To be pure or not to be?

In The Purity Myth, Jessica Valenti dissects the modern trappings of the virgin-whore dichotomy

By Sarah M Seltzer
Published: April 15th, 2009 | 1:50pm

From internet porn to father-daughter “purity balls,” Jessica Valenti’s The Purity Myth dissects the modern trappings of the virgin-whore dichotomy, either side of which, Valenti reminds us, reduces women’s worth to their sexuality.

Valenti’s previous books have aimed at a young, hip audience frustrated with the sexual double standard. The Purity Myth, whose title echoes Naomi Wolf’s The Beauty Myth, covers similar ground but shoots for a firmer place in the feminist canon. Valenti, who is editor of the blog Feministing.com, is less chatty here than in her previous works. She assiduously documents the sex and gender wars of the new millennium, including the egregious hemming and hawing over government approval for Plan B and Gardasil, public hand-wringing over “hookups,” and the media’s obsession with virginity (a concept which Valenti identifies from the get-go as un-definable and obsolete). In the book’s best chapter, Valenti skewers the continuing horror of abstinence-only education. And just the right amount of her sassy “blogger-voice” shows up in wry footnotes to provoke a welcome laugh in the midst of the outrage.

The Purity Myth’s subject matter may be quite familiar to self-identified feminists who have lived through the battles Valenti describes. Still, we’re lucky to have the indomitable Valenti on the front lines, combating those who get far too much attention claiming that sexually active women are the scourge of the nation.

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ABOUT THE BOOK
The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity Is Hurting Young Women (Seal Press)
By: Jessica Valenti
300 pages, $24.95