{journal seven}

The Conservative Fundamentalist Christian movement known as a "purity ball" has grown in popularity in recent years, particularly in the South. This movement's mission is to have young girls make vows to their fathers that they will remain pure until marriage. For many that take this vow, this means no dancing or kissing until marriage.  As this 2007 Glamour article asks, would you pledge your virginity to your father?

Here is a short clip explaining purity balls, both from the father's and daughter's perspective:

Um...WHERE ARE THE BOYS?!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but if girls should remain pure...shouldn't boys as well?  Or are boys exempt to this rule?  I suppose the counterpart to purity balls would be Promise Keepers.  But the difference is that those boys aren't pledging to someone that they will remain pure, they answer to themselves.  As the father in the video explained, girls "need" to have this connection and acceptance from their fathers.  Do girls need a formal ball in order to say no to sex?  Does having a little diamond ring on their finger somehow make them immune to the desires and crazy hormonal emotions that come with being a teenager and young adult?

And no matter the reasoning (religious, moral, etc.), one might ask, why it is the duty of the father to have his daughter vow in public that they won't have sex before marriage?  Shouldn't they be making that decision for themselves?  And if they decide to change their stance later on in life, isn't it their decision to make without being made felt guilty by their parents?

Here's a clip about the correlation of rising teen pregnancy rates and conservative/abstinence only states:

Very interesting stuff...