Pure

Inside the Evangelical Movement That Shamed a Generation of Young Women and How I Broke Free

By: Linda Kay Klein

Narrated by: Linda Kay Klein

From a woman who has been there and back, the first inside look at the devastating effects evangelical Christianity’s purity culture has had on a generation of young women - in a potent combination of journalism, cultural commentary, and memoir.

In the 1990s, a “purity industry” emerged out of the white evangelical Christian culture. Purity rings, purity pledges, and purity balls came with a dangerous message: girls are potential sexual “stumbling blocks” for boys and men, and any expression of a girl’s sexuality could reflect the corruption of her character. This message traumatized many girls - resulting in anxiety, fear, and experiences that mimicked the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder - and trapped them in a cycle of shame.

This is the sex education Linda Kay Klein grew up with.

Fearing being marked a Jezebel, Klein broke up with her high school boyfriend because she thought God told her to, and took pregnancy tests though she was a virgin, terrified that any sexual activity would be punished with an out-of-wedlock pregnancy. When the youth pastor of her church was convicted of sexual enticement of a 12-year-old girl, Klein began to question the purity-based sexual ethic. She contacted young women she knew, asking if they were coping with the same shame-induced issues she was. These intimate conversations developed into a 12-year quest that took her across the country and into the lives of women raised in similar religious communities - a journey that facilitated her own healing and led her to churches that are seeking a new way to reconcile sexuality and spirituality.

Sexual shame is by no means confined to evangelical culture; Pure is a powerful wake-up call about our society’s subjugation of women.

©2018 Linda Kay Klein (P)2018 Simon & Schuster

Her story, our stories

This book is an essential for anyone who has be affected by the church purity culture, or anyone who is trying to understand a loved one who grew up in that world.

It's personal, thoughtful, and intelligently written. This book is painful, but it is freeing. Thank you, Linda Kay Klein, and thank you to everyone who shared their stories.

It makes sense that this book was narrated by the author, and she does it well.

conflicted

This was hard to listen to. The author did a great job reading and writing. Her honesty is what is needed even if it hurts. This books is full of trigger warnings. I can think of a lot of women who will get this book but I think men especially need to know the damage that has been and is being done in the evangelical world.

A life changing read/listen.

As a woman in her mid-20s who grew up in the evangelical subculture, I needed this book. God has used this book to bring into the light the gender-based shame and anxiety I’ve held on to, and I am forever grateful.

Recommended for Christian woman seeking to reconcile feminism, self-acceptance, and the social culture they grew up in.

Queer Likeness

Just wanted to share that, as a queer boy growing up in an Evangelical church, the gender specific messages directed at women also impacted me as a gender fluid individual. I internalized many of these “woman issues” into my own life since I felt a closeness to that feminine side within me. Highly recommend this book for queer individuals.

Powerful

Such a powerful and truthful book—a beautiful and transcendent read. I found myself shouting “YES, EXACTLY!!” often.

Yes! I needed this!

Thank you Linda Kay Klein for reading your work. It was easyer to listen through my tears then read it for myself. Thank you for telling these stories. My story is their story and my friends stories. I will listen to this again. I am still healing and my journey is not done.

Challenge

I listened to this book on request from my husband who grew up in this purity culture. The stories helped give words and feelings to so much of what he experienced and gave us a platform to consider how we will raise our 4 kids both in God and outside of the purity culture. It was well worth my time.

Outstanding.

I have related so viscerally to this book, and I wasn’t expecting that. I had a [fairly] positive experience growing up in fundamental evangelicalism. It wasn’t until my mid 20’s that this ideology around the purity culture really started to crack and leak for me. But in light of Linda’s exceptional treatment of the subject, I can se show the threads of this limited, tho well-intentioned, viewpoint cause much more harm than good for me as well as many of the kids I grew up with. I don’t often verbally respond to books I’m reading as I’m looking at the page, but I did throughout this one. Excellent, kind, respectful, thought-provoking and positive even thru the difficult and dark spots. Thank you, Linda. Keep singing.

Thank you

Thank you for this book. Thank you for sharing yours and others’ stories. All I can say is thank you.

Wow I feel so heard

This book has helped me a lot already and opened up a can of worms I didn’t know existed. I’m ex Pentecostal and 32 years old and I’m just at the beginning of healing from leaving such an intense church and lifestyle behind. It’s all I knew most my life and I’m having to relearn everything. This book has been the best tool so far.