“Purity culture,” with its emphasis on pledges and special rings, begins with its heart in the right place, I believe. But, as with any other prescriptive approach, it can easily veer into legalism and fearmongering. I’ve heard from many readers who were frightened into abstinence by dire warnings about God’s wrath, only to rebel later. Many others entered marriage with dismally low expectations after hearing about a “wife’s duty to her husband” from older women who acted like sex was a (disagreeable) box to be checked. Instead, we have the opportunity as mamas to show our children just how
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