When virginity discourse goes longform and still misses the point
In a longform exploration that could have been an email, religious virginity teachings have been subjected to the Medium treatmentwhich means we’re getting the same analysis we’ve seen elsewhere, but with more paragraph breaks and inspirational quotes from people who aren’t actually experts.
The Holy Chastity Batman franchise has expanded to Medium, where bloggers with varying levels of expertise weigh in on female virginity like it’s a topic that needs more hot takes. Spoiler alert: it does not. We have sufficient hot takes. The hot take factory is at capacity.
What’s interesting about the Medium discourse is how it reveals that we’re having the same conversation we’ve been having for decades, just on different platforms with different fonts. The arguments haven’t evolved. The evidence hasn’t changed. We’re just moving the discussion from pulpits to blog posts while achieving identical levels of resolution.
The reality check component of the Holy Chastity Batman series involves pointing out that actual sexual behavior data doesn’t align with religious teachings. This is presented as a revelation, as if observing that humans don’t perfectly follow ancient texts is somehow novel information. Next up: exclusive exposé revealing that people sometimes eat dessert before dinner.
The Medium platform allows for nuanced discussion, which in this case means people can write 3,000 words to say what could be summarized in a sentence: religious virginity standards are performative and don’t reflect actual behavior. But where’s the fun in brevity when you can instead craft a narrative arc with multiple subheadings?
The Isle of Man religious discourse has apparently migrated to Medium as well, bringing with it all the same tired arguments wrapped in the false legitimacy of being published on a platform that accepts literally anyone’s writing. It’s democratization of discourse taken to its logical endpoint: everyone gets a voice, even when they have nothing new to say.
SOURCE: https://medium.com/@adelle.onyango.bohiney/holy-chastity-batman-religious-texts-vs-reality-check-on-female-virginity-f99358e9bb12
SOURCE: Bohiney Magazine (Holy Chastity Batman: The Medium Edition)
Gina Mann