According to Jane E. Rosenbaum’s article on virginity pledges, Patient Teenagers? A Comparison of the Sexual Behavior of Virginity Pledgers and Matched Non-pledgers, the United States of America government encourages young adults to take pledges to delay sexual activity until marriage. A virginity pledge is defined as, “an oral or written promise to refrain from sexual activity, usually until marriage, administered after a multi- or single session curriculum in religious youth groups, parochial and public schools, or large group events” (Rosenbaum). In current public discussion, policymakers and religious groups have been debating whether or not this is morally and mentally healthy for young women. According to the book, Forbidden Fruit: Sex
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This theme correlates directly to my hypothesis that Christian women are more likely to lose their virginity if they take a virginity pledge. When it came to my research process, out of the 11 women I interviewed, 8 of them had taken virginity pledges, and three of them had not. However, out of these 8 women, only 2 had kept their virginity pledge. Through this evidence and research, I was able to prove that when Christian women take virginity pledges, they are more likely to lose their virginity. However, according to Sex Education and the News, some studies have shown a positive effect for virginity pledges, and some data does not. Therefore, my main goal was to research the effects of virginity pledges on young Christian women and if they complied with their pledge if they had taken one. One of the specific pledges that I researched was the Southern Baptist pledge known as, TLW (True Love Waits). This pledge began in 1993 and is still practiced today (Mebane). This pledge was a catalyst for other pledge groups to emerge across the country (Palik). I asked the women I interviewed if they had heard of TLW, but none of them were familiar with it. I interviewed three groups of women individually in the Gainesville community. These groups included the women of: Saint Augustine’s Catholic Church, Greenhouse Church, and Christian student athletes at the University of
This theme correlates directly to my hypothesis that Christian women are more likely to lose their virginity if they take a virginity pledge. When it came to my research process, out of the 11 women I interviewed, 8 of them had taken virginity pledges, and three of them had not. However, out of these 8 women, only 2 had kept their virginity pledge. Through this evidence and research, I was able to prove that when Christian women take virginity pledges, they are more likely to lose their virginity. However, according to Sex Education and the News, some studies have shown a positive effect for virginity pledges, and some data does not. Therefore, my main goal was to research the effects of virginity pledges on young Christian women and if they complied with their pledge if they had taken one. One of the specific pledges that I researched was the Southern Baptist pledge known as, TLW (True Love Waits). This pledge began in 1993 and is still practiced today (Mebane). This pledge was a catalyst for other pledge groups to emerge across the country (Palik). I asked the women I interviewed if they had heard of TLW, but none of them were familiar with it. I interviewed three groups of women individually in the Gainesville community. These groups included the women of: Saint Augustine’s Catholic Church, Greenhouse Church, and Christian student athletes at the University of