Introduction
Should a girl remain a virgin until she is married?
To some readers, this question may seem ridiculously old-fashioned; to others, it may appear irrelevant in today's fast-paced, sexually liberated society. But while it may be debated rarely outside of high school locker rooms and college dorms, it is a question every girl has to ask herself-and to answer-at some point in her lifetime. And her decision will influence her life from that point on.
There are no reliable statistics on how many girls actually do reach their wedding nights in a state of virginity, but research that has been conducted on premarital sexual activity indicates that they are in a minority. On the other hand, a great many men insist that the girls they marry will have to be "pure." A man may try to be as modern and sophisticated in his thinking as possible, but long-ingrained habit patterns are hard to conquer-and virginity has been a rather sacred thing in the public consciousness for hundreds of years.
One very wise and helpful view is presented in a new book, The Unused Potential of Marriage and Sex by Betty Grover Eisner, Ph.D. (Dr. Eisner, a clinical psychologist, was involved in the first research project on the West Coast investigating the therapeutic effects of LSD, and is now at work on a book based on her experiences in group therapy for the emotionally disturbed.) Betty Eisner says:
"Actually, there should be some sort of legal arrangement of one to three years for a young couple to live together. It is being done anyway, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, on and off college campuses. There should be a socially acceptable relationship of long enough duration so that sexual maturation could be guaranteed and the young couple could discover whether their interests were really mutual. A number of months are required for partners to adjust sexually-longer if there has been no prior experience-so sufficient time must be provided for in the relationship.
"The ideal manner to handle preparation for marriage... is a series of socially sanctioned and if possible legally defined relationships to allow young people to experience sexuality legitimately and to enable them to move toward maturity and the related capacity to live in close relationship with another human being first in comfort and then in fulfillment.
"The timetable might look something like this:
"(1) Relationship for initial sexual experience which would hopefully last until sexual maturity;
"(2) Relationship until certain goals are achieved (school, preparation for careers, economic stability), plus coming to terms with authority;
"(3) Relationship to determine whether the couple are suited to each other for a lifetime together;
"(4) Relationship to have and raise children- a minimum of fifteen years;
"(5) Lifetime relationship (today known as marriage)."
Dr. Eisner's wisdom is as invaluable as her approach is refreshing. Unfortunately, it will be many years before such a program as she suggests will be fully accepted by society and officially sanctioned. Religious groups in particular will fight against its adoption, and they will be far from the only ones. In the meantime, we will continue to have many marriages in which the first few years are the hardest-and we will continue to have many young ladies with problems like that of Janice Beecher, the heroine of Captive of the Studs.
Janice is engaged to be married as the book opens, and her fiance has very positive ideas on the subject of virginal brides. He definitely doesn't want to marry a virgin; he wants Janice to sacrifice her maidenhead to him first. But Janice's ideas are more conventional, and even though she feels physical temptation, she knows that her mother would be utterly horrified. And her mother's reactions are terribly important to her....
Nevertheless, under the double pressure from her mother and her husband-to-be, Janice feels she has no recourse but to escape from the entire situation for the time being. As a native Texan, she does not have to go too far geographically to change her entire situation and life-style. And, since she is fleeing to the bosom of friends she has known almost all her life, she considers the move perfectly safe.
The novel that follows is the result. This is Ward Fulton's second novel for us, and we feel that he is improving with every page. We are confident that you will agree.
-The Publishers North Hollywood, Cal. August, 1971