Jessica Valenti, one of my favorite author-bloggers, is already catching shit for her new book: “The Purity Myth: How America’s Obsession with Virginity is Hurting Young Women” - which is interesting, seeing as the book hasn’t even been published yet. The mere suggestion that virginity may not be all that it’s cracked up to be is like gasoline on the neocon fire. There’s every aspect of the typical religious right shitstorm; slut-shaming, ad hominem attacks, and rape apologism:

“Why is it so many feminists are so obsessed with turning teenage girls into raging whores? How is that something you tell girls they should aspire to? Sleeping around is not a good thing… Maybe I should just write a book called ‘The Feminism Myth: How Feminists’ Obsession with Slutting Around is Hurting Young Women’. See, feminism did not come around as a vehicle for women to be able to have on-demand birth control and abortions, or sleep around like horndog men.” - Cassy Fiano

“From what I understand Jessica is a bit promiscuous and wrote about it in her previous book. I would theorize that she is a little jealous of those girls/women who can practice abstinence.” - Paul L.

“If we want to see the end of the “rape culture”, women need to do thier part and stop sleeping with scumbags. I try to do my part by being a resoectful, committed guy who wants to get married. Too bad feminists see the conservtive man as Satan.” - Andrew

All this blather really does is make Valenti’s point, which is that we are a people obsessed with virginity. The concept of virginity as a cure-all for the societal ills perceived by conservatives - birth control access, abortion, and “raging whores” - puts women in a position of culpability; it’s our fault the world is so sinful, and if we’d just kept our legs together, maybe we wouldn’t have made it so.

The reality? Having sex before marriage does not make anyone “impure.” It doesn’t make anyone a “slut” or a bad person. And saving sex for marriage CAN be a good thing, if it’s a conscious choice made outside societal pressures.