86. True Love Weights (Part 1)

This week, Kate takes a detour from traditional pop culture and discusses a cultural phenomenon from her time in youth groups and church camps. Inspired by listeners' stories and her own experience, she talks about the impact of movements like True Love Waits and other elements of "purity culture," 20 years later. From the funny memories she has of sign language, straight edge kids, Jars of Clay, live church bands, and the scoping out youth pastors, to some of the memories that are more unsettling to remember, she tries to share a balance of her observations and research from thought leaders that once supported the movement. In the second episode, she'll read listener e-mails that describe their firsthand experiences in more detail. This episode is designed to lightheartedly reminisce, at times seriously reflect, and to explain the ins and outs of the issues that lie within (to quote Linda Kay Klein) "the Evangelical movement that shamed a generation of young women."