Let me be clear, this goes for men and women. Chastity should serve to make the act of intercourse between married partners significant and special, both recreationally and pro creatively.

**Married couples who remain faithful probably consider their chastity virtuous and important.** - Chastity looks different depending on one's conditions of life when committing to it. It could mean abstaining from pre-marital sex, or it could mean a vow of total celibacy. But it can also mean staying faithful inside of a marriage - no extramarital affairs. - I think it's totally possible for open relationships and/or marriages to work. Indeed, in some cases, it may be necessary - perhaps for strengthening a bond between people who are otherwise struggling to fit into the conventional structures of marriage. - But I do imagine that for people who feel maintaining a faithful connection to a singular person to be their particular way of keeping a feeling of specialness, the concept and practice of chastity (faith inside the marriage) would take on a status of virtue and importance.

**'Chastity' doesn't fit with my ideas of virtuousness. And I think it's a dangerous mentality to uphold that what we do with our bodies is indicative of our moral standards.** - In [Western Christianity] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chastity#:~:text=In%20Western%20Christian%20morality%2C%20chastity,to%20do%20what%20is%20good.), 'chastity' is one of the 'seven virtues', as opposed to the 'seven deadly sins' - it's directly opposite to 'lust'. It's a word that connotes more than just abstinence, it's more about lifestyle choice, the continued decision to be celibate. - I'm not religious, so when I think of 'virtue' I'd probably agree with the [OED's definition,] (https://languages.oup.com/google-dictionary-en/) which is "behaviour showing high moral standards". - I think that chastity can absolutely be a beneficial lifestyle - different things work for different people. But I don't think continued abstinence from sex is indicative of high moral standards & I think the decisions we make about our bodies should be rooted in individual circumstances.