<\/a>This\u2019d be pretty
much the standard response to non-virgins in many
romance novels. Source: Smart Bitches Trashy
Books, link at end of post<\/p><\/div>\n
Nor am I going to touch on the huge double
standard that is the the common pairing of the
virginal heroine with the Virile Manly Man, who
has explored delightful bedroom adventures with
many a lady fair \u2013 but still takes the
heroine’s virginity as proof that
she’s someone special. (But of course has
nevertheless been totally respectful of all of
his previous partners.
Of course.<\/em>) I may write about them
sometime, but this is an overview with a word
limit, so I’ll put some further reading
links at the bottom of the post and we can
call it even for now.<\/p>\n
She spans all genres, does the virginal
heroine (insert your own pun here. Yes, I
said insert. No, I didn’t mean \u2013
look, just go and sit in the corner, okay?),
and some are easier to deal with than
others. The historical probably has the most
easily explicable virgin heroine of all;
it’s history! We know what women were
like in history! Virgins were the most
highly prized of all the ladies,
weren’t they? Non-virgins were cast
out and shunned and other antisocial-type
punishments as well, and they would never
marry, so any heroine worth her salt is
going to
have<\/em> to be a virgin, or she’s
not going to be good enough for the hero.
Duh. It’s historical accuracy!
Everybody’s actions always
correspond perfectly with prevalent
attitudes of the time, didn’t you
know that? The paranormal and fantasy
genres get away with it pretty easily as
well, often with some kind of mystical
bond that predestines the two central
characters for one another \u2013 although
that doesn’t necessarily preclude
one of the characters having had sexual
relations beforehand. Sound like a
contradiction? I don’t think it is
\u2013 more on that in a moment.<\/p>\n
Which brings me neatly to the virgin
heroine who gives me the most trouble;
the contemporary one. This lady can be
anyone, you guys. She’s a
businesswoman or a hairdresser or a
secretary or a recluse. She’s shy,
or she’s loud and brash. But she
always has this part of her that
is…untouched, as it were, and
I’ve seen authors who will write
themselves around some pretty amazing
corners to keep that so. She’s
never found the right guy. She’s
never experienced sexual desire before,
or if she has it’s been fleeting
or fumbling enough to ignore \u2013 this
is
overwhelmingly common<\/em>. Which
brings me back to
Bought<\/strong>, with its heroine
who waited through an entire book
for a hero she was never even really
sure she wanted, because the true
and deep love she felt for him
superceded all other possible
emotional connections.<\/p>\n