“Harlem Women Disagree with ‘Virgin’ Decision.”

“Harlem Women Disagree with ‘Virgin’ Decision.”

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       The article gives the background of a New York Family Court decision that if a woman does not disclose that she is not a virgin to her husband then she is committing fraud. In response, the husband will be allowed to leave his wife with no support. Ruby Hurley was mentioned in this article because of her views on this topic. This article was written in 1949 and Hurley goes on to explain that at this point in time, it is “ridiculous” to be looking for a woman who is still a virgin by the time of marriage. From a historical standpoint, there were laws in place that promoted a bigoted or slower way of thought like anti-voting rights and anti-miscegenation laws. The law that allowed men to leave their wives was a gendered version of the racially segregated laws named Jim Crow laws. These same thoughts were implemented in daily life, which is why this court decision happened in the first place. Ruby Hurley was a radical in the way that she voiced her opinions on a socially taboo concept like virginity. At the time of the article, Ruby Hurley was serving as the Director of Youth Groups for the National Association for the Advancement of Color People (NAACP). This made her stance even more radical because this subject was not necessarily something that would push the NAACP further, but a comment that needed to be voiced publicly. It is a radical notion that Hurley would represent "un-chaste" women in 1949.

“Harlem Women Disagree with ‘Virgin’ Decision.”