Here are some thoughts I posted not long ago on the Milestones thread,
about what drove girls to seek virgin martyrdom -
they seem relevant to this discussion:
1 In a male-dominated, macho, militaristic culture, the "battle" in Courtroom, Torture Chamber and Arena was the only site where females could display the prestige qualities of strength and courage. There seems to have been a belief – very widespread in the ancient world – that sexual activity is debilitating, chastity (male and female) conserves physical strength and even confers magical powers.
2 As in many cultures today, girls were betrothed as children, married at puberty, and pregnant in their mid-teens. Seeking martyrdom, like teenage suicide or self-starving, could have been a drastic response to the traumas of adolescence.
3 Again like in many cultures today, virginity was a matter of personal and family honour. Guarding her virginity in the face of all assaults was (is) a way a woman could remain "sole possessor" of her own body.
4 Christian women believed, firmly and literally, that if they died gloriously as martyrs, they would become brides of Christ, enjoying unalloyed (sexual) bliss throughout eternity.
Whether they experienced Torture and death by Crucifixion or other cruel ways in a state of masochistic ecstasy
of course we can't tell, but what they were going through was deeply associated with their female sexuality,
with the closely-linked pleasure and pain of being a woman.