This is hardly how I wanted to break a two-month absence from my blogging work. I was hoping for some notes on the new Pope Francis, or that I’d finally finish my thought experiment on rape and rebuttable presumption, or perhaps write the post on Why Occupy Wall Street Is Exactly Wrong that I founded this blog to write.
But I haven’t had time for all that. Or any of it. I have, however, had time to encounter this stupid infographic that’s been making the rounds on the internet. I have not, thank God, had the time to research all of its insane claims, but I was so taken aback by the clear falsity of its first claim that I took five minutes to look it up. Here is the claim, for the JPEG-averse among you:
There are men in Guam whose full-time job is to travel the countryside and deflower young virgins, who pay them for the privilege of having sex for the first time. Reason: Under Guam law, it is expressly forbidden for virgins to marry.
Needless to say, the claim is totally false. But, very much to my surprise, there was no clear debunking thread anywhere online. The infographic had slipped beneath the notice even of the notoriously eagle-eyed Snopes, meriting only an unhelpful “Is this true?” question thread on their forums.
So, I looked it up myself. Here is a link to the marriage laws of Guam. The law of Guam in fact states nearly the opposite:
§ 3106. Release, Generally.
Neither party to a contract to marry is bound by a promise made in ignorance of the other’s want of personal chastity, and either is released there from by unchaste conduct on the part of the other unless both parties participate therein.
In other words, if you are not a virgin at marriage in Guam, and your spouse doesn’t know about it, it is grounds for annulment. The civil government will not only dissolve your marriage, like it does in a normal divorce, but goes further and declares the marriage invalid from its inception. So remember, people: if you plan to get married in Guam, be honest with your spouse about your sexual history. It’s always a good idea, but, in Guam, it’s also the law.
Next time, hopefully a more serious post. For now, know that I am not dead.
EDIT 1 August 2013: My original reading of the statutes led me to believe that §3106 referred to engagements, not marriages. The penultimate paragraph originally read, “In other words, if you are not a virgin at marriage in Guam, it is grounds for your fiancee to break off his engagement with you — and the law will back him up 100%!” A comment caused me to take another look at the statute today, and I realized that I was wrong.
EDIT 6 May 2019: I just updated the link to Guam’s legal code; they apparently changed their server to be more case-sensitive at some point in the past six years. Meanwhile, this remains the most popular post I ever wrote, which just goes to show you never know when it comes to the Internet.
I’m surprised no one has made a comment about this topic yet. Thanks for your post on that Guam law. I did notice the words, “in ignorance”, however.
lol “travel the countryside” it’s a 33 mile island at it’s longest. There’s not much traveling to be done!
Yep,small island, and prone to tipping over according to some Georgia senator.
no law should talk about this matters… I mean, if I want to break off an engagement because he farts or because he had sex with someone else 4 years before I met him or because he snores, it’s up to me, and neither him nor anyone should care about it o.O there’s no need of a law to back this type of things up…
You know, Fernanda, your comment got me thinking — “Why does Guam law deal with engagements anyway?” Because you’re right: it’s completely ridiculous for a government to regulate engagements, which are essentially at-will and have no legal standing anywhere I’m aware of.
So I went back to the statutes and reread a few sections. I was mistaken: the law is not saying “You can break up with your fiance if you find out he/she lied about his/her virginity.” The law is saying, “Your marriage can be voided if your spouse lied to you about his/her virginity.”
That makes a little more sense to me. I’ve updated the post to reflect this, and am trying not to be too embarrassed about the error. (It’s not like I spent a ton of time researching the finer points of Guam marriage law; I just wanted to find out if there was any truth to the infographic!) Thanks for the question, though — it’s led to an improved post.
I’m
glad pointing that out led to an investigation on the matter, but still, that
law shouldn’t make specifications about any lie. Due to some issues I’ve had in
my relationships, I consider lying, on any topics, to be a huge failure.
A
few months ago I read the story of an Asian guy [I can’t remember the country]
who divorced and sued his wife because they had an ugly child. The whole story
read about the woman being very beautiful, but having an ugly child made the
guy feel bad so he researched a little and the woman had actually gotten
surgery to be “beautiful” for societal standards, so the man was suing her in
the end, because she *LIED* about her appearance.
It
led me to think the man was perfectly right to divorce her, she lied to her
husband, and if a person can’t trust their spouse on something so personal (as
looks, or virginal status, as in Guam), then maybe they are not meant to be
together.
I
don’t think there’s a need for such a specific law. And the only reason why I
think it is important to let know your significant other about your virginal
status is because of SDT’s from which condoms don’t protect you.
All
in all, thanks for letting us know about the correction and for researching
about it more.
Too bad, that’s a hoax.
I have arrested people and when they ask why I’m arresting them, I say, “cause you’re ugly.” (ok, ok, so I said this only to drunks who wouldn’t remember what I said once at the booking cell block) LOL!
Savvy piece , Coincidentally , you have been needing a GU Complaint of Divorce , my wife filled a fillable version here