Virginity Loss in Reel/Real Life: Using Popular Movies to Navigate Sexual Initiation

This study examines virginity-loss movies as tools for navigating early sexual life. Data come from qualitative content analyses of 25 movies and in-depth interviews with 61 socially diverse women and men, focusing on 28 participants who reported using movies to make sense of virginity loss. Films are open to multiple interpretations and young people use them creatively, both prospectively and retrospectively. Discrepancies between participants' personal stories and the scripts in nominated films were patterned by gender and "nonideal" experiences were resolved more positively in movies than in real life. Such discrepancies may increase feelings of distress after "imperfect" virginity-loss encounters.