Purity Culture on YouTube
“Purity Culture on YouTube: Selling Heteronormative Patriarchy as God’s Design” was published in Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly in November 2024. The study analyzes YouTube content from five conservative evangelical Christian influencers who discuss purity culture online.
Prior to the analysis, the paper provides background information on purity culture’s intersection with gender, race, and class and discusses previous research on social media influencers and their persuasive powers. This information is necessary because it contextualizes these influencers’ purity culture beliefs and how impactful the influencers can be in imparting those beliefs on their young audiences.
Through the analysis, themes of heteronormativity, patriarchal submission, and naturalizing patriarchy as God’s design were found in the videos. Most of the influencers discussed the importance of heteronormative marriage (cisgender straight male married to cisgender straight female) and the conservative evangelical belief that homosexuality is a sin. Additionally, the influencers discussed patriarchal submission both in marriage and the church. Finally, a strong emphasis was placed on living through “God’s design” in marriage. God’s design is referred to by the influencers as God’s heterosexual and submissive intention for biblical marriage.
In conclusion, the themes found in this study show the exclusivity and reductiveness of the purity culture lessons being expressed online by these influencers. Since this analysis was conducted, one of the prominent influencer couples in the analysis have begun to reevaluate their purity culture beliefs (in fact, the husband has since revealed that he is now an atheist). As more women in the United States step away from the evangelical Christian church due to the church’s denial of women’s bodily autonomy and women’s rights, the exposure of harmful beliefs being espoused on YouTube could provide young Christians with the context needed to make their own religious decisions.
To read the full, accepted version of this manuscript, click “Read More” below.