Does the idea of a thirty year old virgin athelete genuinely play well in America?

You can tell that? From what? From the media coverage? I think you give yourself too much credit.

I don’t know what a PINTA is.

Pain In The Ass

Anybody recall this about American attitudes and not the girl?

No, that’s a PITA.

Sorry, I meant Pain IN The Ass. Some people abbreviate it that way, or else I’m clueless as well.

Okay, if she brought it up on her own thats a bit odd. And if she thinks staying a virgin is some super great thing she should be admired for I find that a little odd as well. Though for some people managing to stay that way when you had plenty of chances and temptations to do so does say something good about someones will power and self control.

Sex is great. Though I suspect some are way more into it than others. But lets face it, there CAN be some serious downsides. STDs or heaven forbid AIDS. Unwanted pregnancies. Drama filled relationships from hell that drive you crazy trying to live through and or get out of. And it can just distract you from other things in your life.

I can certainly respect and understand her if her thought process was "Thats some shit I just don’t wanna risk dealing with right now…I’m focusing on the gold here’.

You forgot “misogynists who are pretty sure that women should not be permitted to make their own choices about their sexual activities, at least if they want to avoid criticism from men who disapprove.”

You know, a cousin to those men who feel “women have to much power in relationships” because women are allowed to choose whether or not they will be having sex.

Then her obsession with her sport to the exclusion of other important aspects of life (not clubbing specifically, but socializing with her peers) is a psychological issue.

Then she has psychological issues preventing her from accepting herself.

There’s another word that you could use. Calculated choice.

If you are not a horndog thats absolutely miserable because you are not having sex, then choosing to not do so is not psychological issue. Beejeesus.

Did he, though? I thought red states voted for the incumbent. Currently, Obama is the incumbent, so if liberals are voting for Obama, then red states are liberal and blue are conservative.

Or are we stuck with the 2004 definitions, and red will always mean conservative and blue liberal, as they did in '04?

My thoughts exactly. I don’t care about anyone else’s sex life or lack thereof, except, obviously, in my husband’s case. But beyond that, don’t need to know, don’t want to know, don’t think about it, don’t care about it. I could say the same thing about bowel movements, what one scrapes out of one’s ears, or what one coughs up - some things just need to be kept private. Once upon a time, people seemed to realize just that…

No, it was an if/then statement. I was just commenting on Ele the Stoic saying virginity wasn’t a psychological issue and then two of the three examples he/she gave would be psychological issues. “Hey, maybe she’s just repressing her true sexual orientation!” Yeah, that would be totally healthy.

I do think it would be rare to be a 30-year-old virgin for reasons that don’t include psychological issues though. And far more rare if you go around bragging about it.

Rilchiam, red has stood for Republican and blue for Democrat since the time of Reagan.

Add me as another person who was aware of her as an athlete and of her achievements, and had not heard about this until this thread. So it’s not something that was being “made a big deal of” until now. The appropriate reaction reaction would be:* “Huh, really? OK. Now let’s talk about that medal count…”* and we don’t dwell on it.

And really, why should sharing ***that ***be considered TMI while other people being confessional about past troubles with the law, drug/alcohol use, closeting, parental conflicts, marital problems, etc. is a common part of “human interest” stories?

Xactly; as billfish678 mentioned upthread, if she feels she can do without the other inconveniences and chances are she’s got a whole lifetime for everything else, then go for it.

(The tendency around these here parts to quickly seekto tie celibacy to some sort of psychological disorder is somewhat annoying.)
If we are to be sexually liberated, that freedom has to include the freedom for others to NOT join in with us, without it being held against them. “But, they’re being ABNORMAL!” Are they hurting anyone? No? Then let them be proud of their difference. Want to ride a float down main street in tight leather chaps and a lace snood? Go right ahead, I’ll be waving at you. Want to tell an audience of 200 million that you’re a virgin? Knock yourself out.

Huh, I can see that some people would consider her virginity to be a positive, and that some people just wouldn’t give a damn, and certainly it’s “abnormal” in the sense of being uncommon, but I had no idea some folks would consider it to be proof of mental disorder. I mean, I guess I could see objecting to the fact that she hasn’t slept with me, but then, she’s hardly unusual in that.

Actually, red and blue were used pretty randomly until the Florida Fiasco. Then, for some reason, red became Republican when everyone started using the same color code.

Those other past troubles? They’re TMI, too.

“Proof of a mental disorder” would be taking it too far but I haven’t noticed anyone saying that. I would think that most people, probably women especially, have had some kind of issues about sex at some point in their life. Some people have sex when they don’t really want to, some people feel guilt and shame after the fact, some people repress their feelings and desires, etc.

I’m not saying she’s any more messed up than anyone else, but I also don’t think it’s at all admirable and that it probably is caused by some sexual hangup of hers.

Is this very much different than a public figure coming out as gay or lesbian? They’re often lauded for their courage and for being a role model. Is Lolo Jones’s sexuality less of an issue than Megan Rapinoe’s, for example?

I was under the impression that 2000 cemented our current political color scheme. Prior to that, TV news coverage used to alternate colors from one presidential election to the next (red for Republicans and blue for Democrats, then the other way around). The results were never really pored over obsessively so the colors could be arbitrary. In 2000, “red state” and “blue state” entered the vernacular and we’ve stuck with them since.

That’s correct. Earlier in history it wasn’t even always red and blue.

I think it’s slightly different. I would agree that if you are gay or lesbian and are being interviewed about the upcoming curling match that your sexual choices/lifestyle/orientation are irrelevant. Talk about the fucking curling match.

That being said, since gay and lesbian issues are a hot political topic and those people have an extra incentive to be visible so as to promote SSM and other anti-discrimination laws, I can see the added impetus for a person to disclose his/her homosexuality.

Unless there has been a wave of discrimination or denial of something to thirty year old virgins that I missed, I don’t see the need to bring it up.

Denial of something to 30 year old virgins? For some of those, yes something IS being denied. Trust me on this.

No, it’s not about incumbents and challengers. Blue means Democrat/liberal and red means Repiblican/conservative. Prior to 2000, American parties or ideologies weren’t associated with any particular colors.