The Purity Myth: The Virginity Movement's War Against Women

In The Purity Myth, author and feminist blogger Jessica Valenti argues that conservatives are pushing an emphasis on virginity to nurture passivity in women and ultimately deprive them of hard-won civil rights. In this adaptation of her bestselling, same-titled 2009 book, Valenti appears onscreen and narrates around footage of abstinence educators, politicians, evangelists, and pro-purity activists; movie and TV clips; and excerpted news reports, offering countless examples of people touting chastity and traditional homebound roles for females. Valenti ties social conservatives' support of abstinence and “purity” to their opposition to feminism, working mothers, Planned Parenthood, and legislation such as Roe v. Wade. She cites statistics on the failure of abstinence-only education, links pro-virginity/purity activists with political movements aimed at banning abortion, and presents footage of “purity balls” (formal father-daughter dances at which young girls take a pledge of abstinence before their dads). Although some of the references here are outdated (such as one to Britney Spears's 1998 music video “…Baby One More Time”), this is a thought-provoking presentation of a many-faceted subject. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (M. Puffer-Rothenberg)