Anti-Asian Hate, Purity Culture, and Christian Nationalism

In the wake of the mass shooting of 8 people, 6 of whom were Asian women, Brad ties together the threads of anti-Asian hate, purity culture, and Christian nationalism. 

Killing half a dozen Asian women and attributing it to sex addiction, not racism, is Christian nationalism in a nutshell:  "Purity culture made me feel bad about my sexual needs, so I eliminated the temptation. What does race have to do with that?" (Hint: everything) Purity culture is not simply about sexual "purity." Sexual ethics is a way to slip racial, ethnic, and nationalistic purity into equation. As my co-host says, focusing on the purity of the individual body leads to trying to purify the national body. Purity culture is a step away from a pure national body. A body whose borders are not breached by foreign invaders, including "sexual tempters and those of low morals." If purity culture puts undue pressure on women to remain pure, think about what it does to non-white women who are seen as hyper-sexual seducers not only because of their gender, but also because of their race/ethnicity.

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