TLC’s Virgin Diaries: Everything You Need to Know About Virgins?

 
     Well, no one can accuse TLC of false advertising. As expected, “Virgin Diaries,” was an hour-long, nearly painful display of awkwardness. Throughout the show I asked, “What do the producers want us, the audience, to think? How do they hope we will react?” The answer to those questions was pretty obvious: the six protagonists were portrayed as little less than a circus side show, as TLC implicitly hollered, “Step right up, ladies and gentlemen! Come see six real, live, abstinent adults!”
     The word of the day is syllogism. This may help you on the SAT. Wikipedia tells me “A syllogism … is a kind of logical argument in which one proposition (the conclusion) is inferred from two or more others (the premises) of a certain form.” For example, the producers wanted their viewers to arrive at the following syllogism:

Major premise: All the people on this show are incredibly weird.
Minor premise: All the people on this show are virgins.
Conclusion: All virgins are incredibly weird.

     Here’s the problem: the show focused on the one thing that all six people were not doing, having sex. This makes about as much sense as producing a show (and drawing conclusions) about six people who don’t eat broccoli or six people who have never had braces.
     A virgin may or may not be weird. A weirdo may or may not be a virgin. I have friends who have reserved kissing for marriage. Not one of them regretted it, and not one of their weddings imposed a moment of repulsion or discomfort upon their “dearly beloved” family and friends.
     I am a 22-year-old virgin, by choice. It’s not that I have never had the opportunity or desire to have sex, it’s not because I believe sex is bad, it’s not because I’m afraid of the consequences. I am a virgin because the virtue of chastity is such a worthwhile pursuit. I strive to be pure in my thoughts, words, and actions so that I can see others as God sees them, and treat them as such. I dress modestly because I recognize that my body is valuable and therefore worth protecting, and because I profoundly respect men who train themselves to look lovingly at women, not lustfully. I practice chastity because I desire to give myself (which includes my sexuality) to my future husband with as much integrity and wholeness as I possibly can. As a result, I live a life filled with confidence, joy, and freedom. I am enjoying this season of my life (which, gasp, does not include sexual activity) but I look hope to get married someday. When “someday” comes, I can guarantee you, I will not regret choosing virtue over “experience.”