num_pages: 263
description: The United States is obsessed with virginity  from the media to schools to government agencies. In The Purity Myth Jessica Valenti argues that the countrys 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 curriculum to Girls Gone Wild infomercials  place a young womans 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 virgin until theyre 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.
language: English
title: The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity is Hurting Young Women
publisher: None