Every year thousands of pre-teen girls and their fathers take this “purity” pledge out of commitment to their faith. The girls vow to remain virgins until marriage and the fathers vow to protect their little girls’ virginity. Wait. Protect their virginity? What do they do, walk around behind their daughters with Machetes in their trousers waiting to pounce on the next guy who gives their daughter a sideways glance? Crikey.

Of course, there’s a lot to take issue with regarding concepts that govern a purity ball. As Flavorwire’s Tom Hawking put it, “it’s hard to know where to start with this: the notion of sex as ‘impurity,’ the fact that it’s all daughters and no sons, the idea of dressing a preteen girl in something that looks awfully like a wedding dress.” 

“When we teach girls that their virginity makes them special and valuable, we’re sending the simultaneous message that without their virginity they are tainted and damaged,” The Guardian’s Jessica Valenti wrote. [Huff Post]

Photographer David Magnussun has become fascinated by this ritual and he admits that although he was skeptical at first, he has come to find it quite endearing.

Sure, parents want to protect their kids but is this really the way to do it?  Check out the full story and tell us what you think.

[Source] Huffington Post