WHY DO ALL ME GIRLS HAVE TO GET MARRIED BEFORE 30?

I remember when my first-grade friends and I played Pretty Pretty Princess, had luxurious tea parties, and fantasized about our wedding days. Little has changed, even though most of my friends and I are now 23. We still act like royalty on Rodeo, have tea parties at our local shrine (Starbucks), and scour our monthly bridal magazines for the perfect wedding gown.
As you may surmise, I am now competing in a relentless race with my female adversaries to find Mr. Right and begin the breeding process before my time is “up.” In the Middle Eastern (ME) culture, a girl’s time is typically defined as being “up” when she is 30 years old and still not married. Consequently, this is also an indication of her being an “old maid.” While this mentality may seem slightly prehistoric, the pressure for women to marry early is still embedded in the lives of ME girls, and some logic remains in this tradition.

TO BE OR NOT TO BE A VIRGIN?

by Jade Haviland

By now COEXISTENCE Digital, you (or “your friends”) have undoubtedly figured out that the correct answer to this riddle is: “Who’s asking?” Chances are, you’ve flawlessly executed countless equally-convincing (and equally- contradictory) responses to this age-old question, annoyingly posed to you now by your shameless Eastern Orthodox in-laws or local imam, the hot girl you met at last week’s concert, the FOBs new to town, or that stuffy college nemesis incessantly trying to prove that you’re an oppressed, closed-minded Middle Easterner. But why such mixed responses for such a personal decision? And what is the right decision these days? Is preserving your ‘honor’ linked to preserving your culture, and do you have a right to keep your sexual activity (or lack thereof) private from prying eyes--even those of the family? Read on and get a clue on what’s best for you by finding out who’s doing what, why, and how in today’s ME community

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