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.
- ISBN10 1580052533
- ISBN13 9781580052535
- Publish Date 24 March 2009 (first published 1 January 2009)
- Publish Status Out of Stock
- Out of Print 23 March 2011
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Avalon Publishing Group
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 300
- Language English