Only 12.3 Percent of Females are Virgins After College
“‘We are sliding backward’; STDs hit record high in US as resistant gonorrhea emerges. The US saw a record number of cases of sexually transmitted diseases in 2017, marking the fourth straight year of sharp increases in gonorrhea, syphilis and chlamydia, according to preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”
Sixty percent of teens have had sex by graduation. The average “American loses his or her virginity at age 17. Virgins make up 12.3 percent of females and 14.3 percent of males aged 20-24.” Yet, don’t try to teach young people to be virgins until marriage or you will be blasted even by other Christians! Ridiculous. I aim to obey God rather than man (or woman).
God’s ways are perfect. He made sex to be between one woman and one man in the covenant of marriage. It’s not to be tried out before marriage to make sure the parts fit. The parts will fit! It’s not to be played around with before marriage. No, we are called to be chaste before marriage meaning no sex whatsoever before marriage; for the marriage bed is to be undefiled.
The consequences of not obeying God in this area are deadly. STDs can cause “infertility, stillbirth and an increased risk of HIV.” Besides the physical consequences, there are emotional consequences, too. We weren’t created to have sex like animals. No, we are made in the image of God and God calls us to take care of the temples (our bodies that He has given to us).
Did you notice that more males are virgins between 20 – 24 than females! While only 40 percent of high schoolers are virgins, only 12.3 percent of females are virgins after college. College is a breeding ground of sexual immorality with the drugs, alcohol, and hormone levels at an all time high and it’s only going to get worse. We live in a highly sexualized culture and we are not to see the things that most young people are seeing. We are to dwell on the lovely and the pure for a very good reason and take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.
I am becoming more and more convinced that the way the Duggars handle the relationships between young men and women is the way to go! When a testosterone-filled young man and a vulnerable young woman who “loves” the young men have too much time alone together, usually nothing good comes of it. It’s good to set boundaries for our children before marriage to protect them from sexual immorality.
It’s best to have them do things in groups as they are getting to know each other and then have chaperons if they want to go on dates. The Duggars only allow side hugs and no kissing until marriage. I do know that kissing gets the “motors” running and when there are chaperons around, there won’t be much kissing going on! Make sure that your children are taught that whatever they do, they are to do for the glory of God, even their behavior with the person they are attracted to before marriage.
I believe we take the command to be chaste much too loosely these days but we need to begin taking it seriously because it is serious to God and has serious consequences if disobeyed. We must never go along with the flow of culture since it’s on the broad path that leads to destruction. We must ponder our paths and the paths our children are on and do all we can to protect them from the evil influences around them.
Unfortunately, there was NOTHING in the above mentioned articles about the lack of virgins in high school and older that encourage young people to stay virgins until marriage. No, our culture would think this is a set back to their modern agenda of free sex and doing whatever feels good. Teach your children the value of virginity before marriage. As my grandmother taught her five daughters, “Your virginity is not your own. Your virginity is a gift you save for your future husband.”
We are the Church of the Living God. Let’s begin acting like it and teaching our children His perfect ways. If we don’t, the culture will influence them towards godlessness and horrible consequences. Nothing good comes apart from God’s will.
Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.
Hebrews 13:4
27 thoughts on “Only 12.3 Percent of Females are Virgins After College”
Amen!
What an awful shame!!! Hook up culture has gone rampant and radical feminism brainwashed countless young women to view sex as a handshake rather than a milestone! Marriage is devalued and now is merely dating 2.0! In my college experience, my classmates would hook up on sites like Tinder and go hook up as casually as if they were going to the movies or something! I’m glad my parents raised me with standards, and I had a strong father figure to guide me! So many young women also resent men as they have bitter single mothers and absentee fathers so they seek to replace a father figure in their lives through hookups. Sad isn’t it? I’m so grateful for my upbringing in a traditional family!
https://aladyofreason.wordpress.com
Amen! ‘Nuff said.
So horrible. What is even worse are the modern day blogosphere “prophetesses” who indiscriminately shout that all choices are valid. Who say loose women (or men for that matter) should be embraced not avoided. Yes, Jesus did eat with prostitutes but he didn’t have sex with them (or with any unpaid prostitutes as many Christians are playing that part now).
