Biography of a Virgin (Video 2019) - Full cast & crew - IMDb
The film relies on a anthology format common to the Pure Taboo production model, combining deep atmospheric tension with character-driven plots across two distinct segments. Production Overview February 19, 2019 Studio / Brand Pure Taboo / Pulse Distribution Director Craven Moorehead Producer Bree Mills Screenwriter Running Time 99 minutes (full DVD distribution) Narrative Segments & Cast Analysis Segment 1: "Biography of a Virgin" (Title Vignette)
This paper examines the concept of virginity not as a biological state, but as a potent cultural construct—a "pure taboo." Drawing upon sociological frameworks provided by Mary Douglas and Émile Durkheim, alongside psychoanalytic theory, this study explores how the virgin is biographized within society. By treating the virgin as a symbolic vessel, this analysis demonstrates how the prohibition against their "defilement" functions to maintain social order, regulate kinship structures, and project societal anxieties regarding purity, danger, and the transition from nature to culture.
The first stage of this symbolic biography is the state of potentiality. In patriarchal and kinship-based societies, the virgin holds immense exchange value, a concept heavily explored by Gayle Rubin in "The Traffic in Women." The taboo here functions as a preservative mechanism. Like a sealed jar, the virgin’s value is maintained only so long as the seal remains unbroken.
To understand the "virgin taboo," one must first define the taboo itself. As articulated by anthropologist Mary Douglas in Purity and Danger , taboo revolves around the protection of distinct categories. Douglas argues that "dirt is matter out of place." In the context of the virgin, the taboo serves to protect the integrity of the social body.
Why is this act a taboo? Because it creates ambiguity. As Douglas notes, ambiguity is a source of danger and power. The moment the virgin is penetrated, they are no longer a virgin, yet not fully integrated into the role of a sexually active adult or spouse. They are in a "betwixt and between" state.
However, the ghost of the taboo lingers. In many conservative societies, the loss of virginity without the proper rituals (marriage) renders the individual "damaged goods." This stigma is the punishment for breaking the taboo outside the sanctioned framework. The biography concludes with the total erasure of the "virgin" identity, replaced by a functional social role.
In this phase, the virgin is often viewed as "pure," but this purity is synonymous with sterility. They are unproductive in the social sense until the taboo is navigated. The biography of the virgin in this stage is one of waiting; they are a static symbol of the future, embodying the promise of alliance and lineage. The taboo forbids access to this potentiality without the proper ritualistic transaction (marriage), guarding the asset against theft or misuse.
The virgin represents a distinct, closed category. They are "whole" and "intact." The act of sexual penetration is culturally interpreted as a fracturing of this wholeness. Thus, the taboo against the virgin is twofold: it protects the virgin from the chaotic, "dirty" aspects of sexuality (specifically in traditional religious frameworks), but it also protects society from the dangerous power released when a sacred vessel is broken.