February 3, 2015
Blogger Kate Schell will be posting a series of her own writings on purity culture over the next several days under the title of “Immodest Proposals.”
In the first post, introducing the series, she writes about discovering that she was not alone in her thoughts about the effects of enforcing conservative notions of modesty on girls and young women.
“The first time I stumbled across someone else’s writing on modesty, which led me to other women telling the truth of purity culture, I cried. Because I wasn’t alone and I wasn’t crazy. Because here were all these women of faith and conscience asking the same questions I was, and speaking of beauty and autonomy and worth in a way that didn’t leave me feeling defiled. Their truths set me free, and I started the long, slow process of thinking of my value and my body differently; the process of fighting insecurity continues, but I’ve finally rid myself of the shame.”
In her post, Schell also provides an extensive list of links into some excellent content written by others about purity culture.
Read “Immodest Proposals: An Introduction.”
