DOCSLIB.ORG

Apostles of Abstinence

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Apostles of Abstinence CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Doctoral Dissertations Dissertations and Theses July 2018 Apostles of Abstinence Katherine Castiello Jones Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_2 Part of the Gender and Sexuality Commons, Politics and Social Change Commons, and the Sociology of Religion Commons Recommended Citation Castiello Jones, Katherine, "Apostles of Abstinence" (2018). Doctoral Dissertations. 1277. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_2/1277 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Dissertations and Theses at ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. APOSTLES OF ABSTINENCE A Dissertation Presented by KATHERINE JONES Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts Amherst in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY May 2018 Sociology 1 © Copyright by Katherine Jones 2018 All Rights Reserved 2 APOSTLES OF ABSTINENCE A Dissertation Presented By KATHERINE JONES Approved as to style and content by: _________________________________________________ Robert Zussman, Chair _________________________________________________ Joya Misra, Member _________________________________________________ Millicent Thayer, Member _________________________________________________ Miliann Kang, Member _________________________________________________ Amy Schalet, Member _________________________________________________ ____________________________________________ Michelle Budig, Department Chair Sociology Department 3 DEDICATION For Evan 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my advisor, Robert Zussman, for his many years of thoughtful, patient guidance and support. Thanks are also due to Joya Misra. Together their support and selfless contribution to my professional development have been invaluable and will forever be appreciated. I would also like to extend my gratitude to the members of my committee, Miliann Kang, Amy Schalet, and Millie Thayer, for their helpful comments and suggestions on all stages of this project. I want to thank Association for the Sociology of Religion whose Fichter Research Grant provided travel expenses and research funding during the writing of this manuscript. I wish to express my appreciation to all the individuals who shared their time and experiences with me during this project. Thank you to Evan Torner who provided support and advice through all stages of this project. A special thank you to all those whose support and friendship helped me to stay focused on this project and who have provided me with the encouragement to continue when the going got tough. v ABSTRACT APOSTLES OF ABSTINENCE MAY 2018 KATHERINE JONES, B.A. GRINNELL COLLEGE Ph.D., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Professor Robert Zussman My dissertation examines three organizations that promote premarital sexual abstinence. These three organizations broadly mirror different strands within the New Right: an evangelical Christian abstinence ministry called Purity Ring Posse, Revolutionary Romance, an elite group of conservatives on an Ivy League campus, and Stand Up! a group at a Mormon university that seeks to “burst the bubble” and facilitate outreach between pro-family organizations and students. Drawing on participant observation, interviews, and content analysis, my dissertation demonstrates how each group attempts to promote a unique version of abstinence that can be successfully mobilized in the public square. Purity Ring Posse articulates “ abstinence as rebellion,” drawing on a performance of “coolness” to encourage young people to choose abstinence as a way of proving their own hipness. Revolutionary Romance articulates “academic abstinence,” focusing on research-based evidence and philosophical arguments that make abstinence seem like a healthy, objectively beneficial choice, distancing themselves from religious arguments and justifications. Stand Up! articulates “abstinence as a family value,” placing the promotion of abstinence as part of a larger strategy to promote a particular understanding of marriage, gender, the family, and sexuality. This version of abstinence vi mixes scientific evidence with religious arguments. But each group faces tensions in articulating their version of abstinence to their different audiences. Although in different settings, with different audiences, they all operate in a similar political landscape, one in which the meaning of premarital sexual abstinence has largely been captured by the New Right. I find that there is variance within the abstinence movement, but also tremendous pressure to standardize from various conservative networking organizations. Abstinence groups, regardless of their particular context or environment, exist in a society in which abstinence has been highly politicized. Thus individualized understandings of abstinence created by each particular organization prove difficult to maintain once the group engages in any sort of outreach or engagement with the public. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................v ABSTRACT.......................................................................................................................vi INTRODUCTION ..............................................................................................................1 CHAPTER I. BURSTING THE BUBBLE: THE CHALLENGES OF PRO-FAMILY ACTIVISM AT BYU.............................................................................................................................31 Provo......................................................................................................................35 Brigham Young University....................................................................................37 BYUSA and Student Clubs....................................................................................38 The LDS Church and the Family...........................................................................41 Abstinence at BYU................................................................................................43 Proposition 8 and Backlash....................................................................................48 Stand Up!...............................................................................................................51 