Many little girls dream of wearing beautiful white dresses, going to a ball, and being able to feel like princesses. This dream usually comes true later in the form of their wedding, but recently some girls have been able to have this experience a bit earlier.
If you’ve never heard of a purity ball before, brace yourself. Purity balls are ceremonies that little girls and young women partake in with their fathers. The positively cringe-worthy aspect of the whole thing is that in this ceremony the girls “marry” God and “give” their virginity to their fathers to “protect”. In other words, the girls promise their fathers and god to stay virgins until marriage. This whole song and dance is done to receive that shiny piece of jewelry that girls get to wrap around their fingers (the marriage finger, of course) that they can show off to the world.
Purity rings have been very en vogue lately, even my cousin has one, but while they may seem innocent, in fact, that’s what they’re meant to symbolize, I think they actually symbolize a big regression that we have taken in regard to the liberation of women’s sexuality. Especially when they are accompanied by these dramatic balls. They are an entirely religious phenomenon, but what I find scariest about this is that they did not exist before 1998.
After our discussions last week I kept thinking that these purity balls are a prime example of one of the ways in which men are still able to control women’s sexuality through culture and religion. Will we ever live in a world when it isn’t cool to be like Cinderella?—Jenna Raleigh
An article on a new documentary about purity balls: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2586036/You-married-Lord-daddy-boyfriend-Purity-Balls-girls-gift-virginity-fathers-marriage-sweep-America.html