Rent: More Films About Innocence

When you’re researching a documentary on virginity (How to Lose Your Virginity), you end up watching a lot of hormone-infused teen sex comedies. Male hormones, that is. With all that chasing tail and becoming a man stuff, you might miss some cool films centered around young women. So here are some good "losin’ it" movies—The Moon is Blue, Stealing Beauty, American Pie, Real Women Have Curves— dealing with sex on their own terms, ladystyle:

The Moon is Blue (1953) This is the first post-Code film to use the word "virgin" on screen. Also, even though the virgin in question remains intact, she doesn't seem all that horrified by the idea of not being one, either. Quite shocking for its time. Take that, Doris Day! The Catholic League of Decency tried to get it banned, but thanks to director Otto Preminger's clout, it was not only shown but earned several Oscar nominations.

Stealing Beauty (1996) Bernardo Bertolucci's film starring Liv Tyler as a young woman who spends the summer with some free-spirited artists in Tuscany—who spend a great deal of time fretting over the fact that she's still a virgin. The film has a very open and lovely attitude to female sexuality that never feels exploitative but is bursting with sensuality. Credit also goes to novelist Susan Minot's screenplay.

American Pie (1999) Yeah, yeah. I know the film is about four horndogs trying to lose their virginity before their high school graduation. We've seen that a million times (including in the hideous sequels). That said, the film also has its innovations: the experienced girl who is considered wise and not slutty; the nerdy girl who turns out to be very sexual; and the strong positive message of pleasing your woman through oral sex. We could have done without the totally gratuitous foreign student publicly getting off on dirty magazines, though.

Real Women Have Curves (2002) Although virginity loss isn't central to the plot, this coming-of-age story allows a kick-ass Latina with a full figure to fall in love, have excellent sex with her adorable boyfriend, not get pregnant or die—and get a scholarship to boot. Plus it stars a gorgeous pre-Ugly Betty America Ferrera. How refreshing.
 

Therese Shechter is currently in production on the documentary How to Lose Your Virginity, which asks the question: What is virginity and why do we care so much about it? She blogs on this endlessly fascinating topic at The American Virgin. Please check it out and leave some comments! Her production company Trixie Films is based in New York and her first film job ever was for Tribeca Productions.