The Virgin Daughters
Channel 4 Documentary on the American Purity Movement
What father doesn’t want the best for his daughter? With teen pregnancies rising, drugs and alcohol seemingly freely available, and the threat of sexually transmitted diseases increasing, it’s hardly surprising there is concern about girls growing up too fast. The Virgin Daughters explores America’s purity movement, in particular the relationship between fathers and daughters, which is seen as crucial in the development of a young girl. The father is there to provide guidance and, most importantly, to instill a sense of self-worth in his daughter; if she feels valued at home, then she will not need to seek that validation elsewhere. The documentary follows a group of girls as they prepare for the Purity Ball, a public declaration of their intention to “save themselves” for the man they will eventually marry.
A Commitment To Father And God
“Am I beautiful, am I worthy of being pursued? If they don’t get that answer from dad, they’ll go outside home for it.” This is the message from Minister Randy Wilson, who with his wife Lisa, began holding the Purity Ball in Colorado Springs 10 years ago. A lavish, glittering occasion, fathers and daughters both sign a covenant; the girls pledge their purity to their father, and he in turn promises to live a life which the daughter can use as a standard to judge potential husbands. Accompanied by their fathers, the girls take it in turn to lay a rose at the base of a large wooden cross, symbolising a similar commitment to God.
With seven children of their own, the Wilsons would appear to be a perfect example of literally practicing what you preach. Oldest daughter Lauren was recently married, and had not even kissed her husband until their wedding day. Second eldest daughter Khrystian, 20, has not even been on a date. Kevin Moore, the minister’s right hand man, was a single parent for several years before his remarriage, and worries about his three daughters ending up with the wrong person only to divorce later. His eldest daughter Rachel, who is 17, sees other girls at school with lots of boyfriends but no meaningful relationships, and has decided this is not a path she wants to go down.
Let’s All Laugh At The Funny Yanks
So far, so admirable – and so very American. And therein lies the problem at the heart of the documentary. Rather than merely letting the subjects speak for themselves, the intrusive narration makes it clear we, the British, are being invited to gape in astonishment at these “peculiar Americans” and their way of living so very different from our own. The subjects are peppered with loaded questions – the minister’s wife is asked “Do you think it’s all right to have half a dozen sexual partners before marrying?”. No prizes for guessing her answer, a resounding no.
Without exception the girls paraded before the camera appear to be reading off an autocue, parroting their commitment to purity and God as their all-knowing fathers look on (very few of whom, it would seem, followed the same path themselves when growing up, but appear to think this is the only way to keep their daughters “safe”). There are endless references to the girls as beautiful princesses, saving their virtue until their knight in shining armour comes to sweep them off their feet; just like Cinderella they will attend a glittering ball in a beautiful gown.
What could have been a balanced, open-minded documentary about the purity movement appears nothing more than an exercise in ridicule. Caring fathers or control freaks – the viewer never gets a chance to decide.
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