You are right, however, that men, and as somebody else mentioned sometimes women, and I would ammend that to 'sometimes' to 'typically' are also screwed up. In other words people are screwed up, and, of course, one of the big ways that manifests is sexually. The simple answer is that everybody feels inferior and sexual conquest is one of the diseases that is symptomatic of that underlying phenomenon. If I can have sex with her or him, I must be ok. But because the bandage soon looses its stickum, we have to go uot and get a new conquest, a new illusion of OKness. Virgins have the wonderful added benefit, that because they have nobody else to compare us to, the conquistador can, with them, mask the feeling of inferiority by having no fear of being compared to somebody better.
Let me comment on MB's response. The drive for sexual conquest is not only "one of the ways", I see it as probably the primary way for a few reasons. Firstly, I view the individual person and the unique lens through which the person sees the world as an inseparable combination of circumstance and genotype. Since the drive to reproduce and spread genes or "fill women with babies" is a primary motivator for behavior, it often comprises the only course of action unless an individual chooses to remember what he/she already knows to be true. The reasons virgins are viewed as somehow special is essentially the reason MB mentioned. When the temporary feeling and knowledge of something beyond the boredom and ennui of life wears off, the person must seek to find a new "high" in order to reaffirm worth and meaning and to retain that illusion. This is actually one of the reasons religion and TV seem to be so popular. Nothing soothes better than a story. With little or no fear of rejection, the person seeking affirmation will choose the path that he/she thinks will yield the greatest chances of reaching affirmation. Since mother culture and the adolescent peer group places a special "tag" on virginity, it must be defeated to gain a temporary feeling of immortality.
Another idea comes from the late romantic period of past history. If you recall, masochism was very popular. People thought that the greatest joy and meaning can be found only by destroying the Good and the Pure. Since virginity has such a special role in the sexual milieu of our culture, it is another thing to compete against and conquer. This also ties in with MB's idea of conquest, albeit from a different view.
Let me comment on MB's response. The drive for sexual conquest is not only "one of the ways", I see it as probably the primary way for a few reasons. Firstly, I view the individual person and the unique lens through which the person sees the world as an inseparable combination of circumstance and genotype. Since the drive to reproduce and spread genes or "fill women with babies" is a primary motivator for behavior, it often comprises the only course of action unless an individual chooses to remember what he/she already knows to be true. The reasons virgins are viewed as somehow special is essentially the reason MB mentioned. When the temporary feeling and knowledge of something beyond the boredom and ennui of life wears off, the person must seek to find a new "high" in order to reaffirm worth and meaning and to retain that illusion. This is actually one of the reasons religion and TV seem to be so popular. Nothing soothes better than a story. With little or no fear of rejection, the person seeking affirmation will choose the path that he/she thinks will yield the greatest chances of reaching affirmation. Since mother culture and the adolescent peer group places a special "tag" on virginity, it must be defeated to gain a temporary feeling of immortality.
Another idea comes from the late romantic period of past history. If you recall, masochism was very popular. People thought that the greatest joy and meaning can be found only by destroying the Good and the Pure. Since virginity has such a special role in the sexual milieu of our culture, it is another thing to compete against and conquer. This also ties in with MB's idea of conquest, albeit from a different view.