How long does it take to read The Purity Myth?
The Purity Myth by Jessica Valenti takes about 4 hours 55 minutes to read at 250 words a minute.
About 4 hours 55 minutes
A weekend read
First published 2009. 268 pages, about 73,700 words.
10 days at 30 minutes a day
Estimate based on 275 words per page.
At other speeds
| Slow, 150 words a minute | 8 hours 11 minutes |
| Average, 250 words a minute | 4 hours 55 minutes |
| Fast, 400 words a minute | 3 hours 4 minutes |
The page count is the median across 4 editions, so your copy may differ. How we calculate.
About the book
The United States is obsessed with virginity — from the media to schools to government agencies. In The Purity Myth Jessica Valenti argues that the country's intense focus on chastity is damaging to young women. Through in-depth cultural and social analysis, Valenti reveals that powerful messaging on both extremes — ranging from abstinence curriculum to "Girls Gone Wild" infomercials — place a young woman's worth entirely on her sexuality. Morals are therefore linked purely to sexual behavior, rather than values like honesty, kindness, and altruism. Valenti sheds light on the value — and hypocrisy — around the notion that girls remain virgin until they're married by putting into context the historical question of purity, modern abstinence-only education, pornography, and public punishments for those who dare to have sex. The Purity Myth presents a revolutionary argument that girls and women are overly valued for their sexuality, as well as solutions for a future without a damaging emphasis on virginity.
Subjects: Virginity, Social aspects of Virginity, Nonfiction, Young women, Sexual behavior, Women's Studies
