Students of Virginity

Sunday's New York Times Magazine had a thought-provoking story on a Harvard student group founded on the principle of sexual abstinence...

Sunday's New York Times Magazine had a thought-provoking story on a Harvard student group founded on the principle of sexual abstinence.

The group's co-president, Janie Fredell ’09, tells the Times, "I care deeply for women's rights." She casts her choice as a marker of strength—resisting temptation and cultural pressures—rather than purity, but says, "People just don't get it. Everyone thinks we're trying to promote this idea of the meek little virgin female."

Other students and alumni who figure in the story include Leo Keliher ’10, Lena Chen ’09, Justin Murray ’07, and Sarah Kinsella ’07. Read the story here.

Related topics

You might also like

Harvard Funds Student “Bridges” Projects

Eight new initiatives to build community on campus will get underway early next year. 

Harvard Football: Villanova 52, Harvard 7

The Crimson’s inaugural playoff appearance is nasty, brutish, and short.

Harvard Football: Yale 45, Harvard 28

A wild weekend: a debacle in The Game, then a berth in the playoffs.

Most popular

Why Men Are Falling Behind in Education, Employment, and Health

Can new approaches to education address a growing gender gap?

The 1884 Cannibalism-at-Sea Case That Still Has Harvard Talking

The Queen v. Dudley and Stephens changed the course of legal history. Here’s why it’s been fodder for countless classroom debates.

Harvard art historian Jennifer Roberts teaches the value of immersive attention

Teaching students the value of deceleration and immersive attention

Explore More From Current Issue

Black and white photo of a large mushroom cloud rising above the horizon.

Open Book: A New Nuclear Age

Harvard historian Serhii Plokhy’s latest book looks at the rising danger of a new arms race.

An image depicting high carb ultra processed foods, those which are often associated with health risks

Is Ultraprocessed Food Really That Bad?

A Harvard professor challenges conventional wisdom. 

A bald man in a black shirt with two book covers beside him, one titled "The Magicians" and the other "The Bright Sword."

Novelist Lev Grossman on Why Fantasy Isn’t About Escapism

The Magicians author discusses his influences, from Harvard to King Arthur to Tolkien.