I have berated myself a bit because of my post on the Colorado Purity Ball, because, I wondered, what possible relevance does it have to my own interests, etc.? I suppose this is rationalization of some kind, but I realized that these were done in the name of the Christian faith, and therefore deserved some kind of comment. They deserve more than an "icky-poo", however much that may be my first reaction.
First, the taboo-pushing nature of the Balls, done in the name of "Christian family values", shuld provide, for a disinterested observer, a peek into the nature of those values. It might not be a question of bordering on certain, ahem, inappropriate relationships as it were; indeed, I doubt if you asked the question that most participants would understand such a qualm. Rather, if one sees it from another point of view, the striking thing is the authoritarian patriarchy of such an event. It is not so much the quasi-incestuous nature of such vows, but the fact that daughters pledge to their fathers that which should be kept to themselves until it is shared with a man outside the family. Control over sexual behavior, responsibility for such behavior, is transferred from the individual girl or woman to a man, whose responsibility it is to guard it.
The second thing to notice about these ceremonies is their public nature. We often prefer to keep our sexual behavior, and our decisions about it, as private as possible. One of the cultural right's complaints about American society is its highly sexualized nature. Yet, here, right here, a very public display - an entire ceremony, complete with all the trappings of a festive occasion - regarding the sexuality of young women. Moving from the private sphere to the public sphere in this way creates an entirely new set of problems; now we have a social event in which the sexual behavior of young women becomes a matter not just for public scrutiny and comment, but examination.
Finally, and I know this question should not have to be asked - where are the ceremonies in which young men make similar pledged, either to their mothers or to their fathers? Of course, such pledges would violate certain rules of patriarchy, espcially those in which young women are perceived less as persons and more as property of men. Men do not need to make a pledge such as this because they do not owe anyone an explanation for their behavior, whereas women do. THe subtext, of course, is (to be crude) young men can dip their wicks whenever they want to, without consequence, without responsibility to anyone but themselves, whereas these young women are pledged and, if they become sexually active, they owe their fathers not just an explanation, but the fathers, implicitly, can punish them for violating their vows. Of course, if all these young women are chaste, the response may be, with whom could the young men possibly canoodle? We shall merely let that question hang in the air as one of profound naivetee . . .
I submit that such events as these, as bizarre and borderline taboo as they may be, will not become either very popular or very numerous. Nor do I think they will have any effect whatsoever on the sexual behavior of young women; quite the opposite, I think they might actually enhance the possibility that young women become sexually active, because, having made such a public display of their chastity, they now have a respectable cover for their private behavior. Such ceremonies, in other words, would encourage duplicity and promiscuity, rather than enhance honor and abstinence.
My one question, and it might seem irrelvant to most is - where is either the Biblcal, theological, pastoral, historical, or liturgical warrant for such a ceremony being done in the name of the Church of Jesus Christ? This is neither rhetorical, nor is it asked naively. I want an answer, not some kind of cultural answer, but a serious, thoughtful response to this in the terms set forth within the question above. If no answer is forthcoming, then maybe some Christians somewhere should maybe, you know, stand up and say something about this horror show being done in our name.
Note: I have been having serious computer problems, and it may be a couple days before I get them all fixed. That and time limitations and the weather (I have a broadband connection that doesn't work as well as it might in heavy cloud cover) seem to be conspiring against me spending the kind of quality time I want doing this. That includes commenting on my freinds' blogs, repsonding to comments, etc.
Virtual Tin Cup
