The female virgin is often fetishized and held in high regard, a symbol of purity, innocence and honour. In many parts of the world, the raping of a virgin can even be a punishment or a humiliation, a way to shame the victim and ensure they go unmarried. In the Western and European worlds, the barely legal schoolgirl is seen by some as the idyllic sex partner, young and unsexed--unspoiled. Religions the world over also treat the female virgin as an object of great importance, many considering a woman's virginity to be almost sacred.
How important is the virginity of a female partner to you?
The internet has a volatile relationship with woman at the best of times and the subject of female sexuality is no different. Slut shamming is often argued back and forth (perhaps the reverse of the related male equivalent, virgin shamming), one side arguing against what they see as wrong, corrupt or dirty, and the other against what they consider an opinion of jealousy and misogyny. The lock and key metaphor is a popular sight and one that I detest greatly, innuendo for the male conquest of a woman.
The fetishism and objectification of the female virgin extends so far as to have created (or vice-versa) the almost universally accepted notion of sex as an act of men "doing something to" women. The aforementioned lock and key metaphor being a product of such a mentality. Indeed, to many, female sexuality extends simply to the degree to which they enjoy having sex be done to them. The less it's been done, the greater the male achievement and the sweeter the reward.
I won't touch on it too long, as it's not the topic at hand, but it bears mentioning that men are indeed encouraged to seek out sex to an equal and opposite degree to that which women are encouraged to avoid it. "Virgin" is one of the more common insults among men, especially in the video game community. The importance of this to the discussion here is debatable, but most certainly the two are very related.
Evolution, many say, is root of all these problems, when men hunted both food and women, and women did their best to hold out for the most impressive of the lot. Quite plausible. However, why such an archaic mindset should be followed, encouraged or allowed to exist in the modern world, is another question in need of answering. When confronted, that particular cop out seems little more than just that--an easy excuse to avoid hard work. If true (and it seems likely), this particular primal knee-jerk should no more be propagated than any other.
After all, since when was sex about procreating? ;)