A popular theme among the defenders of the Cronulla rioters has been
the assertion that multiculturalism provides a cover for the oppression
of women. If so, then the South African government is taking a brave
stand against it. As this morning’s papers report, parliament will consider a bill to ban the practice of virginity
testing for girls under 16, and to require consent from those over 16.

The practice is an established part of Zulu culture, and
traditionalists are outraged at the move. The South African Mail and
Guardian has a longer report, which reveals just how deep-seated the misogyny of some of these people is.

“When you buy a new sofa or a cushion that has never been sat on, you
can tell the difference between a sofa that had always carried somebody
and the new one,” said Princess Thembi Zulu-Ndlovu, “organiser of the
largest virginity test in the country.” In other words, women have no
more right to autonomy than bits of furniture; they’re just there to be
sat on.

But let’s not make the mistake of thinking that only people in dark
skins and funny costume engage in this sort of poisonous nonsense. In
the United States, with the encouragement of the Bush administration,
the cult of virginity is alive and well. University students wear “purity rings” to
symbolise their rejection of pre-marital s*x, and “abstinence-only” s*x
education warns against the evils of contraception.


Amanda Marcotte at Pandagon clearly points out the problem:

These programs promote themselves as ways to give teenagers,
especially girls, some self-respect but I don’t see anything remotely
resembling self-respect in teaching kids, especially girls, that they
are not so much masters of their bodies as mere guardians of them, that
their job is to keep their bodies pristine somehow until the true
owners come along and can make use of them.