Virginity Testing, a traditional Zulu pre-nuptial custom that determines the worth of a bride, has been resurrected in communities in KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa as a response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The practice takes place during large community festivals when young girls have their genitals physically examined to determine whether they are virgins and results are made public. Supporters of the tradition claim that in fostering a value of chastity among its youth, it encourages abstinence from sexual intercourse which leads to a lower HIV infection rate and prevents the disease from spreading. Human rights activists disagree; Rather than slowing the spread of a disease, they argue, the practice instead endangers girls. Those who fail are often shunned and turn to prostitution, while those who pass may be exposed as potential targets for rape (due to a myth that says intercourse with a virgin cures HIV/AIDS). Despite a ban on the practice in 2005, the testing festivals continue, and are described by supporters as an important part of the preservation of Zulu culture. This thesis examines the ways in which human rights may be re-negotiated for young girls in Zulu communities while maintaining a respect for local culture. It moves beyond the traditional debate between relativism and universalism in order to propose solutions to rights violations in culturally diverse contexts by exploring ideas of inclusive human rights and capabilities theories.

Virginity Testing, a traditional Zulu pre-nuptial custom that determines the worth of a bride, has been resurrected in communities in KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa as a response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The practice takes place during large community festivals when young girls have their genitals physically examined to determine whether they are virgins and results are made public. Supporters of the tradition claim that in fostering a value of chastity among its youth, it encourages abstinence from sexual intercourse which leads to a lower HIV infection rate and prevents the disease from spreading. Human rights activists disagree; Rather than slowing the spread of a disease, they argue, the practice instead endangers girls. Those who fail are often shunned and turn to prostitution, while those who pass may be exposed as potential targets for rape (due to a myth that says intercourse with a virgin cures HIV/AIDS). Despite a ban on the practice in 2005, the testing festivals continue, and are described by supporters as an important part of the preservation of Zulu culture. This thesis examines the ways in which human rights may be re-negotiated for young girls in Zulu communities while maintaining a respect for local culture. It moves beyond the traditional debate between relativism and universalism in order to propose solutions to rights violations in culturally diverse contexts by exploring ideas of inclusive human rights and capabilities theories.

<p>Ambrose, bishop of Milan, was one of the most outspoken advocates of Christian female virginity in the fourth century C.E. This dissertation examines his writings on virginity in the interest of illuminating the historical and social contexts of his teachings. Considering Ambrose's treatises on virginity as literary productions with social, political, and theological functions in Milanese society, I look at the various ways in which the bishop of Milan formulated ascetic discourse in response to the needs and expectations of his audience. Furthermore, I attend to the various discontinuities in Ambrose's ascetic writings in the hope of illuminating what kinds of ideological work these texts were intended to perform by the bishop within Milanese society and beyond.</p> <p> In the first part of this dissertation, I consider the mechanisms of language and rhetoric promoting virginity in context of the Nicene-Homoian debate, highlighting the fluidity and flexibility of ascetic language in the late fourth century. While in his earliest teachings Ambrose expounds virginity in ways that reflect and support a Nicene understanding of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, his later ascetic writings display his use of anti-Homoian rhetoric in order to support his virginal ideals when they are challenged by Jovinian and others. In the second part, I examine some of the various ways in which the bishop formulated his teachings of virginity in response to the complaints and criticisms of lay members of the Christian community in Milan and elsewhere. I scrutinize the bishop's rhetorical expositions of Biblical figures such as Mary, Eve, the bride of the Song of Songs, and the Jews as a means of furthering his ascetic agenda, and consider his adaptation of a female voice to avoid incurring further criticism. Finally, I consider the role that the bishop's ascetic interests may have played in the so-called Altar of Victory controversy of 384. Largely at stake in Ambrose's dispute with the Roman senator Symmachus, I argue, were the rights and privileges of the Vestal Virgins, a well-established pagan ideology of virginity whose continued prominence and existence was largely unconscionable to the bishop. Ambrose's involvement in the controversy was partly attributable to his interest in ensuring the restriction of Vestal privileges as he perceived the cult to be in direct social and ideological competition with Christian virginity. Together, these three parts attempt to demonstrate the highly fluid and flexible nature of virginity discourse in the late fourth century and to draw attention to some of the socio-theological negotiations that took place as the cult of virginity gained increasing prominence in the Christian church.</p> / Dissertation

