Here's my story... As a teenager, I dealt with a lot of depression and low self-esteem. I didn't date at all until I was a freshman in college. I was in a serious relationship with a guy for a year in my late teens. He asked me to sleep with him. But, I told him that although I was attracted to him, I wasn't planning on sleeping with any man except the man I married. He then wanted to marry me. I liked him, but I wasn't in love with him and I didn't want to get married, so we broke up.
Throughout my twenties, I was in love with a much older man. We never slept together although there was a very intense attraction and we talked about it all the time. I wanted to sleep with him, but I couldn't bring myself to because again, I needed to have a commitment. And, I knew that I wasn't going to get one from him. I'm a very sensitive person and I just could never imagine being that close to someone unless I loved him and felt very secure that he was committed to me.
The first guy, I didn't love. The second guy, I did love, but he wasn't committed to me. After I finally got over the second relationship, I've pretty much stayed away from serious relationships. There are many reasons for this, but one reason is that I think that most men would think badly of me for not being more sexually experienced. Once I got to be over 30 and a virgin, I started feeling very embarrassed about it. Although, I'm don't really wish I had done things differently. I just wish I had found the right person at a younger age so I wouldn't feel so different from everyone else.
I guess my question is, if you dated a woman like me, what would you think? And, what would you suggest that I tell a man I'm dating about this situation?