Letter to the Editor

To whom it may concern:
I was very disappointed to read negative comments about virginity in the Feb. 10 edition of The Dalhousie Gazette. Professor Leticia Meynell spoke of “the weird status of virginity” and classified virgin-centred beliefs as “screwy and stupid.” This shaming of sexual choices is unacceptable.
Virgins by choice do exist: I am one of them. I am not a cult member. I am not sexually repressed. I received a holistic sexual education at home, in my public schools and through research of my own. Valuing my virginity is my decision—and I am most certainly not the only one who does so. Many educated and knowledgeable people choose, for personal, cultural or religious reasons, to place great value on their virginity and to choose to abstain from sexual relationships for part or all of their lives. This is a valid choice, made by competent adults, and deserves a modicum of respect.
Valuing virginity is not a common or popular view in today’s society. I certainly don’t expect the Gazette or Meynell to endorse or promote this view. I do, however, expect organizations and individuals that profess to be sex-positive to respect the choices of those who decide, for whatever reason, not to be sexually active. A variety of views on sexuality is welcome; shaming those who make different sexual choices is not. Consent is central to healthy sexuality, and individuals in a sex-healthy society must be free to choose not to consent without facing shame or accusations of stupidity.

– Jenna LeBlanc