By Linda Kay Klein
A brilliant exposé of the most damaging aspects of purity culture.
This book is full of the real life accounts of young women who have suffered extreme shame, anxiety, sexual repression and more, as a result of purity culture influences, the author’s own experience included. Shame is explained in detail and statistics given to show that many evangelical women in particular suffer long term effects–well past their walk down the aisle or their first sexual encounter.
I couldn’t put this book down. I found myself in every story. I could relate to the modesty messages, the outrage on behalf of sexual abuse survivors, the deconstructing of my faith because these messages do not add up, the anxiety when it comes to actually having sex, the panic, the shame over masturbation… I’m so grateful for these people sharing their stories.
I related most of all to Linda herself. The internal battle she struggled about whether or not to write this book, is exactly the same as my own struggle when it comes to writing about sexual ethics. I wrote a book 5-10yrs ago, then pulled it off the market because I felt the responsibility was too great. But now I am determined to talk about sexual ethics & abuse, purity & rape culture, more than ever before. Thank you, Linda for sharing your journey.
Purity culture’s suppression of sexual urges, its shaming of women’s bodies & its animalization of masculinity, are in desperate need of this kind of critique!