Dear Purity Culture: It's Not Me, It's You

We pledged the pledge. We made the promise. Purity culture failed to deliver. What now? Purity culture was at its height while we were growing up — and the teachings made an impact. But what to do now, decades later, when the promises and threats of purity culture no longer hold the same sway? And when the harms appear to so dramatically outweigh any good? In this episode, we wrestle with what a "Christian" sexual ethic really looks like — long after the teenage hormones have abated. Christine Emba joins the episode to unflinchingly look at the impacts of purity culture — but also to imagine where to go from here. Purity culture felt like an end all. So how do we imagine what's beyond? GUESTS: Christine Emba is an editor and columnist for the Washington Post. She is the author of the forthcoming "Rethinking Sex: A Provocation"