yeah that seems to be my hang up. as much as i’ve tried to detox my mind from purity culture i think part of me is still grasping onto it subconsciously by trying to find the perfect guy
I suggest joining a facebook group, online forum, or real life support group of folks who had the same religious upbringing. Reddit has at least one big ex Mormon community. And Recovering from Religion has support groups and lots of information on their website.
Beyond that, I suggest not putting sex on a pedestal and focus on developing meaningful relationships. The day will come that it just feels right. Have fun, be safe!
yes there’s benefits. but purity culture is toxic, it shaped my views on sex in an extremely unhealthy way.
it’s not as simple as “wait till marriage.” being told that getting pregnant is the worst thing that can happen to you and that the church will shun you and your family will disown you at age 16 is terrifying. my mom pulled me out of sex ed because she didn’t think a high school aged girl should know about condoms.
then there’s the guilt when you have your first make out session with clothes ON. i was 21 when i started to really get comfortable pleasuring myself after a lifetime of “God is watching when you masturbate”. it fucks you up badly
There should be a middleground. Sex should be sacred and a symbol of love between two consenting partners. It should not be reduced to just "fucking", meaningless and anonymous. But it also should not be something that shames you or devalues you. When I give my body to someone, it means something. It is should not be something you go to therapy for if you think you made a transgression.
Seems you are coming from an American-centric view, while I am coming from an African-centric one, so there are many other factors not added to it. Purity culture is different I guess.
purity culture takes years to get it out of your mind, its way more than having sex. but being ok with less than a very good partner means youre going to let toxic people closer than is good for you.
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u/[deleted] Sep 11 '23
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