This is really an opportune time for us Christians to make an impact upon the world for good. Doing things differently in our families and encouraging our Christian family to do things in a Godly manner may really make an impact on a hurting and lost world.
our young people are being indoctrinated by magazines and media that tell them they are losers if they are not having sex. we have watched youngsters in our extended family live according to cosmo and other mags and become a total mess. the media never tells them about the real consequences of unrestrained sexual behavior.
Well noted Lori!
And at its root is the church WILLFULLY discarding the proper roles of male and female. Don’t let a few truths that the church ‘preaches’ distract you from the lies that it effectively lives.
Rather, hold extremely fast to “every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
Based on what I saw in my dorm, I have no problem believing that. I went in as a Jr. at age 20 so I was like a wise old woman, in comparison. The more innocent they were, the harder the fall. I tried to warn a friend of mine about sending her daughter off at 18. She told me that her daughter was raised right and had a strong character….”She’s a GOOD girl, she’ll be just fine.” I tried to tell her that she was going to be no match for those handsome, sweet talking frat boys. She all but hung up on me. Based on what I later heard, things didn’t turn out so great.
What sad statistics. I find myself wondering how it is that more young men aged 20-24 are virgins than are young women in the same age bracket. Who are these young women having sex with?? Men older than 24? Or younger than 20? The closer you look at the stats, the bleaker the picture becomes.
Are these the same young people that are crying about their student loans?? Maybe they should have spent their non-class time studying, working and serving in their communities instead of seeking out sex partners.
Ephesians 5:5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Lori,
I appreciate your website, and the good work you do of bringing many to righteousness.
I do have a question however. above I read:
we are made in the image of God
I hope by we you meant men. I have never seen anywhere in the Bible that women are said to be in the image of God. And other places the Bible seems to take great pains to avoid placing women and men together in the image of God. I’d like to give some scriptures:
Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
Twice God lists man(Adam in Aramaic) as being created in God’s image, and then it lists both man and woman as having just been created by God. God is not a poor writer, the omission of women from the image of God was intentional.
Genesis 5:1 This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him; 2 Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created. 3 And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, and after his image; and called his name Seth: 4 And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters:
Adam was created in God’s Image, and we are told his son was in Adam’s image, however we are not ever told of any daughters being in Adam’s image.
James 3:9 Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.
1 Corinthians 11:7 For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.
There it is made clear that men should not cover their head when they pray to God, because they are in God’s image, but the woman is to cover her head, because she is in neither the image or glory of God. Neither is woman in the image of man, but she is the glory of the man. God became a man and dwelt among us, and was circumcised in Jerusalem on the eighth day of his life as the Bible tells us. God’s image is portrayed masculine. Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. The masculine Holy Ghost impregnated Mary. “for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.” There is never any indication in the Bible that women are in God’s image, and many passages seem to make it clear that women are not. If women understood that they were created a lesser and weaker creature, their hypergamy would be satiated by their husbands, and they would be far more delighted to focus on their equal inheritance and position in God’s eternal Kingdom to come. The truth of God is a beautiful freeing sight in this age of blindness and bondage to self-seeking.
The first woman was made from the rib of man who was made in the image of God, therefore, woman inherited the image of God, too. I understand where you are coming from and have wrestled with those verses but I have come to the conclusion that yes, women are also made in the image of God.
https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/male-and-female-he-created-them-in-the-image-of-god
I am thinking more men may be virgins because of the prevalence of porn. They don’t need women anymore. It’s a sad reality and it’s ever sadder that it’s happening among the so-called “Christian” young people.
Lori, you could be right about that, but there are other factors which can skew the numbers. Not everyone who answers is going to tell the truth, so it is hard to gauge how accurate the numbers are. The 12.3% might actually be 8% or 15%, same with the figure for men. It might be 18%, truth is, we don’t really know for sure. But if more men are virgins than women in the same age range, it could be because men of that age, really don’t like being around feminist women or desire a relationship with one.
That’s true, Patrick. I was just taking a guess and porn is so widely available today and I know is a struggle for many men. I am sure that many men aren’t attracted to the feminists women around them since there are few who are not.
But that’s the thing Elias – women are NOT lesser than men at all! Weaker… perhaps. Physically weaker, anyway. Not necessarily emotionally (although most women possibly are) nor psychologically, nor spiritually. But lesser? No.
