In 2009, a feminist blogger named Jessica Valenti wrote an essay titled, “The Cult of Virginity”. The purpose of her piece is to highlight how the concept of virginity contributes to a harmful, unrealistic standard for women. For this reason, Valenti aims to educate her intended audience of adolescent readers in the hopes counteracting this damaging social construct. In the beginning of the essay, Valenti reflects on her own personal story of having intercourse for the first time. The date of the event marked a certain importance to her, though there was some controversy that followed the incident. For example, her mother stated that being sexually active would dissuade people from marrying Valenti. In relation to her own experiences, Valenti introduces the purity myth; this concept states that virginity, a nonexistent entity, is being used to set certain expectations for women. To introduce the convoluted nature of virginity, Valenti references Hanne Blank,
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She references Hanne Blank, an expert in female sexuality, and the Harvard medical school library, a reputable source, in order to establish solid credible backing to her essay. In using this method, Valenti is able to reaffirm her claim of virginity’s nonexistence, which is a central component to her purity myth definition. In addition, Valenti utilizes a rational perspective in her essay. In her beauty pageant example, she mentions that Miss USA’s Tara Conner was removed from her title after she engaged in partying and dating. Valenti purposely mentions that Conner was twenty years old to prove that this type of behavior is not an anomaly; it is typical for adolescents to experience a night out. By alluding to an incident where a woman was punished for behavior that is typically deemed normal for her age, Valenti is able to effectively point out the slut-shaming that is so deeply embedded into the virginity
She references Hanne Blank, an expert in female sexuality, and the Harvard medical school library, a reputable source, in order to establish solid credible backing to her essay. In using this method, Valenti is able to reaffirm her claim of virginity’s nonexistence, which is a central component to her purity myth definition. In addition, Valenti utilizes a rational perspective in her essay. In her beauty pageant example, she mentions that Miss USA’s Tara Conner was removed from her title after she engaged in partying and dating. Valenti purposely mentions that Conner was twenty years old to prove that this type of behavior is not an anomaly; it is typical for adolescents to experience a night out. By alluding to an incident where a woman was punished for behavior that is typically deemed normal for her age, Valenti is able to effectively point out the slut-shaming that is so deeply embedded into the virginity