What’s Wrong With a Purity Certificate? Everything - the Root
Innocence means Ignorance
When Brelyn Freeman married Tim Bowman earlier this month, it was clear that love was in the air. But upon lurking through the wedding hashtag on Instagram to see what her dress looked like, we were quickly stopped in our tracks as Brelyn Freeman stood gleaming next to her father with a framed certificate in hand. The certificate of purity was signed by her gynecologist confirming that her hymen was still intact, and it was presented to her father, Mike Freeman, in honor of the covenant that she, at age 13, as well as her siblings, made to their father, promising to remain virgins until marriage.
Freeman is pastor of Spirit of Faith Christian Center in Maryland, a prosperity-preaching church that has had a “Worth the Wait” movement since I attended college in Washington, D.C. I still remember my college roommate saving to help the congregation buy Freeman a luxury car for his 40th birthday, causing me to pause in joining a movement that I felt had great intent, but the mix of materialism and religion didn’t sit well with me. So when news of the purity certificate hit social media, kicking off talk of the exploitative nature of promoting the antiquated message of purity via hymen checks, I was not surprised.
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Please Watch: You Can’t POP Your Cherry! (HYMEN 101)
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