Book Club: The Purity Myth
Posted by Sarahbear on May 1, 2010
A gorgeous cover.
April’s book choice is The Purity Myth by Jessica Valenti. I read it today after reading Britni’s review of it. I had intended to pick it up earlier this month but our local library doesn’t have much of a selection and I was a bit busy with projects around the house. It slipped my mind. It was a good book, overall, but there are a few things that struck me the wrong way. Especially in the beginning of the book. In fact, there were several points throughout the book that were teetering on the edge of objectivity. I understand that the writer has an agenda, but it puts a bad taste in the reader’s mouth when you come off as judgmental towards something they live (or have lived). You don’t want to put your audience on the defensive from the get go. I am glad I continued reading, after I was offended, because the author had some really great things to say.
I grew up in a Southern Baptist home, so a lot of the things talked about were things I actually experienced. I pledged my (born-again) virginity to my future husband at a True Love Waits ceremony at my church and wore a solid gold band around my ring finger while I was in high school to symbolize this commitment. I’ve got quite a bit to say about how that experience and my upbringing in the church colored my sex life until now, but that’s for another blog. The beginning of the book was quite repetitive and preachy (ha!) and the author backed up their opinions by citing various radical things that the most extreme examples of things done by the Southern Baptist Convention and Focus on the Family.
I appreciated the way she tied in rape culture, misogyny, porn and gender roles into the book. She did an excellent job of explaining how putting virginity on a pedestal related to various aspects of our current society. Reading the book has given me a better understanding of all of those things. As strange as it may sound, it made me feel normal and better about myself and my sexuality. Perhaps that was one point of the book. The way she talked about how idealized and sexualized youth and purity was somehow comforted me about my post-child birth, aging body. I’m really glad I took the time to read it.
If you read the book or have anything to say about it you should head over to Britni’s blog. That’s where the discussion is being held this month. It’s easier to have the discussion in one place instead of trying to follow them on all the different blogs that reviewed the book.
You can read Alana’s review here.
