The Totally Creep Purity Ball
We have Tivo and every once in a while it picks up something actually interesting, usually off public television. Tivo's latest contribution to our learning experience was an edition of Now discussing the work of anti abortion activists in N. Dakota.One of the events profiled on Now was The Purity Ball.
It consisted of thirteen year old girls all dressed up in prom dresses, with their hair done and corsages firmly fastened around their wrists. Their dates weren't pubescent boys hoping to get lucky but their fathers. They had pictures, you know, prom pictures, taken with the DADS. And at the end of the evening they turned and faced their fathers, put their hands in his, gazed deeply into his eyes, and vowed to save themselves until marriage. Their virginity would be a gift to their future husband.
THE WORLD'S CREEPIEST PROM. CREEPY WITH A DOUBLE SQUICK FACTOR.
Not one boy was in sight, taking a pledge to never go all the way, to only masturbate his little heart out and keep his pants zipped. Because everyone knows that we wouldn't have teen pregnancy if we didn't have slutty girls.
posted by Sacha @ 10:17 AM
13 comments
13 Comments:
It's also reinforcing the very old notion that a woman's virtue is the property of her father. That it is his reputation vested in her body, that her sexual behavior takes something from him, and that it should ultimately be up to him who she gives it to, and if he doesn't ever want her to give it to anyone then she shouldn't.
double squick, with an extra helping of hypocracy and a double standard cherry on the top.
eww eww ewwwwwwwwwwwwww
This is the reason I'm so glad I found this blog. Otherwise, I would have gone my entire life never hearing about grown men who think it's an okay thing to take their daughters to a prom in hopes of exerting even more control over the girls' sexual behavior. Thank you, Sasha.
AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH...ewwwwwww! Skeevey & creepy & oogie & just plain gross. Granted I'm coming from a place where a simple conversation with my father is enough to produce hives, but really girls, if you're going to committ to purity, virginity, celibacy, or what-have-you, do it to YOURSELVES. (oooo...didn't realize the pun in that one.)
My cousin (male) got married last month to a woman (22 years old) who presented him with her "purity ring" before they exchanged wedding rings. Of course, this ring was given to her by her father. Then the big shocker - their first kiss (as the minister announced to the whole congregation) was their FIRST kiss. Before that moment, they had never kissed on the lips.
Katie and I just turned to each other in disbelief. This was the first time we had heard of this kind of thing happening in the 21st century with someone we know!
yuk yuk yuk yuk yuk yuk
Ooh! This reminds me of a day at Sweet Briar College (where I went for my first year)- there was an "abstinence sweepstakes", where if you signed a pledge that you wouldn't have sex until you were married then you'd be entered to win a shiny, red sportscar. Not that I stuck to that idea one whit, but it makes me wonder how they'd feel about my upcoming lesbian nuptials...? ;) Totally gross project they've got going there- saying anything to your Dad that relates even remotely to your sex life?! Ew! -Kate-
Ick...must take shower...can't..get..clean..
I remember the last time ny dad ever raised a hand to me...he thought I wa sleeping with a guy that I was dating. I wasn't...but I was 23, and he hit me, because obviously my virginity (or lack thereof) was a direct reflection on him. As a result, I got married as a virgin (to somebody else btw), and spent the next seven years with almost no sex life because my parents were more concerned about pre-marital sex than they were about making sure I was comfortable enough with my sexuality to marry someone I was compatible with in all ways.
At least I know with my own daughter, I plan on educating her and protecting her, not controlling her. The only thing I want my daughter to promise me is that she will be responsible and respectful with her own body and anyone else's.
By the way, does anyone know the song "Everything Is Possible"? We're having it performed for us at church next month for my daughter's baby dedication. I have a feeling everyone here willappreciate the lyrics =)
creepy prom - ick... I bet I am a lesbian cuz my dad wasn't there to make me take that pledge when I was that age -- yeah... I promised my grandma (she made me!) not to let boys touch/see my breasts though... I have held pretty true to that promise :-)
YUCK!!!
Ugh!
oooooh I love the song "Everything Possible." I love Fred Small (the author of the song) in general, too.
That seriously crreps me out -- at the same time, I would like to watch that show.
There were and are spiritual reasons why, in the ancient days daughters owed their virginity to their fathers. To explain the whole story would be beyond the scope of my post. I will say that the bottom line is that when a girl makes the decision to have a man break her hymen (carry over the threshold) she is spiritually married to him, like it or not! In the true sense, not in the christian sense, by replacing the girl's Father with the "father" (priest), that gives them permission. Think about how it has all been changed and manipulated and you will realize that there is a lot being hidden for a reason. Then look at the state of the world and you will start to get the bigger picture.
P.S. Yes the Purity Ball is creepy done that way, but it is a truth trying in anyway it can to re-express itself. Truthseeker
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