VOLUME 11 |ISSUE 2 |2020 1517
coach any connections that come up. I used to belittle
my experiences because I felt they weren’t severe
enough to merit the label of trauma or abuse. Others,
I thought, had it far worse. But that doesn’t mean I
don’t deserve healing from what I experienced. That
doesn’t mean you don’t deserve healing from what you
experienced. It means we can acknowledge the ways
purity culture may have affected us so we can finally
begin to heal. It means we get to walk in our own truth,
whatever that means to each of us. It means we get to
be free.
~
Author’s Note: I would like to acknowledge that this
article does not address the painful ways purity culture
has affected the LGBTQ+ community. This was a
conscious omission for two reasons: (a) religious purity
culture is often implicitly heterosexual, with expressions
of nonheterosexuality and nonbinary gender
identification so deeply condemned that they are
often ignored altogether in abstinence and courtship
teachings and (b) as a heterosexual ciswoman, I cannot
speak to any experience within purity culture but my
own. And for the sake of brevity, I decided to keep the
focus of this piece on what I can personally attest to,
knowing those who identify as LGBTQ+ can speak to
their experiences far better than I can extrapolate. I
sincerely apologize for any offense this omission has
caused. n
…my body and I were never going
back. We were never going back
to shame. We never going back
to suppression. We were never
going back to powerlessness.
Notes
[1] Ephesians 5:3.
[2] Deuteronomy 22:13–21.
[3] Renee Ghert-Zand, “Women Simulate Virginity With Artificial
Hymens,” The Times of Israel, December 18, 2015. Available
online at https://www.timesofisrael.com/women-simulate-
virginity-with-artificial-hymens/
[4] Priscilla Frank, “Welcome to the Bizarre and Beautiful World
of Purity Balls,” HuffPost, May 5, 2014 updated December 6,
2017. Available online at https://www.huffpost.com/entry/
purity-ball-photos_n_5255904
[5] Michael Stone, “Conference Will Arrange Child Marriages for
Christian Homeschoolers,” Progressive Secular Humanist, May
5, 2016.
[6] “About Child Marriage,” Unchained At Last, 2017. Available
online at https://www.unchainedatlast.org/laws-to-end-child-
marriage/
[7] David J. Ley, PhD, “Overcoming Religious Sexual Shame,”
Psychology Today, August 23, 2017. Available online at
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/women-who-
stray/201708/overcoming-religious-sexual-shame
[8] Linda Kay Klein, Pure: Inside the Evangelical Movement That
Shamed a Generation of Young Women and How I Broke Free,
Atria Books, September 4, 2018.
[9] Matthew 5:28.
[10] Matthew 5:29–30.
[11] Jeremy Fuster, “Imagine Dragons’ Dan Reynolds Talks
Confronting Mormon Suicide in ‘Believer’ (Video),” The Wrap,
January 21, 2018. Available online at https://www.thewrap.
com/imagine-dragons-dan-reynolds-confronting-mormon-
suicide-in-believer-video/
About the Author
Alice Greczyn is an actress, writer, and the
founder of Dare to Doubt. Midwest-raised and
LA-based, Alice’s modeling career as a teenager
led to an acting career in Hollywood. She’s best
known for her roles on teen shows such as ABC
Family/Freeform’s The Lying Game and Lincoln
Heights, and occasionally someone recognizes
her as the Amish girl from the movie Sex Drive. Alice is fascinated
by the subjective experience of life, which she explores through
acting and storytelling. Her own story includes a painful yet
rewarding transition from evangelical Christianity to atheism,
a journey that inspired her to found DaretoDoubt.org as a
resource site for people detaching from belief systems they
come to find harmful. Encouraging people to trust themselves
and live courageously in their own truth is what gives Alice a
sense of purpose. She loves hiking, traveling, and pondering
answerless questions. alicegreczyn.com n
coach any connections that come up. I used to belittle
my experiences because I felt they weren’t severe
enough to merit the label of trauma or abuse. Others,
I thought, had it far worse. But that doesn’t mean I
don’t deserve healing from what I experienced. That
doesn’t mean you don’t deserve healing from what you
experienced. It means we can acknowledge the ways
purity culture may have affected us so we can finally
begin to heal. It means we get to walk in our own truth,
whatever that means to each of us. It means we get to
be free.
~
Author’s Note: I would like to acknowledge that this
article does not address the painful ways purity culture
has affected the LGBTQ+ community. This was a
conscious omission for two reasons: (a) religious purity
culture is often implicitly heterosexual, with expressions
of nonheterosexuality and nonbinary gender
identification so deeply condemned that they are
often ignored altogether in abstinence and courtship
teachings and (b) as a heterosexual ciswoman, I cannot
speak to any experience within purity culture but my
own. And for the sake of brevity, I decided to keep the
focus of this piece on what I can personally attest to,
knowing those who identify as LGBTQ+ can speak to
their experiences far better than I can extrapolate. I
sincerely apologize for any offense this omission has
caused. n
…my body and I were never going
back. We were never going back
to shame. We never going back
to suppression. We were never
going back to powerlessness.
Notes
[1] Ephesians 5:3.
[2] Deuteronomy 22:13–21.
[3] Renee Ghert-Zand, “Women Simulate Virginity With Artificial
Hymens,” The Times of Israel, December 18, 2015. Available
online at https://www.timesofisrael.com/women-simulate-
virginity-with-artificial-hymens/
[4] Priscilla Frank, “Welcome to the Bizarre and Beautiful World
of Purity Balls,” HuffPost, May 5, 2014 updated December 6,
2017. Available online at https://www.huffpost.com/entry/
purity-ball-photos_n_5255904
[5] Michael Stone, “Conference Will Arrange Child Marriages for
Christian Homeschoolers,” Progressive Secular Humanist, May
5, 2016.
[6] “About Child Marriage,” Unchained At Last, 2017. Available
online at https://www.unchainedatlast.org/laws-to-end-child-
marriage/
[7] David J. Ley, PhD, “Overcoming Religious Sexual Shame,”
Psychology Today, August 23, 2017. Available online at
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/women-who-
stray/201708/overcoming-religious-sexual-shame
[8] Linda Kay Klein, Pure: Inside the Evangelical Movement That
Shamed a Generation of Young Women and How I Broke Free,
Atria Books, September 4, 2018.
[9] Matthew 5:28.
[10] Matthew 5:29–30.
[11] Jeremy Fuster, “Imagine Dragons’ Dan Reynolds Talks
Confronting Mormon Suicide in ‘Believer’ (Video),” The Wrap,
January 21, 2018. Available online at https://www.thewrap.
com/imagine-dragons-dan-reynolds-confronting-mormon-
suicide-in-believer-video/
About the Author
Alice Greczyn is an actress, writer, and the
founder of Dare to Doubt. Midwest-raised and
LA-based, Alice’s modeling career as a teenager
led to an acting career in Hollywood. She’s best
known for her roles on teen shows such as ABC
Family/Freeform’s The Lying Game and Lincoln
Heights, and occasionally someone recognizes
her as the Amish girl from the movie Sex Drive. Alice is fascinated
by the subjective experience of life, which she explores through
acting and storytelling. Her own story includes a painful yet
rewarding transition from evangelical Christianity to atheism,
a journey that inspired her to found DaretoDoubt.org as a
resource site for people detaching from belief systems they
come to find harmful. Encouraging people to trust themselves
and live courageously in their own truth is what gives Alice a
sense of purpose. She loves hiking, traveling, and pondering
answerless questions. alicegreczyn.com n