This paper interprets the myth of the hymen through the archetypal theory of Carl Gustav Jung. Today it has been proven that there exists no hymen that breaks at a woman’s first intercourse. Nonetheless, the myth of the hymen lives on – creating enormous consequences for girls and women. In several cultures the hymen symbolizes purity and a gift to be offered to the man on the wedding night. According to the theories of C. G. Jung, the human psyche contains archaic remains that run cross cultures within the whole of humanity. These remains, called archetypes by Jung, hold special functions within the subconscious, and have been expressed in religions, myths and fairytales since the beginning of mankind, according to Jung. In this paper, tales and collectively held ideas about the hymen will be examined and analyzed. The archetypes found in the material will be identified and their functions presented. The object of the paper is to try to gain a better understanding of how a belief in a nonexistent part of the body has been able to survive. According to my interpretation of Jung's theories, the hymen can be seen as a result of emotionally charged functions in the human psyche, which contributed to the creation of myth of the hymen.  Keywords: Analytical psychology, Archetypes, C. G Jung, Hymen, Virginity

One of the most peculiar developments of the wave of women's spirituality that swept across Europe during the thirteenth century was the popularity of the anchoritic lifestyle in England, a lifestyle that had a particular appeal for women. The anchorhold seems to epitomize the medieval (male) desire to enclose and control a woman's body to the maximum degree possible; it is an amazingly accurate metaphor for the tightly circumscribed lives of medieval religious women. Why, then, did so many women eagerly seek out and embrace such a confining lifestyle? Did women internalize the endless medieval rhetoric about bodily control and woman's lustful nature, to the point where they sought lifelong incarceration to avoid temptation and possible loss of control? Or is it possible that they had a higher motivation - that they sought a more intense experience of union with the divine, and believed that only in strict isolation could such a union be achieved?The popularity of anchoritic spirituality led to the creation of a specialized literary genre in Middle English: vernacular devotional prose for women. These mostly male-authored texts included guidebooks for enclosed life, meditations and prayers, lives of saints, and treatises on virginity. They describe and encourage a religious life for women that is both relational and mimetic: the bride of Christ is also encouraged to emulate Christ through her life of solitary penance and suffering. These two roles are analyzed through an examination of the texts of the Katherine Group, alongside the two themes that dominated medieval religious discourse as it applied to women: virginity and enclosure.Approaching the task from a broad interdisciplinary perspective, I employ a variety of theoretical tools, including cultural/historical, theological, linguistic, and feminist theories. My study analyzes medieval constructions of gender and virginity, and examines the anchoress as both a spiritual person and an embodied creature. In challenging traditional scholarship on and accepted views of medieval English women, I pose new questions about embodied spirituality from a medieval perspective, and offer a different perspective on a period of English history in which women recluses set the standard for holiness and sanctity.

Darbo tyrimo problema: nepakankamas šiandieninių paauglių dėmesys skaistumo dorybei. Tikslas: atskleisti skaistumo dorybės sampratą ir jos teologines ištakas bei nustatyti jos aktualumą X mokyklos 14-15 metų amžiaus mokiniams. Metodai: naudojantis literatūros šaltinių analizės metodu surinkta ir išanalizuota pirminė tyrimui reikšminga informacija. Apdorojant duomenis, taikyti kokybiniai – interpretaciniai metodai, konkrečiai – kokybinės turinio (content) analizės metodas. Kokybinis tyrimas – pusiau struktūruotas interviu. Tyrime remtasi krikščioniškosios etikos nuostatomis (Peschke, 1997; Puzaras 2004). Vertybių ir dorovės sampratos pagrindu laikytini moralinės filosofijos pagrindai (Navickas, 1988), taip pat egzistencializmo filosofijos atstovo Buber (2001) idėjos, filosofinė moterystės samprata (Maceina, 2006). Pagrindinės nuostatos – iš Katalikų Bažnyčios katekizmo, Vatikano II susirinkimo, Jono Pauliaus II, Pauliaus VI dokumentų, taip pat šventojo Jono Auksaburnio mokymas apie mergeliškumą. Pirmoje darbo dalyje aptarta skaistumo dorybė kultūros, bažnyčios mokymo ir švietimo sistemos kontekste. Antroje dalyje pristatytas šv. Jono Auksaburnio mokymas apie mergeliškumą, apibūdinti skaistumo sampratos pirmaisiais krikščionybės amžiais ypatumai. Trečioje empirinėje dalyje atskleista šiandieninių paauglių skaistumo samprata ir požiūris į skaistumo dorybę. Gautų rezultatų reikšmingumas: teorinėje dalyje aptarti reikšmingi dalykai vertybių sistemoje ir dorybės sampratoje... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The problem of work‘s research: insufficient regards to the virtue of purity among the contemporary teenagers. The purpose: to unfold the conception of virtue of purity and it‘s theological origin and to identify it‘s actuality to 14-15 years age schoolchildren of the 10th School. Methods: using the method of analyzing the literature sources, it was collected and analyzed primary useful <for the reasearch> information. In processing data there were applied qualitative – interpretational methods, specifically the qualitative content analyzing method. The qualitative research - semi-structured interview. The research is referring to constitutions of the Christian ethics (Peschke, 1997; Puzaras 2004). The virtue and the value conception background is kept as the foundation of the moral philosophy (Navickas, 1988), also ideas of Buber (2001) <sharer of existential philosophy>, conception of the philosophical maternity (Maceina, 2006). The main statues – out of documents of the Cathechism of Catholic Church, the II Vatican Council, John Paul II, Paul VI, also of St. John Chrysostom teaching, about virginity. The First part of work discusses the virtue of purity in context of the cultural, the Church teaching and the education system. The Second part presents the teaching of St. John Chrysostom, about the virginity, discussing conception of the purity in features of the first centuries Christianity. The Third empirical part shows the conception about purity among the modern... [to full text]

