Within Catholicism and Orthodox Christianity, there's a whole category of saints known as the virgin-martyrs. Like it says on the tin, they are virgins--typically young women-- who were martyred for t
heir faith. In pretty much every case, their martyrdom was very gruesome, and is incorporated into their iconography/patronage. These saints have long been upheld as role models for young Catholic girls specifically for their piety and chastity, but also raise interesting questions about gender roles and sexuality in a society where these aspects of life were heavily controlled.
tldr: purity culture effed me up, but also gave me a lot of fun facts to inflict on you!
content warning for Catholicism-typical violence, gore, self harm, etc.
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