Stand Up! Members...............................................................................................58 Family Symposium................................................................................................60 Aftermath and New Organization..........................................................................76 Solidarity and Social Movement Communities.....................................................78 Conclusion.............................................................................................................80 II. PURITY RING POSSE: MAKING ABSTINENCE COOL........................................83 Purity Ring Posse...................................................................................................86 Tensions within the Evangelical Christian Community........................................93 The Tarnished Purity Ring...................................................................................101 Catholics and Protestants.....................................................................................110 PRP Orientation...................................................................................................114 Orientation Devotional........................................................................................117 Creating the Live Event.......................................................................................120 Jackie and Ingrid..................................................................................................124 Jackie…………....................................................................................................126 Ingrid…………....................................................................................................128 iTour Apps for Life..............................................................................................130 Cool Christians....................................................................................................135 Jubilee..................................................................................................................136 Pancho..................................................................................................................138 viii The Show.............................................................................................................141 Broken Heart Skit................................................................................................143 Videos..................................................................................................................144 Starting Over Talk................................................................................................145 Conclusion...........................................................................................................150
Load more

Recommended publications
  • This Is Who I Am: a Phenomenological Analysis of Female Purity Pledgers’ Sense of Identity and Sexual Agency
    THIS IS WHO I AM: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF FEMALE PURITY PLEDGERS’ SENSE OF IDENTITY AND SEXUAL AGENCY by KATRINA N. HANNA B.A., Arkansas Tech University, 2010 A THESIS submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree MASTER OF ARTS Department of Communication Studies College of Arts and Sciences KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY Manhattan, Kansas 2016 Approved by: Major Professor Dr. Soo-Hye Han Abstract At the turn of the 21st century, an ideological movement defined by many as the modesty movement helped push sexual abstinence as a controversial yet significant public issue in the United States. Concerned with a “hyper-sexualized” culture, modesty advocates urged young women to make a pledge to remain pure until marriage. Following the the growth of the movement, feminist scholars have been critical of the movement and the potentially detrimental consequences of purity pledges on young women’s identity, sexuality, and sexual agency. This study takes a step back from this critical view of purity pledges and listens to young women’s lived experience of making a purity pledge and living a life of purity. Specifically, this study asks how purity pledgers understand and enact purity and how they perceive their sexuality and sexual agency. To answer these questions, qualitative interviews were conducted with nine young women who at some point in their life made a purity pledge. A thematic analysis revealed three major themes: 1) living a pure life is situated within multifaceted perspectives on purity, 2) living a life of purity consists of negotiating multiple “selves,” and 3) living a life of purity grants and reinforces a sense of agency.
    [Show full text]
  • The Adolescent Journey of Evangelical Youths, 1970-2000
    W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 2015 "Pretty girls and fascinating boys" : the adolescent journey of evangelical youths, 1970-2000 Maria Alexandria Kane College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the History of Religion Commons, Religion Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Kane, Maria Alexandria, ""Pretty girls and fascinating boys" : the adolescent journey of evangelical youths, 1970-2000" (2015). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539623371. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/s2-74m4-4698 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. “Pretty Girls and Fascinating Boys”: The Adolescent Journey of Evangelical Youths, 1970-2000 Maria Alexandria Kane Houston, Texas Master of Arts, The College of William & Mary, 2008 Master of Divinity, Duke University, 2006 Bachelor of Arts History & Classics, Howard University, 2003 A Dissertation presented to the Graduate Faculty of the College of William and Mary in Candidacy for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Lyon G. Tyler Department of History The College of William and Mary January, 2015 COMPLIANCE PAGE Research approved by Dr. Maureen Fitzgerald Protocol number(s): PHSC-2011-08-097433 mafitz Date(s) of approval: October 13, 2011. APPROVAL PAGE Pretty Girls and Fascinating Boys: The Adolescent Journey of Evangelical Youths, 1970-2000 is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy • Maria Alexandria Kane Approved by thaHommittee, November 24, 2014 Committee Co- Associate Professor Leisa D.
