If she’s single, wearing a ring on the wedding finger is going to throw some people off (even if it doesn’t look like a wedding ring).
There's a good chance it's a “purity ring.” Can't say for sure without more information.
I don't have strong opinions on wearing one, but it's one way for a woman committed to chastity to tell people she's not “available.”
People who don't know what a purity ring is may think she's married or engaged, which is part of the point. For those who do know what a purity ring is, it's a pretty strong signal that she's not interested in a man who doesn't share her values.
I've never seen a purity ring and a nose ring on the same woman before. But I suppose a case could be made that if a woman committed to chastity before marriage is going to wear a nose ring, a purity ring could be important to make clear that there are limits with her to the “edginess” and “hipster” views that a nose ring often indicates.
By the way, I think those of us on Free Republic shouldn't assume we're reading this in a vacuum. Free Republic is not unknown on the liberal side of the political spectrum.
There's a good chance that Ellen Burkhardt is reading these comments. I'm writing my comments with the assumption that she may see what I write.
Here's her self-description: “Another reason sex didn’t factor into my coming-of-age years is that I’m a Christian. Not a Bible-thumping, the-world-is-going-to-hell-in-a-handbasket Christian, but a (sexually) conservative, Bible-believing, traditionally raised Minnesota Lutheran girl who was taught that sex is for marriage and that’s that.”
Since she is a professing Christian who appears to be taking a very unpopular stand for her faith, I think I owe it to her to use language here on the internet which I'd be comfortable using in a room with her listening to what I say.
We may not agree with everything she's saying, and most of us won't agree with most of what shows up in Salon Magazine, but can't we all agree that she's at least forcing the left wing to think about issues that they normally wouldn't consider?