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the relationship that love and romance have to young women’s experiences of and decisions to engage in heterosexual intercourse for the first time. Inspired by Sharon Thompson’s (1995) book Going All The Way, I wanted to listen to young women’s stories about love, romance and sex in order to better understand their first sexual experiences. I have interviewed six women based on their age (18-23), on whether their first experiences with sex were both heterosexual and consensual, and on whether their decisions to have ‘sex’ for the first time were influenced by a romantic relationship. I analyse the interview transcripts, contextualizing them within the relevant literature, and explore the ways popular culture and media might have influenced the girls in my study. I am concerned with intercourse because I want to gain a better understanding of young women’s experiences with it and to recognize what love and sex might mean to them. I was surprised to find that, even with third wave feminist ‘empowerment’ discourse and hyper-sexualized media and popular culture, the six women I spoke with felt that sex is about an expression of love and a “deeper connection of intimacy” (Krissy) rather than about empowerment or the fun of ‘doing it’. Even though I required that participants needed to have been influenced by a romantic relationship in their decisions to have intercourse for the first time, it was interesting to see the extent that they valued love in their relationships when love was not part of the criteria required to participate. The findings from this study will be useful to sex educators, including myself, who work with young women as well as to parents who might be able to worry less about their daughters, knowing that some girls are looking for love and commitment when they engage in intercourse, not simply casual sex or hook-ups. / Thesis (Master, Kinesiology & Health Studies) -- Queen's University, 2011-06-15 12:45:08.093

This study investigates the trends. modifications and motivations of ukuhlolwa kwezilllombi (virginity testing) among the Zulu in KwaMashu district of Kwa Zulu Natal. The study reveals that:- • Ukuhlolwa kwezillfombi has been historically regarded as a vital social tool to bring pride to the virgin girl, the parents and the community as a whole. • The big motive was to receive the full lobola especially uikomo kamama (the eleventh cow). Urbanization, industrialization, acculturation, education and religious beliefs led ukuhlolwa kwezintombi to its near demise in twenty years ago. • In recent years its resurgence has been noticed in most areas of Kwa Zulu Natal and townships to fight against women abuses, teenage pregnancies and HIV/Aids . • It is met with a variety of views and emotions with others considering it as valuable while others consider it outdated and irrelevant. • Virginity testing is regarded as a custom of cultural value and the country is in the process of African Renaissance. • Regarding the mY/Aids catastrophe, one can count on 'True Love Waits ' and virginity testing as means of prevention. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2000.

Virginity Testing, a traditional Zulu pre-nuptial custom that determines the worth of a bride, has been resurrected in communities in KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa as a response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The practice takes place during large community festivals when young girls have their genitals physically examined to determine whether they are virgins and results are made public. Supporters of the tradition claim that in fostering a value of chastity among its youth, it encourages abstinence from sexual intercourse which leads to a lower HIV infection rate and prevents the disease from spreading. Human rights activists disagree; Rather than slowing the spread of a disease, they argue, the practice instead endangers girls. Those who fail are often shunned and turn to prostitution, while those who pass may be exposed as potential targets for rape (due to a myth that says intercourse with a virgin cures HIV/AIDS). Despite a ban on the practice in 2005, the testing festivals continue, and are described by supporters as an important part of the preservation of Zulu culture. This thesis examines the ways in which human rights may be re-negotiated for young girls in Zulu communities while maintaining a respect for local culture. It moves beyond the traditional debate between relativism and universalism in order to propose solutions to rights violations in culturally diverse contexts by exploring ideas of inclusive human rights and capabilities theories.

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2010. / Directed by Michelle Dowd; submitted to the Dept. of English. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Jul. 16, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 284-304).