    [Show full text]
  • Women, Sex, and God: Women's Sexuality and the Internalization of Religious Messages
    University of Missouri, St. Louis IRL @ UMSL Dissertations UMSL Graduate Works 12-16-2015 Women, Sex, and God: Women's Sexuality and the Internalization of Religious Messages Petra Sterling Blum University of Missouri-St. Louis, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://irl.umsl.edu/dissertation Part of the Education Commons Recommended Citation Blum, Petra Sterling, "Women, Sex, and God: Women's Sexuality and the Internalization of Religious Messages" (2015). Dissertations. 134. https://irl.umsl.edu/dissertation/134 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the UMSL Graduate Works at IRL @ UMSL. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of IRL @ UMSL. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Women, Sex, and God: Women’s Sexuality and the Internalization of Religious Messages Petra S. Blum MA, Covenant Theological Seminary, 1996 BA, James Madison University, 1992 A Dissertation Submitted to The Graduate School at the University of Missouri-St. Louis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education with an emphasis in Counseling December 2015 Advisory Committee Chair/Angela Coker, Ph.D. Wolfgang Althof, Ph.D. Susan Kashubeck-West, Ph.D. Mary Lee Nelson, Ph.D. Copyright, Petra S. Blum, 2015 Abstract Grounded theory methodology was used to explore women’s internalization of religious messages regarding their sexuality. Two research questions served as the guide for this study: how are women’s sexual self-views informed by their religious teaching, and how are these messages, along with their experiences, lived in them sexually, psychologically, and spiritually? Eleven women (ages 30-74) were chosen who had been raised in a Western Christian tradition in the US (8 Protestant, 3 Catholic).
    [Show full text]
  • Talking Back to Purity Culture by Rachel Joy Welcher
    Taken from Talking Back to Purity Culture by Rachel Joy Welcher. Copyright © 2020 by Rachel Joy Welcher. Published by InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL. www.ivpress.com. 1 FROM RINGS AND PLEDGES TO CONVERSATION IN COMMUNITY recently spoke at a conference on sexuality at a church in I North Tulsa. At every plenary session, workshop, and panel, I heard people address topics out loud that most of us deal with in private. A young woman shared about the years she spent being sex-trafficked by her own father, and how Jesus transformed her life and gave her hope. There was a panel discussion about same-sex attraction, one about singleness, and another about how the church responds to sexual assault. Words like masturbation were spoken aloud instead of being merely hinted at, and in all of this there was no intent to tit- illate or create shock value or cause nervous laughter. The mood was one of contrition and compassion. Alongside conviction, I felt years of sexual shame sliding off my shoulders. As I looked around, I saw tear-streaked faces. A hush bathed the room not because of guilt but because dark things were coming to light. Burdens, lies, questions, and struggles were being brought from the chill of isolation into the warmth of community. I have never experienced anything quite like it. 347600YDK_PURITY_CC2019_PC.indd 11 24/08/2020 15:23:29 12 TALKING BACK TO PURITY CULTURE MODERN EVANGELICAL PURITY CULTURE The Christian community I was raised in, in late twentieth and early twenty-first century America, tried to tame teenage sexuality
    [Show full text]
  • University of Ottawa Major Research Paper the Female Chastity and Virginity Movement in North America Megan Ladelpha 3825472 S
    1 University of Ottawa Major Research Paper The Female Chastity and Virginity Movement in North America Megan Ladelpha 3825472 SOC7938 S Professor P. Couton Professor W. Scobie November 18th 2015 2 Abstract Through qualitative research and analysis, this paper sought to uncover how women’s sexuality is conformed through patriarchal institutions (home, school, Church and Government), which evidently created a social movement, the Chastity and Virginity Movement. North American society promotes women’s worth based on their sexuality. With this understanding, this paper will examine how virginal conduct, one aspect of female sexuality, is socially constructed by these largely patriarchal institutions whose intent is to frame and control the sexual identities of women in North America. Marriage, media, and the Chastity and Virginity Movement serve as tools to ensure male gratification and establish control over women’s (sexual) identities. Tools such as these are used to tailor and maintain an “ideal” construct of how a woman should behave. To conform to these behaviours, women must learn to control their sexuality in order to successfully acquire male recognition, acceptance, and approval. To that end, I have coined the term cherry bride to describe a sexually “pure,” romanticized, woman that is ideally shaped (and plucked) for male (sexual) companionship. My research discusses the implications of such strategies, in order to recognize how they promote or privilege a particular type of sexuality (virginal conduct) to women. Thus, this research addresses the following research questions: Does a Chastity and Virginity Movement truly exist? Is there a female Chastity and Virginity movement? If so, is it socially constructed for male pleasure? 