Purity culture

Purity culture was a movement in the 1990s within Christianity which emphasized sexual abstinence before marriage.

Prominent in American Christian communities in the 1990s, purity culture emphasizes modest dress for women, strict gender roles, and discouragement of dating and masturbation (of women more than men), tying sexual behavior closely to spiritual identity and communal belonging. Practices like purity balls, virginity pledges, and purity rings reinforce these ideals, often fostering unhealthy expectations, emotional harm, and vulnerability to abuse. Though it faded in popularity after the 2000s, its influence persists both in the U.S. and abroad.

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