With the rise of the religiously motivated abstinence movement in America, a greater emphasis began to be placed in some circles on maintaining virginity until marriage. Virginity was held up as a pure and sacred state which would be "spoiled" by sexual contact prior to marriage. However virginity can also be portrayed within the movement as a somewhat binary state, as people who have already had sex can become part of the abstinence movement by becoming "born again virgins."
