If we took the definition of “virgin” to mean “not married, not belonging to a man—a woman who was ‘one-in-herself’”.  How would you or I utilize this meaning of virgin to construct our perception of ourselves?

In order to understand the contextual environment and effects surrounding the phrase “purity culture”, one should delve into the etymology of the words virgin, purity, and culture.  Culture is often generically defined as “the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization”.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines purity as “the freedom from adulteration or contamination”.  Pure, virgin, and chaste have, at times, been used interchangeably.  Virgin has frequently been used to describe young females that are sexually pure or untouched by a man.  But what if that wasn’t the only definition of virgin or...

We are so excited that Chelsea Chapman is joining our team, alongside Gopika Kalarikkal and Gabrielle Ackerman.  She will creating digital content for us, specifically designing teaser trailers for our "Conversations that Create Change" series.  I'll let her introduce herself to you.

Hey all, Chelsea here.   Uber stoked to join the Pride and Joy family!!

I am a marketing student (the second bachelor’s for me— I know I’m crazy for going back to college ).  Before this, I taught elementary school for 6 years.  Loved it, but felt the call to change.  As much as change terrifies me (hello anxiety),  I am a firm believer in following your gut-or at least trying to.  I love board games and card games.  My family is currently playing Dungeons and Dragons, like the paper and pencil kind (Family time growing up was DnD or some other type of game).  I was born...