Read through the gospels at how Jesus treated women. Did he treat them as inferior? Absolutely not! Christ revered women! The Bible makes it clear that women are just as important/precious as men in the eyes of God.
Hi! I was reading your article and I was just curious as to how accurate those numbers are? Or where those numbers came from?
To obtain such a specific percentage seems like it’d be difficult to get, and I was just curious as to how it got there.
Be blessed!
You can click on the stats and it will lead right to where I got the numbers from!
From what I understand, the NSFG they’re pulling from is probably the 2011 – 2013 survery since the article was published in 2014.
And The Atlantic article mentioned “college-aged,” not necessarily just “after college.” According to NPR (https://www.npr.org/2018/05/25/614315950/why-is-undergraduate-college-enrollment-declining), undergrad college enrollment is declining, so college can’t be said to be the only source — or even the biggest one — as to why so few women are virgins when they’re “college aged.”
Lori, I have also wrestled with male and female being made in God’s image, but my husband says that a perfect example of where that thinking can lead us astray is in the book “The Shack” that everyone raved about a few years back. I read it and thought it was weird that God was appearing as men and women. It was in our church library! My husband said to throw that trash out. Now, we’re hearing about new translations of the Bible that are doing away with God as a male, making him genderless. It’s horrible and insidious.
I now believe that God did create man in His image, and like you mentioned, woman was made out of man’s rib. It’s so beautiful to me that God took an additional chapter (Genesis 2) to give the intimate details of how Adam and Eve came to be created and God filling the need of Adam’s loneliness before he even realized it. Just think of it! Eve was a very special gift just for Adam! All the other created things were made to fill the earth, but Eve was divinely special! I think it’s also interesting that Adam was created to tend the Garden. He was already naming the animals, his job was established, and God’s rules were given to him before Eve was ever created. To me this also suggests that God’s purpose for man was to work, and Eve was given as a helpmeet. It’s a beautiful picture of God’s perfect plan.
Women have been given a different role than men and that God has revealed Himself to us as taking the masculine role, not the feminine role. However, women are definitely made in the image of God also, even though we do not have the masculine role as God does. We have a spirit that communes with God and the ability to reason and moral accountability – all of these are aspects of the image of God and separate mankind from the animals. If women were not made in the image of God, then we could not be saved and we would be mere animals. It is our spirit that makes us made in the image of God.
Both men and women are made in the image of God, but men reflect the glory of God in a different way than women do because men have a similar role to God’s role, which is protector, provider, and leader.
It is important to distinguish between being made in God’s image and sharing the same kind of role as God. They are not the same thing.
It is also important to note that the Bible uses the term “man” in many places to mean mankind as a whole – both male and female. So just because it says “man” doesn’t necessarily mean it only means male humans. It may mean man as a species – mankind.
There are several verses which show us that women are also made in God’s image.
Genesis 1:27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created THEM.
Genesis 9:6 Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He made man.
Here, the word “man” means all of mankind. This verse would indicate that it is only wrong to kill men and not women if women are not created in the image of God also. It is the image of God that sets mankind apart from the animals and makes it a capital offense to kill a human, whether male or female.
Thus, when you have a verse like this one:
Exodus 21:29 “If, however, an ox was previously in the habit of goring and its owner has been warned, yet he does not confine it and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned and its owner also shall be put to death.”
This is evidence that killing a woman (through negligence, in this case) bears the same penalty of death as killing a man because both men and women bear the image of God.
1 Corinthians 11:7 For a man ought not to have his head covered, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man.
This verse is where the error occurred in thinking women do not bear the image of God. But it does not say here that woman is not made in the image of God. Rather it says that man is both in God’s image and designed to bring glory to God. Women are in God’s image, but designed to bring glory to man (especially their husbands). It is pointing out the one major way women differ from men, and it is not in lacking the image of God, but rather in what they bring glory to.
Romans 8:29-30 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
Here we see that salvation is about being conformed to the image of Christ. This is drawing on the language of mankind’s creation in the image of God to say that we were created in God’s image, but the image was corrupted through sin, and now we must become conformed to the image of Christ to restore what we were meant to be. If women were not created in the image of God, then women cannot be saved because how can they become the image of Christ if they were never in the image of God?
