The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity Is Hurting Young WomenFrom the bestselling author of Sex Object, a searing investigation into American culture's obsession with virginity, and the argument for creating a future where women and girls are valued for more than sexuality The United States is obsessed with virginity--from the media to schools to government agencies. In The Purity Myth, Jessica Valenti argues that the country's intense focus on chastity is damaging to young women. Through in-depth cultural and social analysis, Valenti reveals that powerful messaging on both extremes--ranging from abstinence-only curriculum to "Girls Gone Wild" infomercials--place a young woman's worth entirely on her sexuality. Morals are therefore linked purely to sexual behavior, rather than values like honesty, kindness, and altruism. Valenti sheds light on the value--and hypocrisy--around the notion that girls remain virgins until they're married by putting into context the historical question of purity, modern abstinence-only education, pornography, and public punishments for those who dare to have sex. The Purity Myth presents a revolutionary argument that girls and women are overly valued for their sexuality, as well as solutions for a future without a damaging emphasis on virginity. |
From inside the book
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Page 11
... teenage girl struggling with the meaning behind my sexuality , and how my own virginity , or lack thereof , reflected whether or not I was a good person . I was the cruelly labeled slut , the burgeoning feminist who knew that something ...
... teenage girl struggling with the meaning behind my sexuality , and how my own virginity , or lack thereof , reflected whether or not I was a good person . I was the cruelly labeled slut , the burgeoning feminist who knew that something ...
Page 12
... Teen USA 1997 , beams under her brunette coiffed hair and a rhinestone tiara . Next to her picture , the caption reads , " It's been echoed to teens over and over again ... we have no morals , no dreams , and no future . But I know I am ...
... Teen USA 1997 , beams under her brunette coiffed hair and a rhinestone tiara . Next to her picture , the caption reads , " It's been echoed to teens over and over again ... we have no morals , no dreams , and no future . But I know I am ...
Page 13
... teen catalogs with I'm TIGHT LIKE SPANDEX emblazoned across the front aren't announcing sexiness ; they're announcing virginity . The same is true for “ sexy schoolgirl " costumes or provocative pictures of Disney teen pop singers . By ...
... teen catalogs with I'm TIGHT LIKE SPANDEX emblazoned across the front aren't announcing sexiness ; they're announcing virginity . The same is true for “ sexy schoolgirl " costumes or provocative pictures of Disney teen pop singers . By ...
Page 18
... teen,” a term often used in tandem with phrases like “at risk,” or alongside warnings about drug and alcohol use, regardless of how uncontroversial the sex itself may have been. Through the rest of high school, whenever I had a date, my ...
... teen,” a term often used in tandem with phrases like “at risk,” or alongside warnings about drug and alcohol use, regardless of how uncontroversial the sex itself may have been. Through the rest of high school, whenever I had a date, my ...
Page 19
... teens ' questions on Scarleteen ' — a sex- education website she founded with writer Heather Corinna so that young people could access information about sex online , other than porn and Net Nanny — when she discovered that she kept ...
... teens ' questions on Scarleteen ' — a sex- education website she founded with writer Heather Corinna so that young people could access information about sex online , other than porn and Net Nanny — when she discovered that she kept ...
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abortion abstinence education abstinence-only education actually American anti-choice believe Bitch magazine blame blog blogger boys called Center Chapter chaste chastity condoms conservative contraception daughters ethics example fact father female sexuality feminism feminist Feministing.com fetishizing funding Girls Gone Wild going Hanne Blank HPV vaccine hypersexualized Ibid laws legislation magazine mainstream male marriage masculinity moral NARAL Pro-Choice America organization parents percent pharmacist political pop culture porn pornography pregnancy premarital sex programs promiscuous punished purity balls purity myth rape raunch culture Real Doll reproductive health secondary virginity sexism sexual assault sexually active Shalit shame simply Stepp surgery talk teen teenage tell there’s thing tion told vaginas victim violence against women virginity movement virginity pledges virginity-movement Washington Post woman women of color wrote York young women young women's sexuality youth