I don't know I shouldn't be surprised that there's a iPhone "purity ring" application - after all, I'm all too familiar with the various ways virginity fetish reveals itself. But this still managed to skeeve me.
For just 59p, consumers can download an application that allows them to take a purity pledge and then display a silver ring on their phone to prove their commitment to abstinence.
Because nothing "proves" chastity like an iPhone app. Henry Bennett, director of the company who created the app says, "If you've taken the pledge, you're likely to follow it through."
As we all know, however, the only thing virginity pledges are more likely to make teens follow through will is oral, anal, and unprotected sex. As someone replied to me about the app on Twitter, "Girls who download it are less likely to practice safe texting."
*Headline stolen shamelessly from Ann.
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BAHAHA!! I literally laughed out loud when I saw this.
This is hysterical, whats sadder is that I went through one of those "True Love Waits" classes, yeah dont work so much. An app for chastity? This probably is countering the app the helps people cheat on their spouses that just came out. Ha..yes this will so work..becasue we know everything online is true..
Nothing says "purity" like unprotected anal and oral sex!
I seriously think the purity/abstinence movement has been the one of the most dangerous threats to the health and well being of teenagers and young adults. They actually tell these kids that condoms are ineffective! It blows my mind.
This app should come with
anus app: I'm pure, but I
will give up the ass.
Isn't the purity movement aimed at teens? How many teens have iPhones? Between the cost of the phone and the monthly plan, those things are expensive!
The app runs on the iPod Touch as well, which is cheaper and doesn't require a monthly plan.
Ohh, gotcha. I thought the iTouch just played music.
Me = iOuttaTouch.
Lol no i have one, you can do everything an iphone can do except make calls. And suprisingly a lot of teens have iphones also. (Way too expensive I agree). But yeah, all iphone apps work on itouch.
One of the things that bothers me most about purity rings (and now apparently iPhone apps) is that they're a constant reminder of sex.
While the abstinence movement claims to value things like love and commitment (read: marriage, they're actually hyper-sexualizing teenagers.
Take the Jonas brothers: Without their "purity rings", they're just a bunch of cutesy mediocre pop singers. I would never even think about them in sexual terms, and I think many of their young fans wouldn't either. However, all the hubbub made over their chastity vows turns them into cutesy mediocre singers who are definitely not having sex!
Purity vows/rings/iPhone apps make sex the (negative) center of a teenager's world, rather than presenting it as one positive aspect, among many, of a fulfilling life.
I blogged on this topic a few months ago, if anyone's interested: http://mother-wendy.blogspot.com/2009/04/sinners-in-sinless-nation.html
Your blog post is exactly what I'd have to say about it, only you said it better than I ever could. I loved it and I totally agree.
so much yes to this comment!
Best. Title. Ever.
My high school friends and I all made the purity pledges. A year later, I was the only one who hadn't broken it yet. I'd like to see the evidence this guy claims to have that people who take the pledges are less likely to have sex.
BTW, does anybody give out purity rings? I'd love to get one to wear while I fuck my boyfriend. Irony is fun!
Maybe you can procure some sort of purity ring/cock ring hybrid? :P
The utility
of this app seems eclipsed by
its futility.
Hey - Jessica - you said American Culture, but this article is from the UK, and refers to "59 pence" not cents! The company that the Guardian article refers to is located in in the UK. So even though Americans are probably buying this app, it's more a reflection of British culture.
Ya, good catch. Editing to reflect that - tho I'm sure the American version right around the corner.
Hey - Jessica - you said American Culture, but this article is from the UK, and refers to "59 pence" not cents! The company that the Guardian article refers to is located in in the UK. So even though Americans are probably buying this app, it's more a reflection of British culture.
I love this comic, on the topic of abstinence pledges/rings: http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=1565#comic
Your blog post is exactly what I'd have to say about it, only you said it better than I ever could. I loved it and I totally agree.
Your blog post is exactly what I'd have to say about it, only you said it better than I ever could. I loved it and I totally agree.
I hate that this purity movement shares its name with a pretty cool Radiohead song.
I have mixed feelings about this one. My mother gave us pretty frank discussions about sex starting in 4th grade. She taught me to abstain, but she also taught me about safe sex. When my 17yo sister told my mother she reeeally wanted to have sex (& wasn't going to hold out any longer) my mother put her on the pill. My father was a very conservative pastor, but managed a community center that gave out condoms. So we learned the importance of both chastity & condoms. It was a very pragmatic approach, and playing it down the middle had real value.
Ironically, the sister who got put on the pill @ 17 so terrorized her own daughters about sex that her oldest got knocked up @ 17 because she was afraid to discuss the subject with her mother. So, yeah, I think its important to play it down the middle. Both messages have value.
Just so you know, we've discussed on this board plenty of times that feminists have no problem with the idea of abstinence being taught as one of many choices- hell, I plan to teach my kids about it. It sounds like your mom took a very feminist approach to sex ed. What upsets me, and I assume most other feminists, is when parents and groups teach their kids ONLY abstinence, don't give them any useful information about birth control, shame them about normal sexuality, and act as though daughters' sexuality is the property of their fathers until they get married (when it becomes the property of their husbands). This is way different from presenting abstinence as one of many options and explaining its pros and cons.
