Virginity Makes You Stupid: Difference between revisions

But sometime in the 20th century, there has been a sharp reversal. Virginity no longer guarantees [[Virgin Power]] or some higher knowledge; in fact, it often indicates the opposite. Many contemporary characters who are still virgins over the age of consent will be [[The Ditz]]. The men will be shy to the point of social ineptitude—orineptitude — or so desperate to [[A Man Is Not a Virgin|prove their manhood]] that they make idiots of themselves. By contrast, female virgins are usually portrayed as hopelessly dim, both in terms of intelligence and social skills. At best, such characters may be good at their jobs and/or book smart, but naive to the point of ignorance (remember, this trope often overlaps with [[The Ingenue]]).

Rather than being shamed or punished for losing their virginity, a character is promoted. Their [[Sex as Rite-Ofof-Passage|sexual initiation]] will [[Epiphany Therapy|magically solve all of their personality "problems"]] and they will usually become more capable, [[Rounded Character|rounded characters]].

There are many possible explanations for this trope. It may be part of a larger trend where ''[[Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids|''any]]'' [[Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids|form of innocence or optimism is interpreted as foolish]]. Perhaps it's inconcievableinconceivable to a sex-orientated media that anyone with half a brain would choose not to have sex. Or maybe a lack of carnal knowledge was taken to mean [[Miss Conception|a lack of knowledge of carnal matters]] and then extended to any general knowledge as well.

== Anime &and Manga ==

* In the anime version of ''[[Valkyria Chronicles]]'', this was reasonably inferred from the game about the protagonist Welkin Gunther, but the anime goes on to show that if Welkin has a fault aside from being a little too much of a [[Nice Guy]], it's this trope. In college, he had a chance to get married to the most sought after girl in school, and he friend zoned her almost immediately, and his best friend (who also hit on the same woman) blatantly lampshades it. By present day, it's obvious Alicia Melchiott has feelings for him, but Welkin repeats history to the point Faldio not only starts hitting Alicia himself, but in his frustration over Welkin's use of this trope he throws down the gauntlet in Episode 12 and tells Welkin he has feelings for Alicia himself as a [[Batman Gambit]] to get Welkin to grow a spine and sex drive and see Alicia as a woman. Thankfully, by the end of the game and anime, he wises up.

* ''[[Ah! My Goddess|]]'': Belldandy, oh Belldandy]]. She can live fighting demons and impeding doom and usually be the most competent character in the series, but was completely sheltered from damaging knowledge such as the fact that guys have penises and that lovers usually kiss. Her most blatant example of this may have been when [[Jerkass|Aoshima]] tricked her into coming with him into a love hotel. She recognized the decor—because Urd had earlier done up Keiichi's room in the same style—but still didn't seem to have any idea of Aoshima's intentions until [[Attempted Rape|he grabbed her and shoved her down on the bed]]. At time she has shown more initiative in terms of her relationship with Keiichi and has even kissed him [[Dude, She's Like, in a Coma|while he's been asleep]], but she also seems to be both ignorant and terrified of sexuality.

* A rare male example is Sagara Sousuke from ''[[Full Metal Panic!]]''. He is ''[[Chaste Hero|''very]]'' [[Chaste Hero|obviously a virgin]], and... he is ''incredibly'' stupid when it comes to relationships, being socially inept. However, he is extremely competent when it comes to military combat, and is a teen genius when it comes to handling the [[Humongous Mecha]] AS. In fact, it's even [[Lampshaded]] in-series by [[Chivalrous Pervert|Kurz]], who calls Sousuke numerous times as being a "gutless, stupid virgin" - something which Sousuke [[Chaste Hero|only vaguely understands as probably being an insult]].

** Terry Jones of the [[Monty Python's Flying Circus|Pythons]] related, in a book on medieval folklore, his surprise in finding that the pure virgin/unicorn thing was a sort of Forgotten Trope /punchline. The joke being you send a mythical creature to FIND''find'' a mythical creature. The joke has been repeatedly reinvented since; see, for instance, the conversation between the monster-hunters in ''[[Discworld/Guards! Guards!|Guards! Guards!]]''