Purity Culture- A Review of Pure by Linda Kay Klein

I wish that Pure was a book that Linda Kay Klein never had to write because of how crushing, depressing, infuriating, and alarming the stories and experiences are that she shares within it. It is also a book that I wish everyone who has experienced the reaching tendrils of white evangelical purity culture would read due to the life-giving validation, empowerment, hope, and empathy that can be found within it. In seeing the phrase “purity culture,” I’d guess that you either immediately know what I am talking about, have a vague idea of what it entails, or have no idea what this is. To describe it briefly, purity culture rose to significant prominence in the 1990s, and it describes core tenets consisting of the traditional gender binary, the authority of men and the submission of women, and the emphasis on purity. The emphasis is most blatantly placed on sexual purity, understood as abstaining from sex (if not all things physical) outside of marriage, but the definition of “purity” extends to also entail the cognitive, emotional, and spiritual levels of identity as well.

Purity is holistic in that it is not something that you try to do, but rather it is something that you are expected to be. Purity messages revolve around identity and responsibility, and these messages are directed primarily at women and girls, defining them as submissive, emotional protectors who need to maintain their own purity as well as “guard” the purity of the men around them. This is where the emphasis on modesty stems from: women need to police their bodies at all times so that they do not elicit “feelings of lust” in men, thus causing men to sin and sending them on a trajectory to hell. Furthermore, Klein points out that it is implied that even the sexual thoughts, feelings, and actions of others can be signs of your impurity because surely you did something to make them think, feel, or do what they did (13). This is a message rooted in identity because folks are taught that their bodies are evil and capable of dangerous sin, so how could one not internalize this and believe that they are evil and dangerous? 

I offer this brief and limited description with the hope of focusing on the impact messages of purity culture have on a person’s identity. In the introductory section of Pure, Klein points out, “The purity message is not about sex. Rather, it is about us: who we are, who we are expected to be, and who it is said we will become if we fail to meet those expectations. This is the language of shame” (14). That’s the foundation of it all right there: shame. Shame involves “I am” statements, such as “I am bad. I am impure. I am evil and unloveable,” and these internalized messages burn into our brains and change the fundamental ways that we see ourselves, others, and the world around us. 

These messages of shame are so deeply significant for so many, especially for women and young girls who heard them from men who claimed to be speaking with the authority of God. Shame impacts a person’s relationship with themselves as well as others, and this can manifest as symptoms of anxiety, panic, trauma, and depression, a block in the ability to experience pleasure, belief that abuse done to you is your fault, and the notion that your worth is solely dependent upon your sexual history. For those who resonate with this, I want to offer that you were not born this way; you were taught these things, and in the same way that these are things that you and your body learned, these are things that you and your body can unlearn as well. Shame has tried to silence the voices and stories of so many for so long, but you are far, far from being alone in this journey. 

This is especially why I treasure Linda Kay Klein’s work so much. Klein grew up fully immersed in purity culture and describes how at 21years old, she began investigating the intense thoughts and feelings she experienced in her body that resulted in symptoms of anxiety, panic, and obsessions and compulsions, all revolving around messages about purity, sex, and gender. Klein began contacting peers from her childhood and describing her experiences, and one by one, they shared that they were experiencing similar if not identical symptoms. She began a twelve year journey where she interviewed individuals between twenty and forty years old who were raised as evangelical Christian girls between the late 1980s and the early 2000s, and she compiled their stories alongside her own into Pure, equally both memoir and journalism. As expressed in the pages of the book, each story is diverse, complex, and deeply personal while being relatable and close to home at the same time. I hope that if you decide to pick up this book, you will also find the validation, empowerment, and liberation that meant so much to me.