I think there's a range of feminist opinion here Sociological. I think there's a feminist position which believes that abstinence is a valid, important part of comprehensive sex ed. Then there's a strand of feminist thought which believes that sex between young teens is not just normal, but normative. On 'purity pledge' posts like this one, I think we throw out the baby with the bath water. I've seen way too many teenaged mothers for me to believe encouraging teens to have sex is a good thing, even as I believe that abstinence-only education & overly strict upbringing also increases teen pregnancy.
I can see where you're coming from, and certainly there is a huge range of feminist beliefs. But I do still think it's important to keep talking about the purity movement, because in its current state it does more than just promote abstinence. I don't think that we should be telling teenagers to have sex because sex is normal or normative- I think that's just as wrong as telling all teenagers to be abstinent. I think we should be explaining the pros and cons of all choices and teaching them how to make those choices on their own. Kids mature at different rates and have different family situations and levels of social support- some may be fine becoming sexually active very young, while others might be very hurt by it, and only they have the ability to figure out what's right for them (with guidance). The purity movement takes all choice, responsibility, and ownership of sexuality away from children and teenagers, especially girls and women, and hands it to their parents, especially their fathers. Which is gross, demeaning, patriarchal, and a bunch of other things that drive me crazy.
Just so you know, we've discussed on this board plenty of times that feminists have no problem with the idea of abstinence being taught as one of many choices- hell, I plan to teach my kids about it. It sounds like your mom took a very feminist approach to sex ed. What upsets me, and I assume most other feminists, is when parents and groups teach their kids ONLY abstinence, don't give them any useful information about birth control, shame them about normal sexuality, and act as though daughters' sexuality is the property of their fathers until they get married (when it becomes the property of their husbands). This is way different from presenting abstinence as one of many options and explaining its pros and cons.
having issues with moveable type, sorry for the double post
I think it's ironic, as the rings are supposed to remind you of sins of the flesh...however, not only are these rings not being worn, they are untouchable...which makes it odd when you think about how you can turn them off and slip them into your purse/pocket (not that you can't do this with actual rings, but there's something to be said in the fact that these rings are intangible. Coincidentally reinforcing one of the fundamental aspects of the purity movement). The fascination with virginity seems more and more like a plague.
I think it's ironic, as the rings are supposed to remind you of sins of the flesh...however, not only are these rings not being worn, they are untouchable...which makes it odd when you think about how you can turn them off and slip them into your purse/pocket (not that you can't do this with actual rings, but there's something to be said in the fact that these rings are intangible. Coincidentally reinforcing one of the fundamental aspects of the purity movement). The fascination with virginity seems more and more like a plague.
What happens if you drop your iPhone and it breaks?
Morning after app?
OH, please, I have no problem with people who want to remain a virgin until marriage for religious reasons or whatever, but do they have to have some ridiculous pledge to tell the whole world about it? What's next? A you tube video that shows a girl's hymen being medically certified by a gyn as being "intact"? This whole purity movement is creepy.
Agreed. While I completely understand parents who want to teach abstinence to their kids (particularly young teenagers), this whole purity ring creeps me out. Do we really need to go out of our way to label women more than we already are?
I remember having a discussion in class once about purity rings, and I expressed my concern over parents who force their daughters to wear purity rings and give them misleading information about contraception. One other student was an outraged mother who informed me that, while she made her daughter wear a purity ring, she also taught her about condoms and safe sex because she knew her daughter would break the vow sooner or later.
While I applaud the woman for teaching her daughter about safe sex, I still have to wonder about her desire to advertise her daughter's virginity (and eventual loss of it) to the world. Moreover, the contradictory message seems a bit worrisome-- "Promise me you won't ever have sex, but I know you'll just lie to me and do it anyway"?
"While I applaud the woman for teaching her daughter about safe sex, I still have to wonder about her desire to advertise her daughter's virginity (and eventual loss of it) to the world. Moreover, the contradictory message seems a bit worrisome-- "Promise me you won't ever have sex, but I know you'll just lie to me and do it anyway"?"
I agree with you that it does seem contradictory, but I can sort of understand where this woman is coming from. I don't agree with her labeling her daughter with a purity ring, but I think that she is trying to be realistic when it comes to her daughter. She's probably hoping for the best (virgin until marriage) while preparing for the "worst" (the real possibility that her daughter won't wait). She's probably hoping her daughter will at least wait until she's out of high school to have sex. OTOH, a lot of religious people think that people should wait until marriage, but they don't have any problem with using condoms or other contraceptives after marriage. They teach their kids that it's okay to use contraceptives when their married. This at least is consistent with their values and gives kids the right information at the same time in case they don't wait. Anyway, these purity movements give a very weak message to boys to stay "pure", but beat girls over the head that they have to stay "pure" and not "tempt" they guys at the same time. I can see a girl waiting until marriage to give her husband her virginity as a "gift" while her more experienced husband gives her the "gift" of HPV or some other STD. That's why I think it's important for young girls to get the HPV vaccine even though the purity movement think it's telling girls it's okay to have sex at a young age. Who says you have to tell them what the vaccines for anyway? Kids get immunizations all the time for various diseases, and I don't think they'll really know the HPV vaaccine from measles, mumps, and rubella. Anyway, I digress, but it's important to stress abstinence AND birth control, condoms in my view.
Why on earth would someone want that as the background to their phone? So their friends can look at and be jealous that they're not as "pure"? It doesn't even make sense.