The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity is Hurting Young Women - Hardcover

A critical assessment of the United States's controversial abstinence program argues that society's disproportionate focus on sexuality is causing young women to be inappropriately assessed solely on the basis of their sexual behavior rather than on their characters, in a report that identifies the high cost of abstinence education while revealing how virginity agendas typically promote other risky behaviors.

With an established base among feminists and young women, Jessica Valenti tackles America's obsession with virginity, and why it needs to stop. The United States is obsessed with virginity - from the media to schools to government agencies. This panic is ensuring that young women's ability to be moral agents is absolutely dependent on their sexuality. Jessica Valenti, author of "Full Frontal Feminism" and executive editor of Feministing.com, addresses this poignant issue in her latest book, "The Purity Myth". Valenti argues that the country's intense focus on chastity is extremely damaging to young women. Through in depth analysis of cultural stereotypes and media messages, Valenti reveals that powerful messages - ranging from abstinence curriculum to 'Girls Gone Wild' commercials - place a young woman's worth entirely on her sexuality. Morals are therefore linked purely to sexual behavior, as opposed to values like honesty, kindness, and altruism. Valenti approaches the topic head-on, shedding light on chastity in a historical context, abstinence - only education, pornography, and public punishments for those who dare to have sex, among other critical issues. She also offers solutions that pave the way for a future without a damaging emphasis on virginity, including a call to rethink male sexuality and reframing the idea of 'losing it'. With Valenti's usual balance of intelligence and wit, "The Purity Myth" presents a powerful and revolutionary argument that girls and women, even in this day and age, are overly valued for their sexuality, and that this needs to stop.