Creepy Purity Ball Pics - Merge

[doggie]

Does the Purity Ball Rule forbid to smile ?!

would you smile?

[Marianne]

would you smile?

I would run away !

[cindyluvs24]

Kidist would approve since none of the girls are Asian. As to the beauty merit?

[Clementine]

They are wrong on so many levels, even frightening in a few, and then you have the Swedish photographer singing praises to the portraits' "beauty". I wonder if it's a 'they are so wonderfully EXOTIC in their backwardness' or if the photog is just soooo open minded his brains fell out.

That's what I think. Staying a virgin until you get married, the fathers "protecting" their daughters, purity balls and being fundamental Christians are things that one by itself are totally foreign to a Swede. The four combined are just as strange to us as if the photographer had documented the rites and rituals of a native tribe in the jungle somewhere.

I understand that it probably is difficult for an artist to condemn people who have accepted that you document a part of their private lives. Still, I wish the photographer had said something about how the purity balls and purity movement actually are seen as rather controversial among many Americans. I was surprised that he never mentioned anything that wasn't positive or understanding in the interview I saw.

[polecat]

aattp.org/here-are-nine-more-creepy-christian-purity-ball-pictures-images/

[Jesus Camp Counselor]

aattp.org/here-are-nine-more-creepy-christian-purity-ball-pictures-images/

I find many of those pictures more disturbing than the first set.

[ILoveJellybeans]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

1. Why is that man marrying a child?

2. The couple on the left look creepy. The little girl in red is cute, but why the hell is she promising to stay pure, she probably doesn't know what that means.

3. Ew

4. EEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW WHY ARE THEY KISSING ON THE LIPS????

5. It looks like the little girl is a bridesmaid or flower girl at a wedding. And the man is kidnapping her.

6. A mass child wedding?

7. Underage polygamy wedding? Why is she kissing her dad on the lips while the older girl watches on with a smile?

8. Random child hanging onto his chest

9. Looks like a wedding pic

[Jilli]

I may just not be super affectionate but the arm draping and the kissing is super creepy to me.

[ADoyle90815]

If there's anything anyone should have learned from Elizabeth Smart, it's that equating worth with virginity is unspeakably dangerous. That is why she didn't run when she had the chance. Her upbringing of "only virgins have worth" had been so firmly drilled into her that she thought she was no longer lovable, wouldn't be accepted, and would be shunned, so why not stay with the rapist who at least fed her?

Anyone who wants to rape and enslave someone with ease needs look no further than at who is going to purity balls. Those are the girls who will be easy to break and get into submission since they will believe their values as humans are gone with their hymens.

That's what I was thinking as well, that the Elizabeth Smart case should have taught people the dangers of equating worth with virginity. She was taught in church that if her virginity was gone before marriage, she was a chewed piece of gum, licked cupcake, or other sickening analogy. Those teachings are why she didn't run when she could have, as she thought she was used goods.

Some of those pictures reminded me of pictures that were used to convict Warren Jeffs of rape, as they looked just like FLDS child brides, but with shorter sleeves.

[polecat]

That's what I was thinking as well, that the Elizabeth Smart case should have taught people the dangers of equating worth with virginity. She was taught in church that if her virginity was gone before marriage, she was a chewed piece of gum, licked cupcake, or other sickening analogy. Those teachings are why she didn't run when she could have, as she thought she was used goods.

Some of those pictures reminded me of pictures that were used to convict Warren Jeffs of rape, as they looked just like FLDS child brides, but with shorter sleeves.

Exactly.

[latraviata]

I may just not be super affectionate but the arm draping and the kissing is super creepy to me.

The man in uniform and his daughter.......

[socuteyoullpuke]

http://www.davidmagnusson.se/projects/p ... 2g2-uZdXwg

a friend sent me this recently ( I really can't hide my obsession from anyone)

Someone else commented that they thought this must be in Utah, which got me thinking, has the purity ball craze reached the Mormons?

[Closed Womb]

4 pages on this here: viewtopic.php?f=8&t=21725

[oompa2129]

No! Just No!! Those photos are gross and in any other situation would be classified as child abuse/incest, so why not in these? Those are 4 year olds for crying out loud!! It is disgusting!! How far away are they from "honor" killings if one of these girls break their "promise"? :ew: :ew: :ew: :ew: :ew: :ew:

[RosyDaisy]

OMFG WTH???? I think I'm going to be sick.

[mockingbird]

http://jezebel.com/creepy-yet-gorgeous- ... 1587155121

(not breaking the link because it's Jezebel)

This article features portraits taken by a Swedish photographer of dads and daughters involved in the purity movement.

I think some of them are OK, but I don't think they are "gorgeous" as the title suggests. I mean the coloring is nice, but I think the fact that many of the girls have blank stares (or to be honest, there's at least one girl who looks really uncomfortable) adds to the creepy factor. If the girls were smiling maybe it would've made them look like they were closer to their dads/happy to be around him so much...

I also found this quote interesting, from the photographer: "...as I learnt more, I understood that the fathers, like all parents, simply wanted to protect the ones that they love – in the best way they know how. It was also often the girls themselves that had taken the initiative to attend the balls. They had made their decisions out of their own conviction and faith, in many cases with fathers who didn't know what a Purity Ball was before being invited by their daughters."

