Pressure

Smarter people than me have things to say about this NYT "Purity Balls" story, but this jumped out at me:

Yet the graying men in the shadow of their glittering daughters were the true focus of the night. To ensure their daughters’ purity, they were asked to set an example and to hew to evangelical ideals in a society they say tempts them as much as it does their daughters.

“It’s also good for me,” said Terry Lee, 54, who attended the ball for a second year, this time with his youngest daughter, Rachel, 16. “It inspires me to be spiritual and moral in turn. If I’m holding them to such high standards, you can be sure I won’t be cheating on their mother.”

...

The girls, many wearing purity rings, made silent vows. “I promise to God and myself and my family that I will stay pure in my thoughts and actions until I marry,” said Katie Swindler, 16.

So if daddy stays pure, then daughter will stay pure? And if daddy strays, is daughter's purity compromised? Is daughter's purity the only way for daddy to control himself?

If I'm a teenage girl with impure thoughts somehow straying into my gray matter, in addition to feeling shame because I've broken my promise to God, am I also thinking, "I've got to stop because if I don't, daddy will cheat and mommy and daddy will divorce?"

That's an awful lot of pressure for a teenage girl.