MAPACA

Mid-Atlantic Popular &
American Culture Association

The young adult genre is arguably one of the most progressive and feminist genres available today. It is one of the few genres with more submissions by women than by men, and young adult authors have been leaders of the We Need Diverse Books campaign, a movement to include more people of color, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ people, and religious minorities as authors and characters. Yet, when it comes to depictions of sexual initiation, the genre seems to be lagging behind, and even does injustice to its readers by reinforcing harmful cultural myths about virginity. Sociologists and feminist scholars have noted that the culturally accepted definition of virginity is narrow and may not reflect the lived experiences of many individuals. This dominant societal definition is maintained through cultural myths, for example, that heterosexuality is the norm, only intercourse counts as real sex, virginity loss is supposed to be painful, and a young person’s status as a virgin indicates their moral standing. Amy Pattee, a professor of children’s and young adult studies, suggests that young adult literature serves as a safe space for young people to explore sexuality given the insufficiency of other information sources. Because literature may be used in this way, the reinforcement of damaging myths has real-world consequences for young adults. Though sexuality in young adult literature has been studied, few researchers have concentrated on virginity specifically. My paper analyzes two popular young adult novels, John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars and Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight, to examine how the genre engages with virginity myths identified by sociologists and other dominant cultural ideologies about sexuality. I argue that despite the difference in subject matter and critical acceptance, the virginity loss narratives in both novels reinforce dominant and harmful societal beliefs.