Chastity is very important to
you, Thaman, but thankfully not to every man—not because I’ve gone around sleeping with every man I find, but because I’d rather be alone than wind up with someone who thinks like you. Can you imagine if the love and respect someone affords you was contingent upon whether or not you’ve had sex? Or had sex what they consider to be too many times? You can keep that highly conditional and superficial love, Thaman. Just like you’ll pass on a flirtatious woman, I and other women with self-respect will likely pass on men who speak the way you do.
When I was much younger, I had similar thoughts (along with equally petty and immature beliefs that a teenaged girl might have), and held on to my virginity for a long time. I did find men who “respected” me for it, who loved the innocence I projected in my look and behavior, and very recently I’ve been asked if I’ve ever had sex, as a 24-year-old married woman!

Let me tell you that these guys’ respect is lighter than air, like their love, and I should know. I’ve had no shortage of interested men even after I lost my virginity, and all the ones who were ever worth my time never even asked about my sexual history.
Even my husband, a Saudi (and Saudi men tend to care whether or not their future wives are virgins), told me when I started dating him that my past is my past and it doesn’t matter—he just didn’t want to know the graphic details. It was maturity that I didn’t necessarily expect from a guy who has a 2 lb bag of gummy bears in his desk drawer, but there it is.
