slut virgin wife

My cartoon and post yesterday, “The Modesty Purity Movement and Our Sacrificial Virgins” received a lot of attention from both sides of the camp. Read the comments to see what I mean.

From the literature propagating the internet lately it appears to me that women have three choices: they can be a slut, a virgin or a wife. In a lot of what I read a woman is defined by her sex and her relationship to men. Either she’s had sex or not. If she has she’d better be married. If she hasn’t then there’s something wrong or she’s super special.

This is how it pans out:

A virgin is no man’s. A slut is any man’s. A wife is one man’s.

I’ve read Michael Hyatt’s post, “Whatever Happened to Modesty” several times. I find it fascinating. My daughter read it, 21 years old, and it made her angry. Men dictating to women how to dress. Still. He quotes something Jordin Sparks said at the MTV VMAs:

“I just have one thing to say about promise rings: It’s not bad to wear a promise ring, because not everybody, guy or girl, wants to be a slut.”

Those are the choices? I’m sure that’s not what she meant. But it does articulate an apparently prevalent attitude: either you’re a virgin or a slut. Or a wife.

My daughter said she will define herself thank you very much.