Virgins: A Cultural History

In the Middle Ages it was believed that only a virgin could charm a unicorn out of hiding, but far from being a quaint, anachronistic concept, virginity remains a central value in western culture. Type `virgin` into Google and you instantly get over 400,000 hits: everything from the Anti-Nicene Fathers to advertisements for `Free Teen Virgin Pussy`. This book asks why virginity has remained so important in western civilization, and looks at the changing roles of virginity over the last 800 years, drawing on a wide range of examples from medieval saints to contemporary vampire-slayers.Anke Bernau examines the Medical Virgin - what exactly is virginity, and how can you reliably identify one?; the Religious Virgin - from the Madonna to the American Christian Right`s insistence on sexual abstinence before marriage; the Popular Virgin of Gothic fiction and modern day horror films; the Political Virgin - virginity`s intimate connection with money and power; and the Monstrous Virgin, as embodiment of what is ultimately unknowable, and of violence, excess and death. This is a lively and wide-ranging examination of a phenomenon that has touched many aspects of our culture.