Purified: The Lasting Legacy of The Abstinence Pledge

By Kaia Findlay,

Published April 1, 2022 at 10:10 AM EDT

Anita grew up in the 1990s, the era of Purity Culture. Unlike Britney (Spears) and Jessica (Simpson), she had no purity ring, but she's seen how abstinence messaging shaped her generation's relationship with sex, religion, pleasure and their bodies. She talks to two folks who've been unraveling their own indoctrination, and meets someone who's on an mission to help parents recover from purity culture and raise a more sex-positive generation.

Meet the guests:

Lyz Lenz, the author of "God Land: A Story of Faith, Loss and Renewal in Middle America" and "Belabored: A Vindication of the Rights of Pregnant Women," talks about growing up immersed in purity culture
Nathanael Novero, a former youth pastor, shares how he's exploring his relationship with purity culture through filmmaking in a new genre called holy erotica
Cindy Wang Brandt, author of "Parenting Forward: How to Raise Children with Justice, Mercy, and Kindness" and the creator of the "Parenting Forward" podcast talks about how her own break with purity culture informs how she is raising her kids.