Purity Balls without the dirty sex

March 25th, 2007 • 15 comments christianity, oddity

Growing up in the Southern United States, I was amidst a bunch of Bible thumpers and evangelical nuts. I never really thought much of it since I was smack dab in the middle of all the craziness. Things like promising chastity till marriage was not uncommon and most people proclaimed this in private or amongst a small group of family members and trusted friends. Some people carried this around like a badge of superiority, and others wore it like an invisible veil keeping their private life separate from their social life. Those who wore it like an emblazoned badge of Christianity were typically those people who easily “fall from grace” (more on this in a few) or just do it for clique status. Now, there seems to be a new way to outwardly proclaim your abstinence and show everyone you’re down with chastity: purity balls.

From the first few sentences and title alone, I was expecting some bizarre incestuous rite of passage. Instead, I was greeted by a new fad in claiming abstinence. It sounds just like a wedding and has all the trappings of a wedding except a father and daughter claim to live a pure life and promise to not have sex until marriage, respectively. A noble thing to do in theory (and it just jerks tears from those bleeding hearts) but the truth is it probably doesn’t hold up well after a few years. What’s the reason for it being the father and the daughter in the proceedings instead of involving the family as a whole? In reality, taking this vow of chastity is a family-oriented ordeal and does not solely involve the father and daughter. I would think the Purity Ball would be a great exercise in bringing together the nuclear family not isolating the father and the daughter. Why not the mother and daughter instead? Does this harken back to Biblical times where fathers were the controllers of their daughters life outside the home?

Now, earlier I stated most people that take this vow break it before they’re married and usually before they leave high school. The temptation is too strong simply because it’s now a taboo action and forbidden. The article goes on to say:

They also point to studies showing that the majority of adolescents who take purity pledges break them within a few years, often by engaging in risky and unprotected sex.

One study conducted by researchers at the universities of Columbia and Yale found that 88 percent of pledgers wind up having sex before marriage.

Really, why is this occurring? Surely not because it’s now a forbidden act since they’re abstinent or peer pressure. Randy Wilson seems to attribute this vow breaking to “sexual images” in the young girl’s culture and surroundings. If that’s the case, tell them to stop watching MTV and risque reality TV shows that promote sexuality and sexual prowess over personality and humanity, they could stop taking their kids to stores such as the abhorrent Libby Lu or Little Miss Priss that completely objectify all little girls as divas or primped up pre-Prom Prom Queens with the world at their disposal. Breaking the vow also couldn’t be attributed to the lack of true sexual education in today’s schools. The classes that are held, in majority, teach abstinence and choose to throw things like STDs and proper condom use to the wayside. The administration is apparently dumping over $205M USD into teaching abstinence while not teaching about the troubles of teen parenthood or teens dealing with some of the more serious STDs, both of which are only increasing as months go by.

I applaud those who take vows of chastity but turning it into public spectacle does not seem to do well in cementing the values of the act in the minds of these girls. With most breaking their vows in a number of years, is this a good way to continually promote abstinence? Would facts about teen pregnancy and the atrocity of STDs not serve to be just as effective is taught in conjunction with abstinence? I know I have no idea as I’m far out of school but I’m sure I could poll some kids to get a good idea of what would work.

The weekend!

March 25th, 2007 • chatter

My week at work is always the same: long and boring. Even though it’s a standard 5 day work week, it seems like an eternity. The never-ending boredom and ethical problems seem to multiply as the weeks progress yet I have no back up plan to fall…back on. The ever present doldrum of my job has anything but killed me although it may do that eventually. Traits such as ambition or creativity, things jobs thrive on, are frowned upon in lieu of being a robot and doing exactly what you’re told.

I revel in my 48 hours of freedom I get at the end of each week only because it allows me to be able to smile or laugh. The weekend seems like an alien world to me, I never know what to do. Luckily, this weekend I have a concert to attend! That is, provided I can find my ear plugs so I don’t lose my hearing listening to the likes of Nachtmystium and Goatwhore. It’s been months since I’ve been to a good show and I miss attending them immensely. At least I haven’t missed out on too many good ones since the year started and this tour season looks like it’s going to be a great one.

With the likes of Nightwish, Sonata Arctica, Gojira, and the upcoming Sounds of the Underground 3 tour, I’m in for an ear bleeding 2007.