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Description of  The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity Is Hurting Young Women

In the book Valenti discusses various elements of society that promote chastity and discourage pre-marital sexual activity in women and teenage girls. She asserts that many sex education programs in the US promote abstinence only education, which gives an unhealthy attitude towards sex and women. Valenti also asserts that the myth uses virginity as an "easy ethical road map" in order to teach women that, unlike the ability to abstain from sex, their beliefs and actions hold no bearing to their value as humans. Valenti does not discourage chastity but shows disapproval over virginity pledge programs such as purity ballss. Valenti also argues that the over-emphasizing and idealization of virginity promotes the Madonna-whore complex, which would make many women and teen girls choose to be hypersexualized as they cannot live up to the expectations placed upon them.