Sailor's girlfriend with yen to yield to independence — the virgin kind? (5,3)
I believe the answer is:
olive oil
'virgin kind?' is the definition.
(as in virgin olive oil)
I don't understand the remainder of the clue.
(Other definitions for olive oil that I've seen before include "Culinary liquid" , "Ingredient of salad dressing" , "Pressed cooking ingredient" , "Pressed liquid used in cooking, medicine, soaps etc" , "dressing maybe" .)