3 Acknowledgements Wow! What a ride! First off, I need to start by thanking God.
    [Show full text]
  • An Ethical Examination of Women's Bodies As the Place of Sin, Shame
    Walking Tall and Unashamed: An Ethical Examination of Women’s Bodies as the Place of Sin, Shame, and Violence in Monotheistic Development By Abigail Katelyn CroweTipton Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Vanderbilt University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in Religion May 8, 2020 Nashville, Tennessee Approved: Emilie M. Townes, Ph.D. Annalisa Azzoni, Ph.D. Dedicated to my parents who stand with me in everything ii Table of Contents Page Dedication…………………………………………………………………………………………ii Chapters Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………..1 I. The Before Time………………………………………………………………………………...6 II. The Ideological Shift………………………………………………………………………….20 The Israelites……………………………………………………………………………..20 Implications ……………………………………………………………………………...26 The Greeks……………………………………………………………………………….34 III. The Setting In………………………………………………………………………………...38 IV. The Results of Monotheistic Ethics (The Now)……………………………………………..50 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………….65 Works Cited……………………………………………………………………………………...68 iii Introduction How does one begin a discussion of women? Despite the tremendous attention this topic generates, the answers remain elusive. Scholars struggle to define what it is to be a woman and what encompasses female experiences. Moreover, the waters of definition on issues like sex and gender become even murkier. However elusive the definition of womanhood may be in academic conversation today, we can reconstruct what the historical picture of womanhood has been. The dominant line of thinking in Western archeology, for example, expresses the idea that no matter how much a society grows from one phase of development to another, gender roles are set biologically.1 Although this notion has recently begun to shift the mainstream interpretations hold up men as the dominant providers and cast women as passive recipients of male care.
    [Show full text]
  • Promoting Sexual Purity in a Call-Out Culture Era
    PROMOTING SEXUAL PURITY IN A CALL-OUT CULTURE ERA: ONE PURITY MOVEMENT LEADER’S STRATEGIES IN NAVIGATING CRITIQUES OF THE #METOO/#CHURCHTOO MOVEMENTS by Christine E. Crouse-Dick Submitted to the graduate degree program in Communication Studies and the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. ________________________________ Chairperson Adrianne Kunkel, Ph.D. ________________________________ Beth Innocenti, Ph.D. ________________________________ Yan Bing Zhang, Ph.D. ________________________________ Rebecca Barrett-Fox, Ph.D. ________________________________ Robert Minor, Ph.D. Date Defended: May 6, 2019 ii The Dissertation Committee for Christine E. Crouse-Dick certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: PROMOTING SEXUAL PURITY IN A CALL-OUT CULTURE ERA: ONE PURITY MOVEMENT LEADER’S STRATEGIES IN NAVIGATING CRITIQUES OF THE #METOO/#CHURCHTOO MOVEMENTS ________________________________ Chairperson Adrianne Kunkel, Ph.D. Date Approved: May 6, 2019 iii ABSTRACT While a sizable body of research has examined the impact of purity movement rhetoric on its target audience (e.g., Bearman & Brückner, 2001; Brückner & Bearman, 2005; DeRogatis, 2015; di Mauro & Joffe, 2009; Diefendorf, 2015; Doan & Williams, 2008; Freitas, 2008; Gardner, 2011; Gish, 2016; Kieser, 2014; Klein, 2018; Lord, 2010; Manning, 2015; Moslener, 2015; Price, 2011; Regnerus, 2007; Rosenbaum, 2009; Schermer Sellers, 2017; Williams, 2011), to date, no studies have explored purity leaders’ responses to critiques of the movement. In this project, I explore communication tactics one purity movement leader uses to respond to criticism of purity movement teachings during the rise of the #MeToo and #ChurchToo movements. Using a multimethod crystallized approach (Ellingson, 2009), I conducted ethnographic participant observation; in-depth, semi-structured interviews; and analyses of blog posts, formal and informal speeches and interviews, social media posts, and several best-selling books.
