CASUALLY strolling down the street, Emma is forced to pick up pace as a group of lads begin catcalling.
She tries her best to ignore them but the insults "s**t" and "s**g" are ringing in her ears.
It’s not the first time she’s had slurs lobbed at her, but the irony is that promiscuity couldn’t be further from the truth for Emma.
In fact, at the age of 24 she is still a virgin.
“Some people may say I don’t look like a stereotypical virgin, but I don’t think a virgin should have a particular look,” she tells Fabulous in this exclusive interview.
“I think any woman who wants to protect her vulnerability should not be labelled.
“I used to walk down the street and people would call me a ‘s**g’ and a ‘s**t’ and I used to thinking, ‘I’m a f*****g virgin’.
“It’s funny that people have a perception of women who are good looking and would expect us to all be a certain way.”
While Emma may have shunned sex thus far, she is hoping to change that by taking part in a groundbreaking new programme.
The Aussie, who moved to Portsmouth before the pandemic, is set to appear on Channel 4’s new show, Virgin Island, alongside 11 other singletons who have never had sex before.
The shocking production will document the highs and lows of a group of young adults embarking on their “erotic awakening”.
Emma has never had a boyfriend, and before joining the show, her most intimate experience was snogging a stranger in a nightclub.
Despite her good looks and charming personality, she dealt with self-esteem issues as a teenager, which prevented her from taking things to the next level with lads as she grew into adulthood.
“I always thought, ‘I look like a dog’ and thought nobody would want to walk down the street holding my hand - so why would they want to be in a relationship with me?” she says.
“I feel like I would need to have a connection with someone to have good intimacy.
“If you have a one-night stand from a club, they expect you to know what you’re doing and have all the skills in the world - and they probably want you to act like a pornstar in the bedroom.
“All of that is a bit awkward to do when you are a virgin.”
This translated into how she interacted with men, even those who she wasn’t attracted to.
“Even if it was a man who I didn’t fancy or didn’t like the look of, I still felt awkward around them,” she says. “I don’t know why.”
Emma made the decision to appear on Channel 4’s new show, which aims to teach virgins how to have sex, after a casting call popped up on her Instagram feed.
It was requesting people who were aged over 21 and still virgins to get in touch, so Emma did.
“When I was applying, I thought it was an incredible concept for a show and it’s good that people want to speak about it,” she says.
“I think being a virgin is something people don’t want to talk about
“When you hit your twenties, people start to make comments and see you as an innocent being - and they want to protect you.
“They think you can’t be a bad b**** and have strong energy if you haven’t had sex - but I don’t feel like that is the case.”
Emma admits that the show has changed her opinion on sex, and she now realises she doesn’t have to be in a relationship to lose her virginity.
The Channel 4 show, called Virgin Island, will see a group of men and women brought together for their erotic awakening.
Producers hope the virginal participants will pop each other’s cherries.
However if that fails then they will turn to help from specialists known as “sex surrogates”.
A TV insider said: “There’s never been a TV show that pushes the boundaries quite like this — and probably never will be again.
“The aim is to hopefully have all the virgins find each other attractive, but if that fails then this is the plan B.
“These people are professionals who are constantly on hand for anything that may be required.”
Sex surrogates are professionals in the field of intimacy and are often deployed on the advice of medical professionals.
Sessions can begin with discussions about intimacy.
They then move on to touching which can lead to other sexual practices, with any psychological or physical issues gradually overcome.
“As long as it’s a mutual connection and both people understand, then it’s fine," she says.
Emma, a self-confessed "people pleaser", added that the best bit of advice she received while filming Virgin Island was to just do what’s best for her.
Since filming, she’s felt more empowered to build connections with men - and even finds herself being more touchy-feely with her male friends.
That being said, Emma is still yet to lose her virginity and is keen to break down stereotypes of what virgins look like.
It doesn’t need to be a big song and dance. When it happens naturally, that’s the best time for it
Emma
When it finally does happen, she’s not fussed about it being the most romantic moment of her life.
“A couple of years ago, I used to want the whole hotel room with petals laid out, balloons spelling ‘will you be my girlfriend?’ and then we have sex,” she says.
“But now, that’s actually really cringe to me.
“It doesn’t need to be a big song and dance. When it happens naturally, that’s the best time for it.
“I’m glad I don’t want to go down the relationship route anymore.”
Virgin Island premieres tonight on Channel 4 at 9pm and will also be available to stream on Channel4.com.
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