I Corinthians 15 uses the analogy of Adam being the first man, created in the image of God, and Christ as the second Adam who came to redeem us. In verse 49, it tells us why this is important. “Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly.”
Again, if women do not bear the image of God, then salvation does not apply to them. We must bear the image of God in the earthly sense, being human beings, before we can bear the heavenly image of Christ through salvation.
Even Jesus’ words make this case.
Matthew 22:19-21 Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? They say unto him, Caesar’s. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.
Jesus’ point here is that while the coins of Rome bear the image of Caesar and should be given to Caesar when they are due, humans bear the image of God and thus belong to God. We should give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to Him – i.e. that which bears His image, which is ourselves. Again, if women do not bear the image of God, then they cannot be saved.
Good theology is important, and while there are those who wrongly claim men and women are the same and have the same roles, it is also wrong to claim that women are not created in the image of God. We must distinguish between the image of God, which separates mankind from the animals and which makes women a suitable helper for their husbands because they share the same nature, and the different roles which God has ordained for men and women. Men have a role that is more similar to God’s role toward mankind and thus bring glory to God more directly while women have a role that is designed to bring glory to God more indirectly through bringing glory to their husbands. But both men and women share the image of God and are equally capable of bearing the image of Christ through salvation.
Thankyou very much, Lindsay, for your complete response to my comment. Unfortunately, I will have to agree to disagree with you. I guess this is one of the topics that Christians have a different interpretation of Scripture on. In every case though, I will side with my husband, and this supports what he has taught me at home. Blessings to you!
Hi,
Whatever the stats are, I was a virgin when I graduated college. I never when to any partys, I mean come on, I wasnt even allowed to go to a church sunday school party. Parents said it wasnt church, it wasnt important. I still to this day dont like being around nonsense. We were 25 n 29 when we got married, both virgins, never dated anyone else. For that matter we waited 2 days into our marriage to have sex bc we didnt have any privacy until we got to our rented cabin in the woods. not very romantic to have sex for first time with a house full of people
Sorry, cant people grow up? If you are raised properly, you wont have any desire to do any sinning against God. I grew up between an church and bar. Never drank a sip in my life. Went out on dates alone with my now husband, he never touched me wrong. We knew better.
No offense, but whos to say the group dates wont turn into a huge sex party, sharing multiple partners? I would be more afraid in a group, that the guys would gang up on us girls. Just my opinion. No offense meant, bc there are good guys out there.
According to my hubby, the young women are sleeping with older guys because A. the older guys wives wont give them sex. & B/ No supporting sex outside of marriage at all, but older men would know more about “pleasing” a women, than younger ones. The younger ones only care about “pleasing” themselves
There is also porn.
Another biggie that nobody mentioned: VIDEO GAMES Men (& women even) are addicted to them, a lot of them just choose to stay home in their bedroom all day long, playing and the parents let it happen. My hubby says some of these kids that play make more money in a day than we gross in a year with his job.
I personally was never attracted to those kind of college guys mentioned. I stayed away.. I preferred blue collar worker, with a truck, black hair keep nice to his shoulders, plays drums in church, muscles. and tight six pack , (sorry mom, she like other style guy, but dad was blue collar plus preacher)
Trust me, men look at womens bodys too, wanting us to took certain ways.
God Bless
Thanks
The average age a boy see’s porn is around 11yrs old…probably a younger age in 219….some virgin men also feel a sense of disappointment, frustration, anger, bitterness that they will likely not marry a virgin….so they retreat to porn as a way to ”numb” those feelings….its tragic….
two good book are ”every young mans battle and Hero: Becoming the Man She Desires” are both really good books for men…..its just when you wait for marriage as a man….you fight so hard for purity….
being faithful to God firstly and faithful to your future spouse……to win that fight only to find out your spouse wasn’t fighting or waiting for you is a devastating thing for a man….a lot of men are opting out of marriage and relationships because they feel like ”they cant win”
as a virign man myself waiting for marriage who hasn’t even had his first kiss yet…..its a devastating thing …However the lord is still working on me and he knows I’m struggling and fighting for purity….I love your articles…you are one of few christian women who doesnt cherry pick scripture and attempts to hold young women accountable….this is lacking heavily……
Thumbs up! So great to know that there are still people viewing sex as something sacred and special.
