Bobbed Hair, Bossy Wives and Women Preachers: Nothing New Here

Evangelical messages concerning purity and women’s leadership just keep getting recycled

Researching for Disobedient Women, I wanted to better understand the influences that led to teachings that upturned so many girls’ and women’s lives. I had my copy of I Kissed Dating Goodbye, long-tattered and highlighted from writing about purity culture for years. But how was I going to explain the popularity of a book by a then-twenty-something kid w…