Losing It

'"These days if you want to fit in you need to have a girlfriend too - and a good-looking one, not a minger. And she can't be frigid, she's got to let you shag her. Because you can't be popular and a virgin too. I mean, Jesus, who made up all these rules all of a sudden?"'
(p15, Scoring by Keith Gray)

'5. And of course we wouldn't be talking about this if I hadn't actually ******. You know, actually ************************, which is pretty much the definition of losing your virginity if you're a boy.'
(p74, Different For Boys by Patrick Ness)

'I suppose my question is, though, where exactly on that list did I stop being a virgin?
Is it obviously number 5? Or can it happen sooner, like on 3? Or even 2?
Are there degrees of virginity? Is there a points system? A league table?
And who gets to say?
Because maybe it's not as clear as all that. Maybe there's more to it. Maybe there are people who'd still say I'm a virgin, even after doing numbers 1 to 5.
In fact, I might be one of those people.'
(p74-75, Different For Boys by Patrick Ness)

'"Your maidenhead is the most precious possession you own. You must keep it for the man you marry."'
(p132, Charlotte by Mary Hooper)

'"Once a woman is fallen she is outside the bounds of society," Mrs Kyle went on. "There's a line between rich and poor, you know, and another - a more insurmountable line - between those who are respectable and those who are not. In spite of the poor life I lead, in spite of my miserable circumstances, I have a ring on my finger and so I am classed as respectable. A fallen woman can never be that. No decent man would ever want to marry her."'
(p139, Charlotte by Mary Hooper)

'"Sex for the girl is different," he said. "Seriously, dude, I've been everywhere and done everything and I can honestly tell you it doesn't matter how cool or tough she seems, for girls sex is always an emotional thing as well as... er... So when the time comes, whenever you and she are ready, you need to remember that she's going to need more time before to... to deal with what's happening."'
(p151, The Way It Is by Sophie McKenzie)

'"Anyway, you're only a slag if you do, like, random guys, like Laura Atkins. Everyone knows that."'
(p159, The Way It Is by Sophie McKenzie)

'"But the touching itself was a bit boring. Both ways - in fact. I mean, what's so great about having your boobs kneaded like dough and someone jabbing his finger inside you?"'
(p158, The Way It Is by Sophie McKenzie)

'But isn't it nice that they can tell each other what they want and what they like?... I just have this memory of trying to please one man after another, and never getting any satisfaction for myself, except the feeling I had done a good job.
On them. Not me.
Fat chance of any of these little ladies sitting in front of me now acting in such a self-sacrificial way. And good for them.'
(p203, Finding It by Anne Fine)

'It must have been years after knowing Peter that I even realised what sex was truly all about.
Could they imagine all those wasted years? Probably not. They'd have to understand that no one explained, and magazines weren't helpful, describing things in such a delicate way that, frankly, unless you already knew exactly what they were trying to tell you, you wouldn't grasp the point. There certainly weren't the pages of bluntly worded advice that you get now to help the tardy on the way to personal satisfaction. I swear that, until I was twenty-five I would have passed exams in differential calculus more easily than I'd have given myself a thrill.'
(p205, Finding It by Anne Fine)