How Purity Culture has affected Gen Z’s self-esteem

Like most college students, I find myself scrolling aimlessly through TikTok and Instagram Reels. Every once in a while, I’ll stumble upon a video that just completely blows me away. Recently, I watched a video about Ballerina Farm, which is about a woman who was a ballerina but gave up her career to be a traditional wife in Utah. Looking deeper, I found that she has millions of followers and many people love this content. Most comments support and even want this type of lifestyle. I don’t think it’s wrong to wish for this type of lifestyle, but it supports the idea of Purity Culture, which has been on the rise, especially among youth.

Ballerina Farm isn’t the only account that promotes this culture; in fact, there are hundreds of accounts with millions of followers that do the same. I think about podcast bros like Andrew Tate and the Whatever Podcast, which have a crude focus on dehumanizing women. In the most recent episode, the Whatever Podcast brought on a “feminist” woman who argues with the host, and it completely boils over into insults and horrible comments. Most of the arguments were things that I would say aren’t even that controversial, but things that are very important to Red Pill men. Scrolling through the comments, you’ll find that some people really loved the guest while others hated her, calling her “ignorant” and other names. Looking into the channel more, I find that most of their content is geared towards sexualizing women and valuing purity. This type of misogynistic content has been normalized, and I have seen and heard many people my age talk and support these ideas.

Red Pill influencers seem to really enjoy this idea and promote themselves as valuing traditional values and dehumanizing and belittling anyone who doesn’t uphold these values. This perspective has damaged mine and future generations, as many people now view their self-worth as dependent on how pure they are. Many people now have some level of sexual shame because of the messages they keep hearing. This has a major impact on mental health as it can increase anxiety and depression, and other mental illnesses. (Brock, 2023) More than this, it forces women to be domesticated and men to take advantage of this. These types of men see women as either something to be taken care of or something to belittle and use as sex toys. Just look at Red Pill media, women who are educated and talk against sexism are shut down and viewed as idiots, while women who are adult actresses are viewed as stupid whores. Caught in the middle is the “ideal” woman who never speaks and is a stay-at-home mother who can do everything, all while letting her husband feel like a man.

So where does this leave Gen Z? What was once thought to be a left-leaning caucus has now slowly shifted right. This can be seen in voter data as most young Latino men shifted to vote to the right. (Hughes, 2025) I think a lot of this can be attributed to Red Pill media, as the majority of these men followed people like Elon Musk, Andrew Tate, and other big-name streamers. These influencers made them believe that to be a real man, they needed to support their favorite influencers. Many women are being constantly told in their churches to focus on their relationship with God and find the right man to become a mother. All of this has left Gen Z with a feeling of purity. What’s ironic, however, is that this generation is probably the most impure. Some statistics say that more than 80% of Gen Z watch porn, while more moderate sources say above 50%. Roughly 60% of 18–19-year-olds in 2015–2019 had premarital sex. Roughly 20% of Gen Z identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community. All of these things make Gen Z the most “impure” generation. So then, why is there such a huge push for Purity Culture?

At the center of Purity Culture is the absence of belonging. Many men who fall into this hole are typically dissatisfied with themselves. They don’t have a sense of self-worth and use women to make themselves feel better and more masculine. Women are constantly getting pushed to be pure individuals and end up developing some form of sexual shame. They view their self-worth based solely on their sexual value. The less sex and less sexual feelings they have the better, yet that makes it difficult for them to actually have healthy sexual relations when they want to. Purity Culture is an evangelical take on society that has condemned the youth to suppressing their emotions.

The solution to Purity Culture isn’t some radical revolution, but instead compassion and understanding. It has not just been women or men who have suffered. Both have suffered tremendously and need to be open to talking to each other. Allowing each other to be heard is the first step to change. Purity Culture has been something that has always plagued humanity. It can be found in misogyny, chastity, and oppression, but it’s been kept a taboo for too long. It’s terrifying talking about the trauma that has been fed to us through social media and our family, but it’s the only way to grow and end this vicious cycle.

References

Brock, K. (2023). I kissed shaming goodbye: Mental health implications of Christian purity culture (Master’s thesis, University of Texas at Arlington). MavMatrix.

https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1174&context=socialwork_theses

Hughes, S. A. (2025, October 20). Young voters shifted right in the 2024 election; the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation examined why. Harvard Kennedy School.

https://www.hks.harvard.edu/faculty-research/policy-topics/politics/young-voters-shifted-right-2024-election-ash-center