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?
I’m glad to read that there are some women on the left side of the aisle who still believe in some concept of chastity and monogamy.
However, I’m not sure if she even knows what she wants in a partner.
She said that her second boyfriend in college was “optimistic”, “bubbly” and “excitable” but she didn’t put much effort into the relationship because he was a “rebound”.
And the third boyfriend in college allegedly pushed her into uncomfortable sexually charged situations (although she doesn’t explicitly say he was harassing her to have sex with him, he may have been inquisitive about her sexual experience with others or desires, etc). She came out of the gate angry that he saw his potential partner in a more “traditional” female role (she casts it as barefoot and pregnant although that may be an extreme take).
Her hostility should be directed at some level at the so-called modern feminist movement which sought explicitly (if not so publicly) to smash the patriarchy, smash the institution of marriage, smash momogamy and usher in a cultural (Marxist) revolution of “equality”. She’s been sold a false bill of goods by liberalism that is counter to her moral code. The Left sought to end all moral judgments over sexual pairings of any kind (regardless of sex, age, relation, marital status, or number of partner(s)). The sex positive agenda is still waging the sexual revolt.