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. All data were analyzed via an inductive and iterative process, and open and axial coding was employed to identify dominant strategies that Dannah Gresh uses to mitigate criticism (Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Strauss & Corbin, 1998). Results suggest that Gresh exercises a four-part system of strategies (which I call a “Framework of Strategic Curation”) to mollify critiques directed toward her role within the movement: (1) curated erudition, (2) curated imperfection, (3) curated moderation, and (4) curated deflection. The findings imply that while Dannah Gresh does respond to critiques, her responses are curated in such a way as to reinforce and bolster the same messages she has promoted for the duration of her ministry and that any content-level changes she makes are largely cosmetic in nature. iv DEDICATION I dedicate this dissertation to all the younger versions of myself— especially those versions who, being so steeped in the central messages of evangelical Christian sexual purity thought and teaching, learned to stifle, belittle, diminish, and extinguish the inherent, intuitive wisdom within and, thus, struggled with chronic internal torment on the road to understanding self and the surrounding world. May all of the younger versions of Christine, and those who are traveling or who have traveled paths like hers, ease restfully and confidently into the knowledge that you are worthy as you are, and that you deserve to actively take up physical, emotional, spiritual, sexual, and intellectual space. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Writing a dissertation is no small feat; it requires an inordinate amount of courage, patience, time, resources, resolve, and a network of supportive partners who make possible all of the aforementioned elements. My support network deserves far more than the few words allotted in this space, nevertheless the following sentiments hint at the depth of my indebtedness to each person listed below. I am ever grateful for their care, attention, and insights. First and foremost, I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to my advisor Dr. Adrianne Kunkel for her extraordinary brand of mentorship and guidance. Dr. Kunkel, your ability to simultaneously tend to my development as a scholar as well as a person is simply a dream come true. Never in my wildest dreams did I anticipate that I could learn so much about myself at the soul level while also learning how to sharpen my intellectual arguments and to develop facility with new-to-me research methods. Your patience, prodding, scholarly acumen, curious nature, and celebratory spirit provided me with vitality and joy at nearly every turn in this intricately complex, emotionally draining, and wholly daunting process. Your advising style created within me an excitement about receiving every single round of edits. Thank you for showing me that I am capable of much more than I ever believed possible. You are an inimitable scholar, mentor, and friend; a true gift to me and to the enterprise of humanistic inquiry. To my dissertation committee, thank you for your excitement about and interest in this topic, for prodding me to better understand historical frameworks before moving forward, for your shared awe and wonder about the phenomena under investigation, for pushing me to keep this undertaking narrowly focused, and for helping me understand that this dissertation paves the way for a potential life-long research trajectory. Without your guidance, I may have simply finished this project only for the sake of finishing it. Dr. Beth Innocenti, I have so enjoyed vi learning from you over the course of my time as a student at the University of Kansas. You have unlocked for me an understanding of the importance of holding in tension the value of complex, theoretical language and the demystification of such language for lay audiences. Dr. Yan Bing Zhang, throughout this process, you have helped me recognize that there are always angles yet to be explored. Dr. Rebecca Barrett-Fox, thank you for introducing me to life-giving, safe, academic support communities and for joyfully fielding my numerous calls, emails, and questions about how to handle research projects such as this one ethically and with kindness. Dr. Robert Minor, thank you for pushing me to interrogate every single thing and to take a stand. Our coffee meetings and your enthusiasm for my topic mean more than you will ever know. To my friends (Joanna Bjerum, Kendra Burkey, Rachel Epp Buller, Jenny Guthrie, Stephanie Krehbiel, Carol Longenecker, Allison McFarland, and Holly Nickel), who listened during times of bewilderment and who often believed in this project more than I, thank you for the pep talks, care packages, pictures of kittens, and unmerited acts of support. You make me believe in a world that is better than the one we currently inhabit. To Tami Albin, the most supportive and creative librarian I have ever met—your “high kicks” and reference page makeovers made this dissertation’s completion possible. Thank you. Finally, thank you to my family. I could not have completed this project without your help, encouragement, and love. Christopher, my beloved life partner, thank you for prodding me to pursue graduate work for no other end than to learn. The orbit of my life has significantly expanded and shifted because you recognized my intellect long before it became apparent to me. And to my lodestar, Johann, thank you for your honest spirit and your unbridled love. I am so grateful for the ways you teach me about honoring emotional, physical, and spiritual boundaries, and about exploring the sacred within. Your presence in my life is beyond belief. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE ABSTRACT ...........................................................................................................................iii DEDICATION .......................................................................................................................iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................................v TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................................vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND RATIONALE ........................................................1 The Genesis of #ChurchToo ......................................................................................2 Purity Culture .............................................................................................................5 The Sexual Purity Movement ....................................................................................7 Critiques of the Sexual Purity Movement ..................................................................9 Scope of this Dissertation Study ................................................................................11 Dannah Gresh and Pure Freedom Ministries .................................................14 Project Rationale and Preview of Study ....................................................................16 Chapter Summary ......................................................................................................18 CHAPTER 2: AUTOETHNOGRAPHIC CONTEXT AND LITERATURE REVIEW ......20 The Purity Box ...........................................................................................................24 My Brother’s Baby News ..........................................................................................26 A Hypocritical