Religious Right Co-opts V-Day as "Day of Purity"

by Alex DiBranco · 2010-02-13 12:11:00 UTC
Topics:

In case you didn't know, yesterday was the Day of Purity.

Yes, Valentine's Day is henceforth also to be known as the Day of Purity. (Or, if the big V-Day falls on a weekend, as now, purity comes the Friday before -- because we all know that asking for a purity day on the weekend would really be too much.) On the Day of Purity, you were supposed to advertise with your LIVEPURE wrist-brand and an abstinence T-shirt, while handing out "Purity Pledge" cards -- and tasty candy! Eat enough chocolate, and you won't even want to have sex, right? Unless, of course, it puts you in the mood ...

The Purity Pledge is your basic abstinence pledge: no sex until marriage. And students are encouraged to follow up with an abstinence club where they can talk about how wonderful and pure they are. It'll prepare them for those purity balls!

Of course, purity pledges, rings, balls, and other assorted purity- and abstinence-related items have proven woefully ineffective. And, when people who pledged to be pure do have sex, they're less likely to use protection, putting themselves at risk for unintended pregnancy and STDs. What girls and boys could really use this Valentine's Day, is to make themselves a pledge that they won't let someone pressure them into sex before they're ready, and that when they do decide to have sex, they will always make sure that they are protected. Hey, a safe sex club could be all the rage.

Photo credit: Svadilfari

Alex DiBranco is a Change.org Editor who has worked for the Nation, Political Research Associates, and the Center for American Progress. She is now based in New York City.
PREVIOUS STORY:
Barbie Does Shanghai: Mattel's Rebranding Efforts Miss the Mark
NEXT STORY:
Fox News' Trotta Still Doesn't Get It: I Want Her Rape Apologism Off the Air

COMMENTS (8)

    Comment Policy

    · All fields are required to comment.

    [X]

    Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the campaign on Change.org. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments which, as determined solely in our discretion: (1) are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; (2) include content solely intended to personally attack the campaign creator, (3) are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them; and/or (4) violate our terms of service and/or privacy policy. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion. Please also be advised that: (A) we do not actively curate and/or monitor in any manner whatsoever the comments made on the Change.org platform, and (B) the creator of each campaign on Change.org may remove any comment at her/his/its discretion.