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Purity ring

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
What's a purity ring ? I ask because some girl is taking her school/education authority to the high court for not being allowed to wear one.
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Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    It's the 'silver ring thing' which means that Christians show their commitment to abstinence before marriage by wearing a ring
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Yup.

    My chastity is wedded to God until I marry wedding ring type thing.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    silly people
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    At first i thought 'Oh FFS sake we're gonna have the BA thing all over again' but actually it's just a fucking ring and surely, in these days of rising pregnancy/abortions/STD and HIV infection we should really be applauding a young women who taking this step not to be another teen pregnancy/abotion/HIV statistic.

    What is fucking annoying me is that it's got to the high court and the £10'000's this is going to cost the tax payer.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    xsazx wrote: »
    :yes: link the country's ludicrous at times; what with taking crucifixes away at work and this for a supposed CofE country it doesn't take Christian values too seriously :rolleyes:

    Maybe because not everyone in this country is Christian and doesn't feel the need to have Christian values forced upon them?

    What is the taking away crucifixes at work thing?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I would wonder if it's worth the hassle.

    My school had sense. One plain ring, one plain necklace (any pendant smaller than finger tip), one pair plain studs. Not allowed for PE or sport. Own responsibilty.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Acrobat wrote: »
    Maybe because not everyone in this country is Christian and doesn't feel the need to have Christian values forced upon them?

    Not allowing someone to wear a crucifix isn't stopping them from forcing their values on someone else, it's opressing their right to freedom of expression.

    Mainly, though, i'm just a bit annoyed that this has gone this far. Who actually, in real life, cares? It's just some jumped up civil servant with a bit of power deciding to 'stick to the rules' and instead wasting tax-payers money. FFS, let her wear a ring. I don't care, and i'm pretty certain a) noone else does and b) it's not going to affect her ability to learn.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    its an evangelical thing if i remember correctly
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    RubberSkin wrote: »
    in these days of rising pregnancy/abortions/STD and HIV infection we should really be applauding a young women who taking this step not to be another teen pregnancy/abotion/HIV statistic.

    Execpt of course that a majority of people who try this 'silver ring thing' dont save it till they are married and if I remember rightly a higher percentage of them than normal have un protected sex on their first time.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    budda wrote: »
    Execpt of course that a majority of people who try this 'silver ring thing' dont save it till they are married and if I remember rightly a higher percentage of them than normal have un protected sex on their first time.

    :yes:

    They're much more likely not to use contraception as they have always believed they would never need it. I think a study also found higher STI rates among them.

    I went to a Catholic school and the only type of jewellery we were allowed to wear was a simple cross on a chain that had to be hidden away under our shirts. Rings: purity or filthy-heaven-slutbag, were forbidden.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I wonder though, does that apply in the UK where they get sex education in schools?

    Silver Ring thing has come over from the USA where education is very different and is where the statistics I saw about higher unprotected sex rates came from.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I don't think any research has been done in the UK yet, I was referring to the stats found from the US in a climate of abstinence-only sex ed.
  • Indrid ColdIndrid Cold Posts: 16,688 Skive's The Limit
    Does that school forbid all kinds of rings?
    If it does, she should shut up. Nobody's discriminating against her.
    If it doesn't, someone should whack whoever told her to remove it on the head with a stick.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    The worst part of it is she's already left the bloody school yet she is wasting their money taking them to court which cant be cheap.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Do you think her parents are pushing her to do this?
    Lydia's parents, Phil and Heather, are part of the volunteer team that runs the UK branch of the Silver Ring Thing, based in Horsham, West Sussex.
    http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,,2109203,00.html
  • Indrid ColdIndrid Cold Posts: 16,688 Skive's The Limit
    Do you think her parents are pushing her to do this?

    http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,,2109203,00.html
    IT wouldn't surprise me at all. If they are, they should express their own beliefs and not use their kid as cover, and she should get some backbone and not do everything they say. She's old enough to have a mind of her own.
    I don't think we can easily say whether that's what's going on though.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Double post
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Do you think her parents are pushing her to do this?

