Q&A with Jessica Valenti, founder and executive editor of Feministing.com.

Jessica Valenti takes on the politics of purity in her most recent book The Purity Myth: How America’s Obsession with Virginity Is Hurting Young Women. “Virginity and chastity are reemerging as a trend in pop culture, in our schools, in the media, and even in legislation,” she writes. The book gives a close look at what she calls the “virginity movement.”

“It is a movement indeed–with conservatives and evangelical Christians at the helm, and our government, school systems, and social institutions taking orders,” Valenti writes. “It’s a targeted and well-funded backlash that is rolling back women’s rights using revamped and modernized definitions of purity, morality, and sexuality.”

The larger agenda, she points out, is “to roll back all women’s rights.”

Her examination of abstinence funding is especially eye opening: abstinence-only education programs have received more than $1.3 billion dollars since 1996. Meanwhile, a 2004 report from representative Henry Waxman indicated that more than 80 percent of federally funded abstinence programs contain false or misleading information about sex and reproductive health.

Q: President Obama’s FY 2010 budget cuts funding for Community-Based Abstinence education Program (CBAE). What do you think of that? Do you think there is any chance funding could be restored?

Valenti: I think the budget cuts are a step in the right direction, absolutely. I have heard some talk in the comprehensive sex education community that the language concerning the money for teen prevention programs however, is vague enough that it could be used for abstinence-only education. So we should keep an eye on that. What I think is even more important though, is that we start talking about how we reverse the damage that’s been done to a generation of teens who have received misinformation.
I think President Obama’s decision to cut funding for abstinence-only education is great—but 25 percent of the money that is marked for teen pregnancy prevention could also go to abstinence programs; so I think we need to be vigilant and make sure we’re paying attention to where this money goes.

Q: How do you think the abstinence-only movement will adapt to the Obama Administration in general?

Valenti: The abstinence movement is in the process of rebranding themselves. They know that their reputation is less than desirable these days, so they’re now trying to present themselves as science-based and concerned about young people’s health. In fact, they’re even appropriating a lot of the language of comprehensive sex education like “healthy choices,” etc. They’re far from going away; in fact they’re re-organizing.

Q: Do you think there is intra-party tension around sex in GOP? For example, Meghan McCain said on a visit to The Colbert Report, “It [GOP] can be a party for a twenty-four-year-old pro-sex woman. We have people that are in this party that are hijacking it and trying to make it even more extreme.” Then there’s Bristol Palin, on the cover of People in June, saying, “If girls realized the consequences of sex, nobody would be having sex. Trust me. Nobody.”

Valenti: I think what’s sad is that we’re SO incredibly focused on young women and their sexuality. Why are these women making news simply by talking about sex (or having us talk about their sexuality)? There’s nothing American culture loves more than young women talking about sex—whether it’s pro or anti. But really this tension within the conservative movement surrounding sex is nothing new—it’s interesting because they’re constantly talking about how Dems or liberals or feminists are sex crazed, but no one discusses sex (or has more sex scandals!) than they do.

Q: Which states are worth paying attention to re: anti-choice legislation for the coming year?

Valenti: All of them! There’s a lot going on, so it’s hard to say that one state is more important than another. I can say that there’s a particularly disturbing bill in Ohio that, if passed, would require women to get written permission from the father of the fetus before obtaining an abortion. And if a woman didn’t know the father’s identity, she wouldn’t be “allowed” an abortion. That has purity-enforcement and paternalism written all over it!

Q: Promoting healthy sexuality for teens is pretty far down the list on the agenda of progressives. Should this change and why?

Valenti: Sadly, it should be on the forefront of our minds. Thanks to a decade of abstinence-only education, teens are having the same amount of sex, using contraception less, and getting pregnant more. The CDC even released a report saying that for the first time in years, teen sexual health has gone down. So while cutting funding for abstinence-only education is a start, we also need to focus on how to undo the damage that’s been done to a generation of teens. This is about more than politics—it’s about the health of young people across the country.