"Why is cooking "women's work" when the world's most celebrated chefs are men?"-Adele Lang & Susi Rajah

It's all a conspiracy. Seriously. Virgins: A Cultural History by Anke Bernau really portrays that all of life is a conspiracy against women.

The 19th and the early 20th centuries were periods of industrial growth and progress. For many countries it was also a period of war and revolution. It's true that great strides were made in the movement for women's equality during that time. But great steps were also taken against women in forms like the propaganda of the Cult of Domesticity. This Cult of True Womanhood, Bernau suggests, was really just a cover up. It was created by men, for men. The male race, or rather the white male race, only looked to preserve itself.

For example, during that time period women began to have more of a public life. They began to venture out of their homes and become involved in jobs or community affairs, and even gain more of an education. However, critiques from that time period argued, explains Bernau, that "a highly educated woman would take on masculine character traits which would frighten men off; as a result of this, these men would end up visiting prostitutes and marrying women from lower social classes, which would result in an overall weakening of the race" (p.148). And it wasn't all about the weakening of the homo sapiens race, it was the white male race. "Education and work were both threats to women's health and, by extension, to the survival of the (white) race and civilization" (p.147).

Isn't it amazing how men can be both sexist and racist at the same time?

But where does feminism and virginity come into play? How does it connect? Obviously, in almost every culture in all the years up to the mid 20th century virginity was used to keep women in line. All churches enforced it. Men and society pressured women to uphold it. But in the 1960's a sex revolution swept the world. During this 'revolution' not only did women gain more rights in society than ever before but they were also given sexual equality. Since then women have become sexually aggressive and dominate in many instances. Bernau points out that another change in women's history is coming. There will be a movement for women will go back to a state of "idealized childhood purity" (p.153). However, in this case women will be the ones encouraging 'virginity.' This time around virginity will be used as a means for actual empowerment (saying no and having self-respect is quite powerful) and a way to decrease the damages cause by self-objectification (see Prude for more details on the self-objectification of women).

But what will happen to women if they go back to the traditions of the olden days? Will virginity, and only virginity, become vogue or will all the ideals of the Cult of True Womanhood become popular? Will women revert back to their submissive places in society and give up their rights? Will this actually bring empowerment to women and bring true equality to women? Many years ago it was believed that becoming sexually equal to men would solve all problems of sexism and inequality, but in actuality it exacerbated the situation.