The Movie Virgin: Why Boys Lose It Better
LatestThis month, two movies about teen virginity will hit the theaters. One follows someone who wants to lose it, another follows someone ridiculed for losing it. Guess which one is about a girl?
First sexual experiences are big deal, in life and in film, but for the female population it’s shrouded in shame. The new movie Easy A, out September 17, is no exception. The comedy, packaged as a retelling of The Scarlett Letter, tracks the rise and fall of Olive, a virginal teen caught in a lie about giving it up. When her best gay friend asks her to fake their lovemaking to save him from being out-ed, she finds herself with a reputation for being promiscuous. It tears friendships apart, tarnishes her image, and makes her a lot of money. All and all, losing your virginity looks a lot like prostitution if you’re a female character in a movie. And prostitution is sad.
Unless you’re a guy virgin. Then it’s just the inspiration for your buddy adventure.
In The Virginity Hit, another movie, out today, four guys hit up porn stars, female pals and the internet to get their best boy’s key gripped for the first time. For them, sex isn’t as “easy” as it is for Olive, but it’s far more fun. Instead of tearing them apart, the quest for a one-night-stand bonds the foursome, and the wish fulfillment is hardly a reputation spoiler. On the contrary, it makes their best friend cool. And that’s all anyone wants for their best bud, right?
Both films involve favors for friends. But unlike Olive’s which entails faking the act, The Virginity Hit‘s characters are out to help their friend get the real thing. (Male readers: are guys really this invested in their friends’ sex lives and does nobody get annoyed by the micro-managing?) Point is sex is fun for guys and horrifying for girls. So horrifying, that a movie has to revolve around her not doing it in order to make her more relatable.
Compared side by side, the messages are clear: girls fake sex, guys don’t. For girls it’s a business venture, for guys it’s an adventure. For girls it destroys their identity, for guys it creates a stronger sense of self.
But the biggest on-screen dichotomy is the simplest: Losing virginity tears female relationships apart, while it brings male friends closer together. To put it in teenager terms: What the f is up with that?
For girls it all started with Where the Boys Are, a 1960 beach movie that begins with a group of college girl friends on a fun-filled vacation, and ends with one of them getting raped. The fun fearless female freedom turns into a frightening cautionary tale, leaving the viewer guilt-ridden for enjoying the film’s first 70 minutes. They seemed like great friends having fun, but they weren’t really looking out for each other and look what happened, the film suggests. It also suggests the word “slut!” under its breath.
In the ’80s came Little Darlings, starring Kristy McNichol and Tatum O’Neal as two rival campers who compete for cash in a race to lose it. True to form, money and a realization about the complications of sex play a part. But the main function of the virginity contest is to tear the two rivals and their bunk-mates apart.