The author names different archetypes and facets of the concept of virginity. Examples include the Medical Virgin—exploring what exactly virginity is and how to reliably identify one: the Religious Virgin—from the Madonna to the American Christian Right’s insistence on sexual abstinence before marriage: the Popular Virgin of Gothic fiction : the Political Virgin:virginity’s intimate connection with money and power: and the Monstrous Virgin, as embodiment of what is ultimately unknowable and of violence, excess, and death.