    [Show full text]
  • Apostles of Abstinence
    University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Doctoral Dissertations Dissertations and Theses July 2018 Apostles of Abstinence Katherine Castiello Jones University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_2 Part of the Gender and Sexuality Commons, Politics and Social Change Commons, and the Sociology of Religion Commons Recommended Citation Castiello Jones, Katherine, "Apostles of Abstinence" (2018). Doctoral Dissertations. 1277. https://doi.org/10.7275/11946289.0 https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_2/1277 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Dissertations and Theses at ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. APOSTLES OF ABSTINENCE A Dissertation Presented by KATHERINE JONES Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts Amherst in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY May 2018 Sociology 1 © Copyright by Katherine Jones 2018 All Rights Reserved 2 APOSTLES OF ABSTINENCE A Dissertation Presented By KATHERINE JONES Approved as to style and content by: _________________________________________________ Robert Zussman, Chair _________________________________________________ Joya Misra, Member _________________________________________________ Millicent Thayer, Member _________________________________________________
    [Show full text]
  • Let's Talk About Celibacy! How Western Christian Culture
    Knauss, Interdisciplinary Journal for Religion and Transformation (2017), Heft 5, 84-104, DOI 10.14220/jrat.2017.3.2.84 LetsTalk about Celibacy!How Western Christian Culture Affects the Construction of Sex, Body,and Gender in Popular and Scholarly Discourses Stefanie Knauss Theperiodical or permanent abstinence from sexual activity is acultural and religious practicethat can be found across historical and cultural contexts.Contemporaryreligious and non-religious discourses in the western context promote celibacy in consciously secular terms as ahip and even sexy lifestyle choice of the career-conscious and self- determined modern woman and man and idealize it as apossibility –especially for women –tofind freedom,energy and subjecthood. At first sight, this seems far removed from the traditional Christian understandingofcelibacyasanexercise of discipline over an unruly body that brings the believer closer to God,orthe moresecularview of celibacy as arather sad sign that somethingiswrong with the celibate person. While Iconsiderthe oft-stated intention to develop apositive understanding of celibacy and to broaden the notion of sexuality to includecelibacy as aform of sexualityinits own right apositiveand important contribution of celibacy discourses at this moment, my analysis of popular and scholarly discourses about celibacy also highlights problematic aspects that counteract these attempts.AsIwill argue in this contribution from the perspective of Christian feminist theology,the apparently fundamental transformation in the understanding of celibacyfrom arepressive to an emancipatory practice has changed little in how dis- coursesconstruct worldviews,social realities and identities,inparticular with regard to sex, body and gender. Celibacy;gender;body; sexuality;internet; body/mind dualism Stefanie KnaussisanAssociateProfessor of Theology and CultureatVillanova Uni- versity (USA).
