by Jeffrey Bowman

Created on: April 11, 2008   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

I am twenty-seven years old and I am a virgin. Does that shock you? Do you feel like laughing at me? Honestly, I would expect most people to be both shocked and amused. Some of you might be reading this article and laughing at me, but I hope a least a few of you are willing to keep an open mind.

Society generally assumes a man will not remain a virgin after starting high school...or in a extremely rare situation, he will wait until college. You are probably thinking about that comedy "The 40-Year Old Virgin," right now aren't you? Yes, that is a very funny movie indeed. I loved the movie myself, but from a personal perspective, being a virgin isn't a "comedy." Why is it that we as a society feel like we should laugh at and mock a person who remains a virgin as if they are a freak or weird for it? What is "funny" about it?

I have never laughed at anyone for being a virgin regardless of their age. In fact, it is quite the contrary! I think they deserve acknowledgment for avoiding the temptation to lose their virginity, which is extremely difficult by the way. The question is: why am I still a virgin? It is a two-fold answer. First of all, I have had very limited opportunities and secondly, I have a belief that sex is best saved for marriage. Let me elaborate on this latter part. I am not in any way speaking for or against sex in terms of when it is "right or wrong." I am not here to write about right or wrong. I am here to write about whether or not a person should be ridiculed for being a virgin...for whatever reason he/she has chosen to be.

I am not ashamed to be a virgin, but there are times when it makes me the subject of jokes. My peers tease me and make fun of me, but most of them understand. My friends do not make a big deal of it which is good because it isn't one! There is nothing funny about it so why laugh? My intention is to wait until marriage but I am not going to say that I am 100 percent sure I will in fact wait. If placed into a situation of temptation, I do not know for sure what might happen. My personal belief is that God wants me to wait for the ONE right person and so far that is what I have done.

In bringing this to a close, I repeat that there is nothing funny about a person being a virgin. There are no rules, at least no official rules, that dictate a time period for losing one's virginity. In this way, there is no age limit to virginity and therefore no shame should be felt by anyone who has remained a virgin.

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