Gri Bölge

Sometimes a smile can have dramatic consequences. The ECG machine beeps in an oppressive monotone while a young woman is undergoing an examination at a clinic to investigate a physical problem. Her stern-looking mother watches at her bedside. While she is explaining to her daughter the details of the next examination the uncomfortable question arises of whether she has had sex. The daughter begins to smile, as she always does when she is nervous. Her mother knows exactly what this means and is shocked. Something in their relationship has broken beyond repair. All at once we begin to understand the kind of pressure to which young women are subjected in cultures where virginity is regarded as a virtue.