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May 19, 2008
NY Times on purity balls
Today's Times features a piece on purity balls, evangelical father-daughter dances in Colorado Springs that encourage abstinence in girls and interest in their kids' lives in fathers.
Considering the hokey and overtly sexist subject matter, the article is impressively open-minded and even has some positive things to say about these events. But the accompanying slide show of freaky ceremonial hooey suggests a different attitude, more like "Hey, check out these creepy lunatics!"
Case in point:
Also:
Nice sword, dad.
The part of these events that focuses on fathers having good relationships with their daughters sounds great. But there's also the part illustrated above with the sword-arch stuff and the white roses at the foot of the cross. The fathers make the following pledge: "to cover my daughter as her authority and protection in the area of purity," like their main function as a parent is to act as a spiritual pair of granny panties.
One of the girls at the dance creepily confirms that slutty girls are just working out their daddy issues. She says, "Something I need from dad is affirmation, being told I’m beautiful. If we don’t get it from home, we will go out to the culture and get it from them."
I can just see "the culture" waiting right outside the event hall in the form of horny pantless 17 year-old boys who don't get to attend a ball, make any pledges, or have their pure genitals covered by their authoritarian moms.
categories:
Culture, Religion, Sex
posted by amy at 1:50 PM | #
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Comments
Fantastic post - and yeah, reeeeally creepy events.
Posted by: Ari Moore at June 24, 2008 5:46 PM
I know 1st hand as the baby who watched
my siblings develop hatred toward me that i never
even asked for bc the pops saw his wrong and
refrained his angry hand from me -
decided he would make a change- at least partially. it did not
matter. She marries husband after husband just
that end up attracted to me and mistreating her..strange? no. its
the familiar~ sadly that we find attracting us..
and I lllllllonged for friends as dietrich bonhoeffer related(who am i) "at an infinite distance.." bc I came to believe that i didnt deserve em..that i was a trouble and at fault it did the same.. I became what they poor children- helplessly reflected me as per our dad's mistake..
and I know that having gone out into the world around me trying thru one night stands here n there (ever so often) and such, trying to feel my sisters pain trying to satisfy the debt- that - feeling of emptiness that... i could not feel for want of a father like she did bc i determined that God I had to believe honestly is who He says He is and is my Father -i just failed at a point to accept that i could move on if my sis couldnt grab hold of such truth... and growing up in the shadow of such things makes for a different heartache= altogether. but all of us has pain and
He is the one answer. T Ask Him in your heart He'll wash your life white..if youll believe..like a child. Theres nothin creepy about that. Its the glory of the humble just like Mary who said My soul magnifies the Lord..Jesus her 'son' see if you can stay that as a constant in your observation -- -while you rework your theory,
in such a spiritually scientific method..Love
your friend
karen
Posted by: karen at December 16, 2009 12:40 PM
Is the term "Purity Ball" an oxymoron?
Posted by: Thoreau at May 19, 2008 6:54 PM