Because the web magazine Slate must take all of its cues from what others are talking about in the mainstream media – though, of course, that's how every website works – and then argue the opposite of general norms, they've latched on to yesterday's Wall Street Journal article about Muslim women having their hymen's reconstructed so they can marry as "virgins." (To be fair, the Times latched on to it to, and then wrote its own piece.)

You know how many in the West would frown on this practice, seeing the Islamic requirement that women be pure on their wedding day tantamount to anything from sexism to civil rights abuse? Not Slate's William Saletan! (Yes, that William Saletan.)

You might know Saletan for his argument, also in Slate, that race is a determining factor in somebody's intelligence. (Malcolm Gladwell, among others effectively called him an idiot.) So take his positions with a pound of two of salt, but here we go:

The virginity fetishism these women endure is sexist, hypocritical, and totally unrealistic. The pressure applied by families and communities to enforce it is obscene. One woman interviewed by the Times says her fiance's family is insisting that she go to Morocco so a doctor of their choosing can inspect her for proof of virginity. Don't even get me started on the mental sickness of insisting that your wife bleed on your wedding night. And to top it off, the procedure is a sham. Restoring your hymen doesn't make you a virgin.

You and I can sit here all day rehearsing these complaints. And some day, God willing, the twisted culture of virginity hypocrisy will wither away. But until it does, hypocrisy is its own best remedy. Help these women deceive their husbands and parents. If they want artificial hymen restoration, let them have it.

I'm no fan of most cosmetic medicine. It's a surrender to stupid social pressures. It's superficial, unnecessary, and expensive. It perfectly expresses our insecurity and triviality. We should use technology to overcome tragic realities, not to alter stigmatized appearances.

But sometimes, a stigmatized appearance can become a tragic reality. That's the paradox of virginity fetishism. The quality of your soul doesn't matter. If you don't have that bit of tissue between your legs, you're garbage. [Slate]