2014•Women s Studies in CommunicationRequires access

Paradoxes of (Im)Purity: Affirming Heteronormativity and Queering Heterosexuality in Family Discourses of Purity Pledges

Jimmie Manning

Abstract

Queer theory, seldom used to critique heterosexuality, is used to examine discursive themes from interviews with 13 families who enacted purity pledges. Thematic analysis, values coding, and emotion coding reveal four salient themes: parents should want the best for their children; sex is terrifying; sex is a beautiful gift; and girls have no sexual agency. Results illustrate families use purity pledges and rings to mark a pure heterosexuality that contrasts with a more dominant impure heterosexuality.

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Key concepts: Heteronormativity, Heterosexuality, Gender studies, Sociology, Queer theory, Agency (philosophy), Thematic analysis, Salient