The politics of purity balls and virginity fetishes

The myth of sexual chastity is not a topic for the faint of heart in as puritanical a society as 21st century America remains. Witness the “purity ball” phenomenon that evolved from the conservative evangelical movement in Colorado Springs.

Jessica Valenti, editor of the blog Feministing.com, is out with a new book, The Purity Myth: How America’s Obsession with Virginity Is Hurting Young Women, and she pulls no punches.

Teen ‘virginity pledges’ fail; Colorado shuns federal abstinence-only funds

Abstinence-only education takes another hit in a new study that finds that not only do teens who vow chastity until marriage have premarital sex on par with non-pledgers but that they’re much less likely to use condoms or other forms of contraception.

Colorado Springs purity ball: Time waltzes over the issues

Colorado Springs’ legendary — and media-friendly — purity ball received a rhapsodic write-up by Time magazine last week. The ball, which takes place in the Broadmoor hotel each year, is a kind of…

Having A Ball At The Broadmoor

Curious media types descended from Denver, and around the globe, to cover last weekend’s eighth annual Father-Daughter Purity Ball at the 5-star Broadmoor hotel in Colorado Springs. It’s an evening where girls and young women, dressed in ball gowns, pledge…