Initiation Aftershock

Abstract

Women's experiences of sexual initiation are explored in this article from a socio-cultural and gender perspective that examines the impact of popular discourse about virginity, romance, and marriage on female adolescent sexuality. It is argued that economic and cultural factors weigh heavily on a young women's ability a virgin, and that virginity discourse is laden with middle-class assumptions about self- empowerment and achievement. Drawing, in part, on focus group self- reports of young, low-income women in Alabama, it was found that the women's experiences of sexual initiation included feelings of rape, be- trayal, and distrust of men. The discrepancy between popular ideals and personal realityparticularly contributed a sense of victimhood. In this complex rite of passage, female adolescents' notions of harm appeared diverge from those of AIDS researchers. The findings suggest that feeling- states play a powerful role in disease vulnerability, and that HIVpreven- tion may be enhanced by listening to as well as assessing adoles- cents at risk.