purity whaaat??!!

So, I'm in the midst of FINALLY reading The Purity Myth by Jessica Valenti, a book about how America's obsession with virginity is harming young women. It's really quite an interesting read thus far, in particular the section about purity balls. I was unaware of how little I actually knew about these events until I did some research after reading the section in the book.

Purity balls, a father/daughter dance-like event, aim to promote virginity until marriage for girls by their fathers. The girls make a virginity pledge and their fathers promise to "protect them" until their husband takes the place of the father as protector.

And no, I'm not exaggerating. This stuff is fucking ridiculous. Not to mention sexist, heteronormative, and even a bit incestuous.

Check some footage:



I love the fact that there are no boys making pledges to their mothers to stay "pure." Or the fact that the emphasis is on the men protecting the woman's "purity." It's not like these men are promoting ownership over women or anything. Definitely not. And yes. Don't you agree that "women were created to be accepted by men"??!?!

I guess I shouldn't mention that statistics have shown that the majority of girls who make these virginity pledges do not adhere to said vow, and that these girls are more likely to practice unsafe sex.

You can check out more footage HERE.