Posted on 06/18/2008 10:57:46 AM PDT by AJKauf
What was New York Times blogger Judith Warner thinking when she compared evangelical fathers at a purity ball to an infamous Austrian rapist?
John Podhoretz called it the most repulsive blog item of the year. New York Times blogger Judith Warner shocked many last week when she compared “fathers, stepfathers, and fathers-in-law-to-be, at the ninth annual, largely evangelical ‘Father-Daughter Purity Ball’” to Josef Fritzl, the 73-year-old Austrian who held his daughter captive in a cellar for 24 years and fathered her seven children. For Warner, the difference between fathers attempting to preserve the innocence of their daughters and one of the most monstrous child abusers in recent memory is “only a matter of degree.”
(Excerpt) Read more at pajamasmedia.com ...
She was thinking she was being clever and erudite, when really, she was just being a typical 21st century idiot.
Although I agree that what this idiot blogger said was absurd, I think those purity balls are creepy. Creepy. Several years ago we had a big brawl here when the story about Purity Balls were first presented. CREEPY. Don’t even bother to try to explain it to me. I get it. It’s still CREEPY.
She was thinking she’ll be the talk of the cocktail circuit.
.
And her most recent one.
Is it the concept of "purity" or abstinence that creepy to you?
What a childish response. Little girls pledging their purity to their fathers, playing dress-up with rings and all is not healthy. I'm surpised anyone thinks it is.
Why must some of you guys respond like that when someone disagrees with you? Don't you see how stupid it makes you look?
I agree. Super-creepy. And a mild version of the sicko Muslim mentality that puts a high value on “purity” of their girls and young women, and which forms the basis for their barbaric habit of “honor killing”. The underlying belief in both cases boils down to “If I don’t get to do her first, she’s worthless”.
And before someone howls that I’m crazy for seeing a connection between these two cultural phenomena, please point me to the evangelicals’ “Mother-Son Purity Balls”? Can’t find any? Yeah, and I can’t seem to find any Muslim “honor killings” of teenage boys who had a romp with their girlfriends.
I am a Christian who prays constantly for my children’s continued purity until marriage. With that being said, when I first saw how involved the fathers and daughters were in the purity balls, it gave me a little pause. I think it would have be preferable if the ceremonies involved the girls and their choice to abstain and their own walk with God...etc. I get the creepiness factor. I had the opportunity to teach the abstinence portion at a teen girl retreat and we emphasized how their walk with God should influence their choices and personal behavior.
I am a Christian who prays constantly for my children’s continued purity until marriage. With that being said, when I first saw how involved the fathers and daughters were in the purity balls, it gave me a little pause. I think it would have be preferable if the ceremonies involved the girls and their choice to abstain and their own walk with God...etc. I get the creepiness factor. I had the opportunity to teach the abstinence portion at a teen girl retreat and we emphasized how their walk with God should influence their choices and personal behavior.
I am a Christian who prays constantly for my children’s continued purity until marriage. With that being said, when I first saw how involved the fathers and daughters were in the purity balls, it gave me a little pause. I think it would have be preferable if the ceremonies involved the girls and their choice to abstain and their own walk with God...etc. I get the creepiness factor. I had the opportunity to teach the abstinence portion at a teen girl retreat and we emphasized how their walk with God should influence their choices and personal behavior.
Absolutely. My stepdaughter is a girl’s youth group leader in her church. I know they address this issue like you did.
I asked you an honest question.Not being able to read your mind I think it was a reasonable one.You'll either have the courage to answer it or you won't...it's obviously your choice.
Fur Shur she's not dating material.
‘I can’t seem to find any Muslim “honor killings” of teenage boys who had a romp with their girlfriends.’
Actually, if the relatives of the girl catch up with the Muslim man or men who violate their female relative, they get whacked too.
http://www.gendercide.org/case_honour.html
Generally though (read the rest of the above link) the threats to males run through the blood feuding that is rife in Muslim tribal cultures.
‘”Honour” killings of women (and occasionally their male “partners in crime”) reflect longstanding patriarchal-tribal traditions. In a “bizarre duality,” women are viewed “on the one hand as fragile creatures who need protection and on the other as evil Jezebels from whom society needs protection.’
‘The institution of the “blood feud” is the little-known but highly-destructive male counterpart to “honour” killings of women. Every year, at least a thousand men and boys die in blood-feud killings in Albania alone; the lives of tens of thousands more are spent in isolation and perpetual fear. Women and girls are virtually never targeted.’
‘In addition to the thousands killed, tens of thousands of men live in fear and seclusion as a result of the blood feuds. Mihaela Rodina cites estimates by Albanian non-governmental organizations that “the men of some 25,000 families in northern Albania live thus, never going out of the house for fear of being victims of ... feuding. The women, who are unaffected by the kanun, are left alone to provide for the family’s needs.” (Rodina, “Blood Code Rules in Northern Albania,” Agence France-Presse dispatch, June 30, 1999.)’
Just to recap, this is what I wrote:
Although I agree that what this idiot blogger said was absurd, I think those purity balls are creepy.
Still think your question was "reasonable?" Give up..just say you made a mistake. It's not a terrible thing to admit you're wrong once in awhile.
