In Light of the Atlanta Shootings, Let’s Discard Purity Culture
Photo by : John Arthur Brown/Zuma Wire/Rex/Shutterstock | Courtesy of The Guardian
The opinions reflected in this OpEd are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of staff, faculty and students of The King's College.
A 21-year-old man opened fire at three spas in Atlanta, GA on March 16. The mass shooting left eight people dead, over half of them Asian women. The next day, Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Jay Baker characterized the suspect as having “a really bad day,” the Washington Post reports.
In regard to his crime, the shooter explained he was a sex addict removing “sexual temptation” for himself. According to the Associated Press, Georgia Rep. Bee Nguyen, a history-making Vietnamese American woman, described the act as being at the “intersection of gender-based violence, misogyny and xenophobia.”
Purity culture elevates Eurocentric standards of dress and behavior, making women of color targets. The shooter mistakenly thought his egregious motive would provide justification for his crime. With this defense, he scapegoats innocent people for his terrorism. As with cases of sexual assault, victim-blaming is common. In this instance, the criminal's victim-blaming bears racist undertones. This singling out is reinforced by racist stereotypes perpetuated in American culture. Tropes like the “Asian Lotus,” “Blossom Flower'' or “Dragon Lady'' define Asian women primarily by their sexuality. The perpetuation of these ideas directly correlates to the prevalence of sexual harassment and assault. The American Psychological Association notes that “Women of Color are multiply marginalized due to race, gender, and often social class, which places them at increased risk of victimization.”
Purity culture may also be to blame. The problem with purity and modesty culture is sexism and racism. Nineties purity culture manifesto, Joshua Harris’ I Kissed Dating Goodbye, traumatized a generation of Christian youth. The book’s view of modern dating encouraged abstinence in preparation for marriage, or “courtship.” Disguised as a solution to heartbreak, the work reads like a reiteration of 1950s relationship tropes. Almost two decades later, Harris apologized for his book and subsequently left the Church.
In the past decade, Christians have shared stories about how purity culture harmed their sense of self. Angie Hong, a worship leader and speaker, wrote for The Atlantic about her experience: “As I followed my calling into the evangelical ministry world, I felt vulnerable in the midst of powerful white male domination [...] In every uncomfortable situation, I figured that I was the common denominator—the great whore—and I absorbed the shame of feeling impure and far from God.” The Atlanta shooter appears to have adopted this logic. Women and femmes bear no responsibility for men’s objectification of them. Instead of teaching women to hide themselves in response, men should be taught to manage their sexual desires.
Ideas presented in purity culture are antithetical to the message of the Christian gospel. Brenda Marie Davis, a progressive Christian author and speaker, has built a platform speaking about toxicity of purity culture. Davis’ website promotes her content as “an interactive space for people of all ages, orientations & beliefs to engage, seek guidance & heal.” In 2019, she released a Youtube video urging Christians to strive towards personal sexual integrity instead of purity culture. In conversation with Davis about the Atlanta shooting, embodiment coach Tara Teng said “sexual immorality: it is a violation of consent. It is a dehumanization of [a] person’s inherent humanity [...] that’s the conversation that I wish our churches were deeply having [...] but we’re not having that conversation because it doesn’t fit with the dominant political narrative the church is prescribed to.” Teng points to comprehensive sex education as critical in dismantling religion-based sexual trauma.
Promoting purity culture results in the stigmatization of sex. Since the culture relies on abstinence-only education, those affected lack the fundamental health education. In a Refinery29 documentary about sex education in Alabama, one of the most restrictive states in terms of policy, Samantha V. Hill, MD, MPH, addresses the consequences. She explains “continuing the silence that we have around sex education just increases the stigma. Keeping it stigmatized only serves to further jeopardize that person’s health as well as everybody they come in contact with.”
Purity culture harms mental health as well as physical health. A study by Eva S. Goldfarb, Ph.D. and Lisa D. Lieberman, Ph.D. for the “Journal of Adolescent Health” documents the psychological advantages of sex education. In addition to physical heath, education promotes “appreciation of sexual diversity, dating and intimate partner violence prevention, development of healthy relationships, prevention of child sex abuse, improved social/emotional learning, and increased media literacy.” According to the Guttmacher Institute, only 17 states in the U.S. are required to teach a medically accurate curriculum. Georgia is not included in this list.
Right now, supporting the Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) community requires acknowledging racism and ideologies that perpetuate racism. Evangelicals must realize that demonizing sex will only cause further fragmentation in society, and demonizing sex work will only spread misinformation and increase abuse towards sex workers. Abstinence from sex is a commendable decision—but not at the expense of others’ well-being. If the Atlanta shooter, a Baptist man, had been taught to value women of color, atrocities could have been avoided. Moving forward, Evangelicals should avoid practices like purity culture that thrive on fear and discrimination.