Negotiating virginity: Embodiment, stigma, sexual autonomy, and the contestation of Islamic and social norms among Indonesian Muslim women

Virginity among Indonesian Muslim women constitutes a contested arena in which embodiment, stigma, sexual autonomy, Islamic norms, and social expectations intersect, raising issues of control, honor, privacy, and gendered moral judgment. This study aims to analyze how Muslim women interpret virginity and how these meanings are shaped by biological knowledge, social constructions, religious norms, and institutional practices. Using a qualitative case study approach, the research involved 12 Muslim women. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, observation, and documentation, and were analyzed thematically using Braun and Clarke’s six-phase framework. Four major findings emerged: (1) virginity cannot be determined by hymenal integrity or first-intercourse bleeding because anatomical variations and nonsexual factors make the hymen an unreliable indicator of sexual history; (2) virginity is associated with stigma, moral judgment, restrictions on self-actualization, and partner selection, but does not determine women’s worth or dignity; (3) participants rejected institutional virginity testing and negotiated disclosure during ta’aruf through honesty, privacy, and the protection of personal disgrace; and (4) Islamic sources frame virginity through chastity, honor, self-restraint, prohibition of illicit sexual relations, marital preference, dignity, and confidentiality. The study concludes that virginity is a multidimensional construct negotiated across biological, social, religious, and gendered domains. Its main contribution lies in distinguishing Islamic sexual ethics from the objectification and institutional control of women’s bodies.