Book by Dr. Camden Morgante
As a purity culture survivor, I appreciated this book a great deal.
Camden was able to identify purity culture myths and other relevant cultures—rape culture, patriarchy, marriage culture etc.—and describe why people like myself have been so hurt by purity culture. The chapters in this book really delve into various myths, why they aren’t accurate or helpful, and how to heal and move forward.
She also writes about reconstructing our sexual ethics. I found the chapter about shame particularly helpful as reconstruction often means actively fighting against shame to find the empathy, validation and the connection we desire.
Camden still believes that the Christian sexual ethic includes abstinence until marriage. She did not over-emphasize or push this ethic. She is un-catastrophizing premarital sex, meaning she has clearly pointed out that it is not the “unforgivable sin” and that having premarital sex doesn’t mean you are not a Christian. I definitely appreciated how she talked about consent culture and that not being enough. We need more than just consent culture in which anything that is legal is declared ethical, and we need more than purity culture which is a culture of sexual shame. Personally, I also want more than the covenant culture of Christianity as well. Covenant culture treats premarital sex and divorce the same way, and yet statistics tell us that most people have premarital sex and something close to fifty percent get divorced. I lean more toward exploring ethical, serial monogamy. Camden invites exploration and forming one’s own sexual ethic, while also holding to a more traditional ethic herself.
This book is great for anyone searching for deep healing from sexual shame and/or purity culture, and those ready to reconstruct their sexual ethics post shame/purity.