    [Show full text]
  • Surfing the Tide of Sex Anarchy: How Sexual Co-Revolutionaries Remade Evangelical Marriage, 1960-1980" (2016)
    University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 3-23-2016 Surfing the Tide of Sex Anarchy: How Sexual Co- Revolutionaries Remade Evangelical Marriage, 1960-1980 Robert Nathanael Morris University of South Florida, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd Part of the United States History Commons Scholar Commons Citation Morris, Robert Nathanael, "Surfing the Tide of Sex Anarchy: How Sexual Co-Revolutionaries Remade Evangelical Marriage, 1960-1980" (2016). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/6328 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Surfing the Tide of Sex Anarchy: How Sexual Co-Revolutionaries Remade Evangelical Marriage, 1960-1980 by Robert Nathanael Morris A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts with a concentration in American History Department of History College of Arts and Sciences University of South Florida Major Professor: David K. Johnson, Ph.D. Julia F. Irwin, Ph.D. K. Stephen Prince, Ph.D. Date of Approval: March 22, 2016 Keywords: sexuality, therapeutic culture, traditional family, conservatism Copyright © 2016, Robert Nathanael Morris TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract............................................................................................................................................ii
    [Show full text]
  • Gender, Romance and Relationships in the Christian Courtship Movement
    Happily Ever After: Gender, Romance and Relationships in the Christian Courtship Movement Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Elizabeth Lauren Shively, M.A. Department of Comparative Studies The Ohio State University 2012 Dissertation Committee: Tanya Erzen, Advisor Mary Thomas, Advisor Hugh B. Urban 1 Copyright by Elizabeth Lauren Shively 2012 2 Abstract Courtship, the practice of forgoing traditional dating in favor of trusting God to choose your mate, has been gaining ground among conservative Christians in the U.S. since the early 1990s, but it has received little attention in scholarship or popular media. It emerged among Christian homeschooling families who were looking for an alternative to traditional dating, which they feared would bring sexual and romantic temptations into the lives of their children. The movement gained widespread appeal with the 1997 publication of Joshua Harris’ courtship confessional I Kissed Dating Goodbye, which went on to sell nearly a million copies. Combining ethnographic fieldwork, including interviews with courtship participants, and analysis of courtship media, including the movement’s popular self-help books, this dissertation is the first to examine the courtship movement comprehensively, including its authors and proponents, media, theology, discourses and participants. This dissertation traces the growth of courtship alongside the Christian homeschool movement, arguing that
    [Show full text]
  • The Father-Daughter Relationship in the Christian Sexual Purity Movement
    religions Article Producing High Priests and Princesses: The Father-Daughter Relationship in the Christian Sexual Purity Movement Elizabeth Gish Honors College, Western Kentucky University, 1906 College Heights Blvd., Bowling Green, KY 42101, USA; [email protected]; Tel.: +1-270-745-2081 Academic Editor: Lawrence Snyder Received: 18 December 2015; Accepted: 9 March 2016; Published: 18 March 2016 Abstract: This article describes and analyzes father-daughter purity balls in the context of the contemporary U.S. American conservative Christian sexual purity movement, with an emphasis on taking the self-understanding of those involved in the movement into account. It shows the ways that the idealization of a hierarchical father-daughter relationship both constructs and reflects sexual purity ideals. The Christian sexual purity teachings frame this father-daughter relationship as an essential part of forming the ideal subject, and as reflective of the right order of the kingdom of God. In the logic of sexual purity, a good man is the strong high-priest leader of the household and the ideal girl is princess-like: white, non-poor, attractive, pure, feminine, delicate, and receptive. She is preparing, under her father’s guidance, for heterosexual marriage. Attention to the father-daughter relationship in the sexual purity movement highlights the ways that sexual purity is primarily about subject formation and the ordering of relationships—in families, in the nation, and in the church—and less about the specifics of when particular sexual acts take place or the public health risks that might come from those acts. This exploration also brings into relief the ways that contemporary conservative Christian sexual purity teachings draw from and build on two prominent aspects of contemporary U.S.
    [Show full text]