Items related to The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity...
From the bestselling author of Sex Object, a searing investigation into American culture's obsession with virginity, and the argument for creating a future where women and girls are valued for more than sexuality
The United States is obsessed with virginity--from the media to schools to government agencies. In The Purity Myth, Jessica Valenti argues that the country's intense focus on chastity is damaging to young women. Through in-depth cultural and social analysis, Valenti reveals that powerful messaging on both extremes--ranging from abstinence-only curriculum to "Girls Gone Wild" infomercials--place a young woman's worth entirely on her sexuality. Morals are therefore linked purely to sexual behavior, rather than values like honesty, kindness, and altruism. Valenti sheds light on the value--and hypocrisy--around the notion that girls remain virgins until they're married by putting into context the historical question of purity, modern abstinence-only education, pornography, and public punishments for those who dare to have sex. The Purity Myth presents a revolutionary argument that girls and women are overly valued for their sexuality, as well as solutions for a future without a damaging emphasis on virginity.
The United States is obsessed with virginity--from the media to schools to government agencies. In The Purity Myth, Jessica Valenti argues that the country's intense focus on chastity is damaging to young women. Through in-depth cultural and social analysis, Valenti reveals that powerful messaging on both extremes--ranging from abstinence-only curriculum to "Girls Gone Wild" infomercials--place a young woman's worth entirely on her sexuality. Morals are therefore linked purely to sexual behavior, rather than values like honesty, kindness, and altruism. Valenti sheds light on the value--and hypocrisy--around the notion that girls remain virgins until they're married by putting into context the historical question of purity, modern abstinence-only education, pornography, and public punishments for those who dare to have sex. The Purity Myth presents a revolutionary argument that girls and women are overly valued for their sexuality, as well as solutions for a future without a damaging emphasis on virginity.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author:
Jessica Valenti is the author of multiple books on feminism, politics and culture, and editor of the anthology Yes Means Yes: Visions of Female Sexual Power and a World Without Rape.
From Booklist:
Making a cult of virginity via media stereotyping and “abstinence-only” sex education damages young women, Valenti says, and rolls back women’s rights by emphasizing sexuality and deprecating personal character. Furthermore, the book’s most thought-provoking chapter points up an insidious connection between chastity and pornography: “the porning of America” is vital to those in the virginity movement, which needs increasingly available hard-core porn to justify its extreme regressivism. The dangerous belief that a woman’s primary value is sexual underlies the objectification and sexualization at the heart of the virginity movement’s agenda of controlling and defining women, Valenti maintains. When young women see their bodies and sexuality as commodities, that isn’t caused by porn culture but by “a larger societal message that . . . their sexuality is not their own.” So, is a “post-virgin world” possible? Full of piercing insight and wit (recalling her own sexual initiation, Valenti quips, “I fail to see how anything that lasts less than five minutes can have such an indelible ethical impact”), this is an important addition to women’s studies. --Whitney Scott
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherSeal Press
- Publication date2009
- ISBN 10 1580053149
- ISBN 13 9781580053143
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages272
- Rating
Buy New
Learn more about this copy
US$ 14.67
Shipping:
FREE
Within U.S.A.
Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace
Seller Image
The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity Is Hurting Young Women by Valenti, Jessica [Paperback ]
Published by
Seal Press
(2009)
ISBN 10: 1580053149
ISBN 13: 9781580053143
New
Soft Cover
Quantity: 10
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Soft Cover. Condition: new. Seller Inventory # 9781580053143
Buy New
US$ 14.67
Convert currency
Stock Image
The Purity Myth Format: Paperback
Published by
Hachette Book Group
(2009)
ISBN 10: 1580053149
ISBN 13: 9781580053143
New
Softcover
Quantity: > 20
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Condition: New. Brand New. Seller Inventory # 9781580053143
Buy New
US$ 10.90
Convert currency
Seller Image
The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity Is Hurting Young Women (Paperback or Softback)
Published by
Seal Press (CA) 12/29/2009
(2009)
ISBN 10: 1580053149
ISBN 13: 9781580053143
New
Paperback or Softback
Quantity: 3
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Paperback or Softback. Condition: New. The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity Is Hurting Young Women 0.6. Book. Seller Inventory # BBS-9781580053143
Buy New
US$ 15.31
Convert currency
Stock Image
The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity Is Hurting Young Women
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Condition: New. Brand New! Not Overstocks or Low Quality Book Club Editions! Direct From the Publisher! We're not a giant, faceless warehouse organization! We're a small town bookstore that loves books and loves it's customers! Buy from Lakeside Books!. Seller Inventory # OTF-S-9781580053143
Buy New
US$ 11.58
Convert currency
Seller Image
Purity Myth : How America's Obsession With Virginity Is Hurting Young Women
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # 7181550-n
Buy New
US$ 14.21
Convert currency
Stock Image
The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity Is Hurting Young Women
Published by
Seal Press
(2009)
ISBN 10: 1580053149
ISBN 13: 9781580053143
New
Paperback
Quantity: 15
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Paperback. Condition: New. Brand New!. Seller Inventory # 1580053149
Buy New
US$ 17.45
Convert currency
Stock Image
The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity Is Hurting Young Women
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # I-9781580053143
Buy New
US$ 19.00
Convert currency
Stock Image
The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity Is Hurting Young Women
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Condition: New. Book is in NEW condition. 0.6. Seller Inventory # 1580053149-2-1
Buy New
US$ 21.38
Convert currency
Stock Image
The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity Is Hurting Young Women
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Condition: New. New! This book is in the same immaculate condition as when it was published. Seller Inventory # 353-1580053149-new
Buy New
US$ 21.53
Convert currency
Stock Image
The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity Is Hurting Young Women
Published by
Seal Press December 2009
(2009)
ISBN 10: 1580053149
ISBN 13: 9781580053143
New
Paper Back
Quantity: 1
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Paper Back. Condition: New. Seller Inventory # 366256
Buy New
US$ 21.99
Convert currency