Planned Parenthood took its claim that ‘virginity is a social construct’ to the next level in January when it released a video aimed at promoting the falsehood specifically to children.
In the video released on January 24, Planned Parenthood claimed that virginity is a “completely made up concept” that leaves LGBTQ individuals out. The video opens in a classroom setting with a woman who argues that the word “virginity” was “created simply to control and shame people — mainly women.”
In June of 2023, a similar tweet from Planned Parenthood calling virginity a “social construct” received major backlash. X users argued that Planned Parenthood’s denial of virginity was part of a broader push to lower the age of consent or normalize pedophilia. “Translation: ‘children’ are a social construct…,” one user tweeted. Another mocked Planned Parenthood’s “[v]irginity is a social construct” graphic with one that read “[a]ge is a social construct.”
The possibility that Planned Parenthood is attempting to get the age of consent lowered or removed altogether is not as far-fetched an idea as some may think. After all, the abortion giant is fighting against at least one legislative bill aimed at prohibiting child marriage.
The woman in the video went on to claim that “virginity is whack” because “sex means different things to different people.” She argued, “Generally speaking, society tends to define sex in a very narrow way: penetration – penis into vagina.” This, she claimed, would imply that LGBTQ people never lose their virginity.
“But where does that definition leave queer people?” she asked. “Or folks who can’t, or don’t, have penis-in-vagina sex, and choose to have oral, anal, or another type of sex instead? And not everyone’s first sexual experience is consensual, meaning that they were forced or pressured into having sex.”
She went on to claim that having sex isn’t about losing anything at all. She said, “It’s time to throw away the notion of losing your virginity. What if instead of ‘losing something,’ we reframe it as gaining? Because the truth is, when we make our own decision to become sexually active, we aren’t setting ourselves up to lose anything at all. We hope we are gaining things like intimacy, self insight, pleasure, and empowerment. All of these myths around sex and virginity can be so hurtful and overwhelming.”
Yet, casual sex does set teens and young adults up to ‘lose’ — and more than their virginity. They may ‘gain’ Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), which can directly or indirectly cause the loss of fertility in both males and females. For girls and women, the two major causes of STD-related infertility are pelvic inflammatory disease and damage to the fallopian tubes. In addition, certain strains of the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV) can cause cervical cancer, and removing those cancerous cells has the potential to cause infertility. Telling teens they have nothing to lose by having sex is a complete lie.
The video continues, “But here’s the one truth you should remember: Sex is defined by one thing and one thing only: You! Maybe that’s being fingered for the first time. Maybe it’s having anal sex. Maybe it’s having your first orgasm. Maybe it’s masturbating for the first time. Or when you enthusiastically consent to sex. That’s the beauty of your sexual journey. You’re in charge and you can figure it out on your own terms.”
But ‘figuring out sex on their own terms’ at a young age can have consequences that are often far more dire than teens have the maturity to realize. We seek to give teens guidance on things like college entrance exams and how to obtain a good job; isn’t giving them proper guidance on sex — an insanely powerful and consequential part of being human and of perpetuating the human race — even more important?
A study published in the European Journal of Public Health noted that a previous study found:
… >80% of women who had their first sexual intercourse at ages 13–14 years wished that they had waited longer before getting sexually active. This may be due to a gap between age at puberty onset and age at psychological and social maturity; puberty onset may promote interest in sexual activity, whereas psychological immaturity may result in inability to foresee the consequences of engaging in sexual intercourse.
Furthermore, young women may have an increased risk of contracting an STI because of the biological predisposition of the immature cervix to infection if exposed.
The study itself, which included nearly 65,000 women ages 18-45 in four Nordic nations, revealed that “young age at first sexual intercourse is associated with subsequent sexual risk-taking behaviours, in particular, a high lifetime number of sexual partners, a high number of recent sexual partners, and a history of STIs. In addition, young age at first sexual intercourse is associated with women’s lifestyle, i.e. current smoking and binge drinking. Our study emphasizes that prevention efforts, should target the complexity of the clustering of risk-taking behaviours.”
Planned Parenthood may want to tell teens that they are “empowered” when they have sex and that they won’t “lose” anything, but clear research shows that sex at a young age is associated with an increased risk of STIs, infertility, additional risky behaviors, and regret.
The organization Gays Against Groomers had a lot to say about Planned Parenthood’s claim that virginity isn’t real. “Once again Planned Parenthood is gaslighting the youth, this time into thinking virginity doesn’t exist, and that they should throw it away immediately,” said the group on X. “Why? Could it be because virgins aren’t paying customers to Planned Parenthood? Stop telling children they are sexual beings, you GROOMERS.”
