3 most harmful books selling purity culture in 2023

The impact of “I Kissed Dating Goodbye,” authored by disgraced pastor Joshua Harris in 1997, introduced an alternative to dating called “courting,” emphasizing strict rules on physical touch and supervised dates within Christian teenage circles. However, this book is just one example in a series of influential works promoting unrealistic modesty rules and harmful abstinence-only rhetoric, also known as “purity culture.”

Rooted in white Christian nationalism, a societal framework that advocates for a white, Christian centered political and social structure, purity culture perpetuates teachings favoring a white, straight, religious standard for relationships. This stance disregards alternative lifestyles and non-nuclear family structures, contributing to the promotion of abstinence until marriage as a safeguard for one’s body and soul in line with evangelical ideals about sexuality.

Despite its long-standing existence, these teachings have been linked to adverse outcomes, including increased rates of unintended pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections, and mental and physical health issues stemming from sexual repression.

Purity culture has even been linked to reduced rates of vaccination against HPV–the most common sexually transmitted disease in the world that can progress to cancer in both men and women. A 2023 study by the American Society for Virology found college students who were more religious were less likely to be vaccinated against HPV and less likely to vaccinate their children, even though the vaccine has found to be safe and highly effective.

While books perpetuating sexual health misinformation continue to be available in bookstores and classrooms nationwide, Reckon spoke with sexual health experts and readers to identify and highlight these problematic reads, aiming to create awareness about their detrimental impact.

Here are the books to add to your anti-reading list:

“Every Young Man/Woman’s Battle” (The Every Man series)

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