As far as "creepy" is concerned, we've got a major political party running a momma's boy for President ~ guy's been under his mother's, grandmother's, and now his wife's thumbs all his life ~ who wants a top candidate like that?
Now that's creepy!
How Obama got into the mix is entirely YOU!
I think it’s pretty clear the difference between a loving protective father and a demented incestual scumbag.
Great.Thanks for playing.
I’d limit it to the blogger and her obsession with father/daughter sex.
You have to admit that these parties beg for the thought. Yuk.
I agree that the girl's faith and personal 'walk with God' should be their driving force...not a country club 'prom' with daddy.
She's still out of order ~ the guy in Austria, who you have conveniently not mentioned, is the individual she used for her comparison.
Still, aren't these things better than those little princess beauty contests (with the 6 year olds)?
i agree with the whole pledging to your father just feels creepy
i’ve spoken to my kids (boys and girls) about abstinence
but to have a formal ball to pledge it, it’s not the background i came from, probably part of the creepy feel to me
they just intertwine the words “protection” and honor to justify their abuse of women and their treatment of them as less than human
Call me crazy, but I think it’s a bit of misplaced love to have your little girl get all dressed up, stand in front of a room filled with older men, and pledge her purity to you and seal it with a ring, a dance, and a piece of frosted cake.
Uh..not..they're not.
Uh..no..they're not.
everytime one of the new york times reporters blogs, their just demonstrate their lack of _______________.
it is a shock that she actually has someone paying her to write, then again, considering the state of journalism it’s really not surprising.
I’m with you..I think it’s a tad creepy. I have a six year-old daughter. I spend a lot of time reinforcing basic concepts of right and wrong and the importance of living our lives based on the firm foundation of the word of God. Bringing sex into ...even a few years down the line would seem creepy.
It is my hope that if my wife and I teach her the how to follow the correct path (and don’t let those who produce “distractions” for profit go unchallenged) such an event will be unnecessary.....
Yea, it’s nothing I would do. Seems kinda odd to me too, but then I’m a very private person. I feel no need to prove or profess anything in front of any group. But, welcome to America. Different strokes for different folks. Were any laws being broken? I didn’t think so.
“Still, aren’t these things better than those little princess beauty contests (with the 6 year olds)?”
Man I hate those things. Great way to teach your daughter how to be superficial.
Don’t tell me you’re a fan?
Wow! I’m in agreement with Hildy! (No offense hon, but it’s like a blue moon.) ;)
Seriously, while nothing excuses the comment of the blogger, this father-daughter purity ball is creepy.
I agree--the idea makes me uneasy as well. Perhaps the intention makes sense--honoring those who make the effort to stay chaste. But the ceremonial trappings--older men, much younger daughters...I can see what you mean.
I wouldn’t say I’m a “fan,” but I have a stepdaughter who was involved in these pageants at a young age. I didn’t meet her until she was done with them, but I must tell you, she’s a beautiful, gracious young woman and she attributes those pageants to teaching her many of the social graces. And for that, I think these these could be good if the mothers don’t screw them up too badly!
Why can’t you just say you misunderstood what I wrote? Would that have been too hard for you?
Hey, I'll take a kind word and a nod whenever I get it! I do think,however, most everyone on this website is in agreement more times than not.
You know what I think was creepy? Those mother-son/father-daughter dance contests. Those I thought were disgusting. Some dances are meant to be sexy and passionate and slinky, and doing a dance like that with your mother or father is sick! Whoever thought of that program is really twisted.
Judith Warner is either reliving some of her own fantasies or has "issues" herself.
From coverage of the Purity Ball:
--snip
But after dessert, the 63 men stood and read aloud a covenant “before God to cover my daughter as her authority and protection in the area of purity.”
The gesture signaled that the fathers would guard their daughters from what evangelicals consider a profoundly corrosive “hook-up culture.” The evening, which alternated between homemade Christian rituals and giddy dancing, was a joyous public affirmation of the girls’ sexual abstinence until they wed.
Yet the graying men in the shadow of their glittering daughters were the true focus of the night. To ensure their daughters’ purity, they were asked to set an example
Okay, so Dads are making promises to be faithful to their own brides and sharing that promise with their daughters.
That's pretty cool.
ONly someone obsessed with "Sex and the City" could think this Purity Ball was kinky.
Also from the article: “Something I need from dad is affirmation, being told I’m beautiful,” said Jordyn Wilson, 19, another daughter of Randy and Lisa. “If we don’t get it from home, we will go out to the culture and get it from them.”
Like, no kidding.
Many daughters are out there in the world looking for comfort; not sex; but sex is the easiest way for them to "cop a feel" at comfort.
One of my fondest memories? Snuggling up with my own dad, with my head on his chest, listening to his heart beat while he laughed at Laugh In or watched Lawrence Welk. I felt safe, loved, and beautiful. Cared for. This freed me to pursue higher level goals and objectives. He taught me to dance when I was so little, with my little feet standing on his feet.
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs really does apply.
Judith Warner would better serve the population were she to EXPOSE the sex-ed for Kindergarteners and up through sixth grades that I've seen in CA. Soft porn, and in some cases, visually and graphically erotic. But Nooooo!
Obviously, I think Judith Warner has "sex" issues which she hides behind by writing critiques like this article.
The culture is bombarding youngsters with "just do it" messages. Judith doesn't mind.
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