Another factor is that women are hypergamous ie they tend to go for the alpha male. Men who are good looking, richer, and of higher status tend to have more sexual conquests than other men. To put it another way: slightly fewer men have sex, but those who do, do it with more women.
I read all the comments; very interesting. I am 48, never married, no kids. I grew up in the church, tried to do the right things, read all the books on being a Godly husband, and father. Prepared for years to be the pastor, provider and protector of the home. But that was considered boring, predictable, and too nice. Many women want the bad boy, rough type, even in the church ladies are like that. So I gave up pursuing and will remain single. When I look around I am glad I did. Its a crying shame our culture today. –James from Ohio
Whoever said woman aren’t made in the image of God is in serious need of study in the Word of God. That’s just bad hermeneutics through and through.
In Genesis 1:26 recounts God’s stated intention to create humanity. In Genesis 1:27, He accomplishes it and tells the reader that He made man (Hebrew, adam) in His own image and likeness, but the narrative adds that He also created man as male and female. This makes evident the subtle nuance that humanity—called “man” (adam)—was more than the individual human named Adam. While the creation account in Genesis 1 tells us God created man (humanity), the specifics of how He distinguished male and female are found in the next chapter. Genesis 2:7 recounts the creation of Adam. God formed him from the dust of the earth and gave him the breath of life, and Adam became a living being.
After God created Adam, He stated that it wasn’t good for Adam to be alone—God had designed humanity to be male and female, and the job wasn’t yet finished. So He showed Adam how other creatures had their opposite-gender counterparts (Genesis 2:19–20) and how none of those were suitable for Adam. Once the need was demonstrated, God put Adam to sleep, removed one of Adam’s ribs (Genesis 2:21), and from that rib fashioned Adam’s female counterpart (Genesis 2:22). When God brought her to Adam, Adam acknowledged that she was of the same nature—recognizing her equality—and yet distinct (Genesis 2:23). That equality, complementarity, and distinctiveness are acknowledged throughout the Bible. For example, Peter would later refer to women as fellow heirs of grace (1 Peter 3:7)
People who take umbrage with Peter’s mention of a woman’s physical weakness completely miss the rest of 1 Peter 3:7, which clearly says that the husband and wife are spiritually equal. They are “heirs” of the “gift of life” together. A wife should be treated with “respect,” and a husband who fails to honor his wife will find that his prayers are “hindered.” The Amplified Bible renders the verse this way: “You husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way [with great gentleness and tact, and with an intelligent regard for the marriage relationship], as with someone physically weaker, since she is a woman. Show her honor and respect as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered or ineffective.”
Another passage that some people can get confused about is 1 Timothy 2:11–15, “A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. But women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety” (cf. 1 Corinthians 14:34). In the church, women are not to exercise spiritual authority over men; that much is clear. The reasons for God’s directive for the church are also clear: the order of creation and the deception of Eve. Men, not women, are to be pastors; this difference in role, however, has no bearing on a woman’s intrinsic worth before God. A quarterback may call the plays on a football field, but that doesn’t make him any more valuable as a person than a tight end.
Those who focus on what women cannot do in 1 Timothy 2 often overlook what men cannot do in the same passage. Men will never experience the blessing of a life forming inside of them. Women are the only ones who can bear children (verse 15). The fact is, men and women have different, God-given roles, and those roles should be celebrated and assumed with thanksgiving.
Just because God has given men the spiritual leadership roles in the church doesn’t mean men are superior or that they have a special standing with God. It does mean that men bear a greater responsibility for the condition of the church and the family. Concerning the marriage relationship, 1 Corinthians 11:3 says, “The head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.” Men will answer to God for how they lead their families and the church.
Are women and men equal? In some ways, yes, and, in some ways, no. Spiritually, men and women are absolutely equal. Physically, they are obviously not equal. God has chosen distinct roles for both men and women that they may complement each other in a way that most glorifies Himself. Women may be fragile in some regards, but so are many things that are most precious to us. Men and women should work together, each fulfilling their respective, distinct roles, for the common goal of glorifying God.