When thinking about what to create for the final project, I decided to delve into the tradition I was raised most closely to. I grew up in a non-religious household, however, I am from Mexico, a Christian-majority country. Christianity was all around me growing up, and Christian values definitely had an effect on the relationship I have with my own sexuality.
I decided to focus on the Purity Movement within Christianity and how this movement affects women’s sexuality. I specifically focused on the Evangelical Purity Movement in America, which became most popular in the 90s and was deeply connected with sexual scandals that were occurring in the country, and the world, at the time. This is an example that illustrates how interconnected politics and religion really are, and this movement is religiously motivated but also politically so. This was an aspect that also interested me about this topic.
Side note: Evangelism refers to a movement within Protestantism in Christianity that focuses on spreading the Gospel. This specific movement within Christianity has notoriously focused on the movement of purity and is the focal point of this project.
I dove into research about this topic focusing on statistical information, personal accounts and anecdotal evidence, and what we learned about Christianity and sexuality throughout the semester; I also talk about my own experiences. I connected all of these pieces into a narrative poetry piece that follows the story of a Christian queer woman who was brought up in the center of the Purity Movement.
The reason why I am presenting the information I learned through a poem is that I have been writing poetry for the better part of a decade now and it is an art form that is near and dear to me. I wanted to connect my love for poetry with this project and create a poem that shows the research I have done on the topic. I wanted to convey the information I found in a relatable and evocative way. This piece is very personal and vulnerable; I hope you all enjoy it.
Beautiful poem… whether it was your experience or that of others, thank you for being so vulnerable. You did a great job expressing the experience and impact of purity and your research shows. I love the hopeful end-note of healing and deconstructing the patriarchal implications of purity.
Poetry was a particularly evocative medium for your project and I think it demonstrated the intensely personal and emotional nature of the topic in a way that other mediums would struggle to do. Seeing the citations in your poem on WordPress (in a way I obviously couldn’t when you were reading it aloud in class) reiterated the fact that this is a big enough issue and is having such large-scale impacts on young women that there’s a lot of research, not just anecdotes, attached to it. I also loved how you ended with the future vision the narrator has of herself at 30: it was a hopeful and inspiring end to the poem.
I really enjoyed listening to your poem in class. Not only is it a very powerful piece, but it’s also well written and a particularly creative way to demonstrate your research. I think many women can relate to the feelings and difficulty of coming to terms with our expected role in society. The way you analyzed purity culture was raw and honest and I especially liked your point about masculine approval feelings like the approval of god. Very moving!
Your delivery was so captivating – I was able to feel the emotion behind your words and even felt emotional at times myself. I really like how you created a character and guided us through her life as she grew up – the poem felt like a journey and at the end, I felt like I knew her personally. Sometimes, listening to a personal experience/point of view can be so much more impactful than simple statistics or facts. Your creativity is so admirable – great job!
This is a really beautiful and meaningful poem. I love how you were able to translate scholarly work into art, you really brought out the emotional impact that purity culture has on girls and women. I think that its really important to examine what purity means in the context of religion and how people can believe in God while also believing in the beauty of their bodies and sexuality.
This poem was amazing! I can hear the emotion through the words. I thought it was unique that you were able to translate your experiences into a poem. The last line of the poem is so strong, it leaves the audience trying to answer the question themselves.
I completely relate to you, as someone whose families were not very religious but lived on a Christian-majority island, purity messages were all surrounding me. Your poem was absolutely astounding! Hearing you present this in class felt so deep and vulnerable. I appreciate that you were able to express yourself with so emotion and demonstrate a beautiful piece of work. I especially loved the final verse where you come to accept God as a She and change up to a future perspective where you know everything eventually will be alright.
This poem was beautiful and I want to thank you for sharing and being so authentic in your writing. Being “pure” and holding our virginity to God or our fathers until we get married is something that anyone in many different religions can fully understand. Women’s “purity” is such a central part of our society and I think you did an incredible job putting that feeling into words. Hearing this poem have a positive end gave me a sense of hope for the future and that just because we were taught something as a child doesn’t mean we have to live by those ideals as we grow up and find ourselves. Thank you for writing this poem and for sharing it with us.
Such an interesting way to explore purity culture! Even though you were not directly raised in this culture the time and research you put into portraying these women’s experiences is amazing. The transition of her own inner journey with purity and deconstructing the idea that she is pure regardless of what she had been told is great both poetically and in explaining the inner conflicts of many individuals struggling with ideas of purity/purity culture.
Your poem was absolutely beautiful, and reading it here gives no justice to the way you delivered it when reading it at loud. It really captures the idea of purity within Christianity and how people within the tradition works with it. My favorite part was when you added a futuristic point of view to your poem. I think it was absolutely necessary and it gives hope to people who are struggling withing their religion that at some point they too can find peace to be true to themselves without fear that God is judging them or that they are sinning.
Ame, your poem was just stunning, and I am so glad that you were able to share your experience through art. The idea of purity has always been something that I have struggled with throughout my upbringing. The transferring of women as property also rings true to the messaging I received growing up in a Christian household, and I can’t help but admire the way you were able to capture this concept! The end of your poem where you describe being “faithful, happy, and free” was a perfect wrap up. Your poem and the reflection within it give me hope for future generations being able to escape this idea of “purity.” Thank you for your candidness and unique voice within this conversation!
I loved your poem. I think looking at others peoples stories and traditions and being able to channel them into your own experience is very powerful and helps to echo the experience of so many young latinx women and how societal expectations have affected them
This is a really heart-felt poem, and I like the language and small details you included in the poem. I love the change of pronoun of God, from he to she, and I love and glad to hear the process of reconciliation. Thank you for sharing!
Ame, I absolutely loved your poem. When you presented in class, I was genuinely impressed and a lot of your emotions resonated with me as well. For a long time, I also felt like my sexuality and faith didn’t go together and I always felt like I couldn’t participate as much as I wanted to. Even though we haven’t necessarily reached the age, like at the end of the poem, it feels really nice to have a manifestation of what that future could look like. I don’t if it was your intention to change the “He” to a “She” at the end in reference to God, but when I reread it, it made me tear up a little. Whether it’s talking about God directly or a relationship, knowing She loves you genuinely sparked an emotion out of me. You have a real talent for writing and I hope you continue to pursue it. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Messages of purity are everywhere and I think you did a great job of highlighting it and how it affects people both involved and uninvolved in Christianity.
Such a powerful poem! You did a great job of explaining the Evangelical Purity Movement and its effects. “Their masculine approval / felt like the approval of God” lines really stood out to me, and I think most of the class, when you read it.
This poem was so beautiful! I especially enjoyed the end where you began to view God in your own perspective, as you say “She loves me.” You did such an amazing job of highlighting the lurking negative impacts of purity messages entwined in religion. I very much related to many of the ideas you mentioned, especially feeling impure after wilting your flower. Very powerful piece!