A few weeks ago I read about an advert in India for a vaginal tightening and whitening cream.

There are many things that disturb me in this world but I am particularly upset when it comes to women’s degradation. We constantly seem to be fighting a battle in which we put ourselves in the losing corner. I discuss this absurd phenomenon and what virginity means on Mail and Guardian’s Thought Leader.

A woman does not need to whiten or tighten her vagina to be happy and a man does not need a continuous virgin in the bedroom. There is a reason virginity only comes once – it symbolises the beginning of many hopes: adulthood, maturity, a union with another person. While it may not mean many of these things today – the sentiment still is that it is a sacred thing. It is honoured in most religions and most people when asked, would rather have saved it for the right person at the right time. Virginity is not just a physical thing as the advert narrowly implies. That space comes with many important mental connotations. The first time for a couple together symbolises the breaking of barriers, the awkward beginnings, the painful adjustments to allow a new person intimately in your life. It represents awkwardness, newness and overcoming fear. It is a symbolic step in life. It makes way for a future of understanding one another and becoming comfortable with another person. Why then would you want to go backward into a space where you were both still learning how to love one another?

The rest of the article and discussion can be found here:  http://www.thoughtleader.co.za/shubnumkhan/2012/08/23/tightie-whitie-vaginas/