By Stephanie Innes, Tucson Region
Dance this week will help drive home message about abstinence
Dads help daughters pledge 'sexual purity' | www.azstarnet.com ®
Dance this week will help drive home message about abstinence
Dads help daughters pledge 'sexual purity' | www.azstarnet.com ®
When they were 10 years old, twins Jessica and Jennifer Worcester received a gift from their dad — silver rings that they slipped on their fingers with a promise: They would remain sexually pure until marriage.
The Worcester twins, now 13, have made their abstinence vows an annual celebration. Along with their dad and other fathers and daughters, they will attend the annual Purity Ball in Tucson Friday night.Proponents view Purity Balls as fostering healthy bonding between
fathers and daughters and teaching girls and young women that they are
valuable and worth waiting for.They've heard what critics say, that the Purity Ball concept puts
a girl's virginity in a metaphorical lockbox to which Daddy holds the
key. But they say that's a misinterpretation of the event's purpose."It's not about a bunch of rules, about bolting a chastity belt on
them," said the twins' father, Tom Worcester, 47, a Raytheon engineer.
"That would really not be a successful approach. It's about a choice a
young lady can make and stick with."
(...) The Worcester twins don't watch much mainstream television, though they
enjoy reruns of "Gilmore Girls" and "Seventh Heaven." They like
contemporary Christian singer Rebecca St. James, who is passionate
about sexual purity. Recently the twins have become involved in "Secret
Keeper Girl," a Bible-based program that teaches girls not only about
purity, but the power of modest dressing and inner beauty.