    Call me a cynic, but this quote from her from the BBC doesnt sound like a usual 16 year old;

    "The real reason for the extreme hostility to the wearing of the SRT purity ring is the dislike of the message of sexual restraint which is counter cultural and contrary to societal and governmental policy,"
  • Indrid ColdIndrid Cold Posts: 16,688 Skive's The Limit
    She's 16, isn't she? (small detail I guess)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    She's 16, isn't she? (small detail I guess)

    Yes, you're quite right, still - its an odd quote.
  • Indrid ColdIndrid Cold Posts: 16,688 Skive's The Limit
    budda wrote: »
    Yes, you're quite right, still - its an odd quote.
    Maybe it is her own quote though. It doesn't sound unreasonable for a 16 year old to say that, if she's studied the subject enough (or been brainwashed enough).
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    If it does, she should shut up. Nobody's discriminating against her.

    Indeed. We have the rule at school where no rings are allowed.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    [QUOTE=budda [quoting from the Beeb];2006545]"The real reason for the extreme hostility to the wearing of the SRT purity ring is the dislike of the message of sexual restraint which is counter cultural and contrary to societal and governmental policy,"[/QUOTE]I suspect there's a grain of truth in this. We live in a morally bankrupt society where people are encouraged to have sex as soon as possible. Being a virgin is increasingly seen as something to be embarrassed about. This comes from a variety of places. The media churns out highly sexualised images on a daily basis. There is then the massive peer pressure from "friends". (few teenagers have real friends - they just have people they hang out with) And of course, pathetic sex "education" lessons which teach you about sex, but not about any context at all.

    No, it certainly doesn't sound like something a 16-year old would say. She may well have been reading something her lawyer had prepared in advance, however.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Let me guess - if she was allowed to wear the ring and managed to to get it caught in something and therefore did something to her finger/hand, she'd sue the school:rolleyes: (which is exactly why the rule is there in the first place)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Call me a cynic, but it sounds like a case of the the usual "look, we're the ones actually discriminated against" thing. Like "the girls have won the right to wear trousers, I'm going to campaign for the boys right to wear skirts too." It's always the same argument. Little about why it's important that they wear such a thing, and a lot about all the other religions that are allowed to wear certain things. Do they really consider it important, or are they just feeling left out because all these other religions have something and they don't?

    I think there's a key point here. Personally, I don't respect any religious beliefs, but I would at least try to be accomodating. However, whilst the sikh turban and the muslim hijab are actually required to carry out their religious beliefs, in their interpretation of them, a ring isn't. The ring is simply a symbol of certain religious beliefs, whereas the others I mentioned are a practical requirement for carrying out certain religious beliefs.

    Having said all that, my attitude is fuck it, as long as it's not interfering with anything, why waste all that money fighting it? Just let her wear the ring if she feels that strongly about it. Change the uniform policy to allow one ring if needs be.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Having said all that, my attitude is fuck it, as long as it's not interfering with anything, why waste all that money fighting it? Just let her wear the ring if she feels that strongly about it. Change the uniform policy to allow one ring if needs be.

    But that would mean everyone else wanting to wear rings as well. And what would she do if she caught the rin and managed to hurt herself? The rule of not wearing a ring is there for a reason.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Schools might say it's for health and safety, really it's because they want everyone to look the same and look smart and show a good image of the school. When I was at school they didn't even want us to not have our shirts tucked in :eek2:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    It's less a religious symbol rather an outward manifestation of a person's moral principles. You can call me cynical but when I first heard of this, I thought that it smacked of being concocted by some American, knowing how fundamentally religious a large part of Americans are, to cash in on people's beliefs. Why do you NEED to advertise your principles to the whole world? I have several principles that are very dear to me but I don't wear jewellery and clothing that communicate that. I thought that then, and I still think like that now. People are being conned and being milked so they can advertise the fact that they adhere to one of the many, many teachings of Christianity. I'm sure you could make a pretty good case, if this ring thing goes through and she's allowed to keep wearing it, for having a similar ring showing your committment to not eating meat on a Friday.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I'm sure you could make a pretty good case, if this ring thing goes through and she's allowed to keep wearing it, for having a similar ring showing your committment to not eating meat on a Friday.

    Why only a ring. "This is my fasting poncho, I shall be wearing it throughout lent."
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Why only a ring. "This is my fasting poncho, I shall be wearing it throughout lent."

    :lol:
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