I'm not a parent, but I'm interested in how FJ parents would respond to a daughter's request for you to participate in the purity movement with her? (I can understand how maybe a teen would get interested because they want to be involved in their religion more or pledge to wait until marriage or something, and not see the broader context. Buuuut I think that's the job of the parents, so how would you address that with still supporting your daughter?)

[nelliebelle1197]

I think there is another post on here about these photos. I am not sure if there was much discussion of the topic in the way you are approaching it, though. I cannot even think about these photos and the creeeeeeep factor.

[momof2treasures]

I hope we never have to address this but....I would not only support but encourage both my son and daughter to wait until marriage because I think that's a responsible and well thought out decision. If they reach 18 and at some point down the roAd change their mind that's ok too. However I do not think it's necessary to advertise such a decision so publicly by attending a purity ball. My daughters sexuality is IMO a private, personal thing. I also find it awkward that a father would be so involved in such a thing. It makes me uncomfortable. I would simply explain thAt a public celebration of such a private thing is simply inappropriate .

[Ave Maria]

I hope we never have to address this but....I would not only support but encourage both my son and daughter to wait until marriage because I think that's a responsible and well thought out decision. If they reach 18 and at some point down the roAd change their mind that's ok too. However I do not think it's necessary to advertise such a decision so publicly by attending a purity ball. My daughters sexuality is IMO a private, personal thing. I also find it awkward that a father would be so involved in such a thing. It makes me uncomfortable. I would simply explain thAt a public celebration of such a private thing is simply inappropriate .

That's a great point, and really gets to the heart of it for me, as well. I was an abstinence speaker when I was in high school, but I never went to any purity balls, nor was I even aware of them -- but I think I would have been quite uncomfortable with the concept.

It's interesting that this backlash against the pervasive public sexuality of our society also makes such private things public.

[Mama Mia]

That's an interesting question. I really don't know how my kids dads would have responded to that. I think they would have tried to support them in it if they really, really wanted them to.....but it is pretty creepy, and the posing of those photos look like they are a couple, not father and daughter.

One of my daughters was very involved in one of those mega-church youth groups in high school and said she was going to wait until marriage, but that only lasted until her first serious boyfriend. I think her dad would have had a problem with the religion related aspects of it, as he is extremely non religious. It's kind of funny to picture him at a purity ball.

[Rescinded and Mended]

I don't have a daughter, but I was brought up by a mother who was raised in a strict, religious household. Because of that, she had difficulty accepting that kids (particularly girls) grow up to be adults who will one day be responsible for their own choices regarding their sexuality. There was a lot of conflict between us in part because she couldn't handle that fact - any girl who ever had sex before marriage was a slut in her book, full stop. As an adult who has broken free from her mentality, I find it amazing just how often she was willing to shame women for their sexuality, but never men.

I have a son who is in his early teens, and we have had some discussion about this. My position on the matter is, and always has been, that he will eventually become sexually active, but that we (his parents) prefer that he wait until he is older and closer to adulthood before he makes those choices. A few years' maturity can make all the difference in the world.

That having been said, I fully recognize that circumstances in life happen and that he might make that choice sooner. Either way, we're going to make sure he has access to contraceptives and other resources for sexual health. We have a pretty good relationship with him, and for the most part he's great about coming to us with a problem, so we've just asked that he be honest.

[Jana814]

I know these pictures were posted before. But they r still creepy!

[Jasmar]

I've actually been having some really awesome conversations with my girls over the last few months on this topic. After getting started reading at Recovering Grace, following the VF scandal, and reading here, I've rethought a lot of what I'd taught them. I still absolutely believe in sex with your spouse only. But other things, not so much.

For example, saving the first kiss for the wedding. Seriously? Why did I think that was a good idea? I didn't want them to repeat some of the pain and regrets I went through. But I wasn't thinking it all the way through: Do I really want them to have to go from only platonic touch, to kissing in front of a large, nosy audience, to intercourse in one day? :pink-shock:

And how does excessive "rules" allow for healthy growth and wrestling with their own relationship with God? Meaning, if they put their hope in following rules, even if they're well-intentioned rules, how will they ever learn to struggle with and work out their relationship with God? Life is messy. Even if they did do it "right" there is no guarantee that everything would always go well. In fact the only guarantee is that life will be messy and sometimes painful; far better to learn how to navigate that than to rely on the perceived safety of lots of prescriptive rules.

[nelliebelle1197]

The rise of abstinence education for teens actually correlates with a rise in teen pregnancy and STD rates, not to mention the emotional impact. A rounded sex education that encourages responsible choices and independent thought should be predicated on marriage but simply responsible choice.

For those of you who teach "wait until marriage" what if your child is gay? Many states still do not recognize gay marriage. How do you reconcile that?

Purity balls and abstinence-only education are of tools of patriarchical oppression. I hoping my small children never hear of such things, but instead are given the tools that will allow them to make the choices that are right for them when they are ready. I don't want my kids having sex ever (they are three and seven)! But I want to equip them with the tools they need to make responsible choice.

[crazyforkate]

My parents actually said they wou;dn't have let me participate in anything purity-related, though I never asked. We lived in an evangelical-heavy area, so I think they were worried about peer pressure. I had a friend who got into it - her mom, a local Anglican priest, even did the ceremony, which is SUPER rare for Anglicans - when she was about 14. It got written up in the diocesan newspaper and everything, and everyone seemed to think it was cute, not excessively creepy. The bishop should have put a stop to that shit, IMO.