Graham crackers and good girls: a historical and theoretical case for expanding the conceptual reach of purity culture’s control of bodies assigned female at birth

Abstract

ABSTRACT In this work, we make a historical and theoretical case for expanding the conceptual reach of purity culture’s control of bodies assigned female at birth to include body shape and size. Purity culture is a sub-cultural phenomenon primarily recognized as a Protestant Evangelical abstinence movement, though recently seeing further attention in the academic literature. We utilize the visceral, embodied language of an original poetic work from Rebekah Vickery, one of the authors, to weave experiential knowledge into our analysis. We utilize the theories of biopower and stigma, as well as the materiality of the female body, to understand purity culture’s control and discipline of the female body in and through three mechanisms: mind–body dualism, white supremacist patriarchy, and appetite control. We contextualize these mechanisms by tracing their historical roots leading up to the purity culture movement, and then utilize theoretical frameworks to understand the impacts of this history in purity culture.