Our contributor Katherine Chen, once an English major at Princeton University (check out her personal site here), penned a series of confessions for EMandLO.com collectively called “The Virgin Diaries.” Here’s her 9th installment. Her previous one is Top 10 PROS of Virginity:

1. Giving the objective, outsider perspective on sex and relationships to friends also means being the outsider when they are sharing their sexual experiences.
2. The longer I put off having sex, the more paranoid I get about the negative consequences (pregnancy, STDs, heartbreak), despite the fact that there are so many preventative measures available.
3. Porn and erotic literature can only go so far in satisfying your sexual fantasies before both become redundant and even boring.
4. Being a virgin is still equated these days with being a prude, which is not who I am at all.
5. While I’m glad my parents and relatives are pleased with my decision to remain a virgin, I hate how being a virgin binds me to a corresponding set of values, some of which I don’t even uphold.
6. While I’ve avoided all the pitfalls of sex, I’ve never experienced its joys either: the fun of dating, the thrill of passion, the intimacy of connecting with another human being.
7. Masturbation can’t get nearly as creative or varied as actual partner sex.
8. While I would love to say that hundreds of men have tried to bed me in the past, I actually haven’t received even one invitation, which hasn’t exactly boosted my self-esteem; and having low self-esteem doesn’t improve my chances of attracting someone — it’s a vicious circle. So the possibility I’m going to turn into Steve Carell’s character from “The 40 Year Old Virgin” becomes ever more real — which is just depressing.
9. For better or for worse, being the typical “chaste virgin” in this society doesn’t hold as much weight as it used to (except for maybe in horror movies).
10. Needless to say, with all this pent-up sexual energy, I get frustrated. Sometimes I would just like to unleash my inner beast with someone but I have no outlet (at least not ones that I can feel good about).

Need convincing to KEEP your V-Card?
“Top 10 Pros of Being a Virgin”