“Being Yourself is a Sin”: The Impact of Evangelical Purity Culture on Sexual and Gender Minority People Socialized as Women

Uses qualitative data to explore the impact of purity culture on the lives of sexual minority (SM) women and assigned female at birth (AFAB) people socialized as women within the purity culture. The findings suggest that the teaching, rules, and social norms or purity culture negatively impacted participants in the study through their embodied female experience, experience of sexual oppression, interpersonal power dynamics, and SM specific oppression. Finally, the authors explain ways in which SM women and AFAB people from high-control and non-affirming religions seek their own healing through resistance to systems of oppression. Copyright: 2025

This product is not included in the APA Unlimited CE program.

New York state psychologists: This program is not currently in compliance with the unique requirements imposed by the New York State Board of Education for New York licensed psychologists CE.

• Describe the ways sexual minority (SM) women and assigned female at birth (AFAB) people socialized as women were impacted by evangelical Christian purity culture messaging.
• Discuss the ways in which purity culture negatively impacted those involved in the study through their embodied female expression, the sexual oppression, interpersonal power dynamics, and SM specific oppression.
• Explain the ways participants resisted and healed from such experiences.
• Describe how participants’ experiences underscore the ways counseling psychologists can help SM women and AFAB people undo internalized and oppressive purity culture narratives through therapy, education, and diversity.

• Tessi Y. Muskrat, Madison G. Worley, and Alexandra E. Franco, University of Missouri-Columbia
• Alexandra K. Porcaro, Joshua G. Parmenter, and Francisco (Cisco) J. Sanchez, Arizona State University

This Continuing Education program is in partnership with the Division 17 (Society of Counseling Psychology).