I’ve found that being a virgin at 20 seems to warrant three types of general reactions:

1. The nurse with wide eyes in the Sidwell Sexual Health Clinic congratulating me wildly, whilst I sat awkwardly waiting for her to give me my first pack of contraceptive pills.
2. The immediate labelling of me as “frigid” or a “prude”, words to this day that I really fucking hate.
3. Slight embarrassment/awkwardness, like the way people looked at me during my first game of ‘Never Have I Ever’ in Freshers’ Week, when I was the only one that didn’t drink to ‘never have I ever had sex.’

Throughout my teenage years, social prowess was defined by how many people you’d slept with, how far you’d gone, and at what age you lost your virginity. Even now, although it seems that nobody is bothered if you’re a virgin or not anymore, I find myself on automatic…