On Riding, Virginity, and Christian Radio
Last night I drove home listening to a local christian radio station which I won't name!
It was a call in show - people calling in for advice on all sorts of stuff - advice from a mature Christian perspective!
So a girl writes in and asks:
"Does horse riding and bicycle riding affect one's virginity because I have heard from some of my friends that it does".
And the mature hosts of the show then gave their reply:
"Yes my dear horse riding and riding bicycles and such things can affect your virginity"!!
And that was that - that was the answer given - and they moved on to the next question about how a 23 year old man can go about finding a girlfriend etc.
Now for goodness sakes! Its time christians understood that the mere fact that you are running a christian business/station/whatever does not mean you throw quality control out the window!
It's hard to verbalise the shock I felt at that answer!
I mean what sort of ridiculous answer was that?????!!!
Crazy!!!
8 Comments:
When I was in Kenya and I used to listen to some of these stations, the answers that the presenters used to give were incredible.A caller once asked that since his parents were really poor and almost starving and that he wasnt earning very much, if he could instead of tithing use that money to help out his parents.The presenter told him that was wrong, that he should keep on tithing and that faith would take care of his parents.A very spiritual answer but not very practical if you ask me.Oh well faith and logic have never been bedfellows.
Virginity is a very relative term, i think in the case neither the caller or the host were right/wrong yes these two particular excercises can affect the hymen (tear it) consequently during her first sexual act there will be little if any blood and depending on how ignorant her partner is he will cry foul if she had claimed to be a virgin. The host should have explained this to the caller rather than give such a limited answer.
Acolyte - Tithing is commanded in the Bible and for a very good reason. Doesnt matter if you are earning a million or nothing at all, In Luke 12:22-34 Jesus told his followers not to worry about what they would eat or what they would wear. He said that God takes care of the birds and the flowers and He will also take care of his followers - it all comes down to faith.
Digz - Great post!
Ps- It would be interesting to know what in your opinion would have been an appropriate reponse to the caller's query.
Many thanks
its amazing how skittish some christians are when it comes to discussing anything even remotely related to sex. what happens when this girl finds out that they didn't tell her the truth?
@ anon
maybe he could have started off by defining virginity. virginity is not all about a hymen, its about sex. so horse back riding/riding a bicycle is not intercourse. and he could have gone on from there. confusing people in the name of "modesty" wont help matters much.
@Spicebear
I disagree, the caller was clearly referring to the hymen, why else would she ask about the horse riding and bicycles? Had she asked about whether having anal sex means she is no longer a virgin then I would agree with you. So yes virginity in the african context is about the hymen AND sex.
"virginity in the african context is about the hymen and sex." i agree with you there, no matter how much of a misconception that may be.
some females are born without hymens or very thin ones. this is common and normal. does this mean that they are not virgins? riding a bicycle or horse riding or even streneous activities and sports (all these can cause stretching and tearing of the hymen) or even wearing a tampon do not equal sex. there is no two ways about it.
though the tendency to affiliate the hymen with virginity is out there, there is no excuse for the radio host to perpetuate this falsehood. as far as i know virginity is all about not having had sex yet (anal or whichever other form you may want to refer to) not whether or not some tissue covers the opening of a vagina. and if i may over reach a little bit, nowhere in the bible does it say that a hymen is essential to one being considered a virgin. while we are at it, to say that a hymen is equal to virginity means that anyone can go back and reconstruct that part of their anatomy (it's very much possible with surgery) and say that they are virgins again even though they have already had sex. see? the hymen isn't the all and end all of being a virgin.
that's the angle the dj should have taken. education and facts. as i said before maybe the host of the show did not want to expound on the issue, but he did that girl a great injustice by telling her that horseback riding and cycling will "affect" her virginity when in reality, it has nothing to do with it.
@Spicebear
Simply because he didnt drill down to the basics ie some women are born without hymens or very thin ones does not mean he did the caller any injustice at all. True he could have phrased his response differently but the fact remains among the myriad of activities - NON SEXUAL I might add - that can affect one's hymen and thus in the most basic of definitions virginity - riding a bicycle and horses are the most common culprits in my opinion.
Maybe we will have to agree to disagree on this issue, all i simply wanted to flag up to Digz was his reaction to the host's response verged on the OTT.
Am waiting to hear about the wedding - especially waiting for my invitation card. If not can I get details. I love weddings especially African ones.
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