CELEBRATING CELIBACY

True love waits.

This short phrase, often inscribed on purity rings, is the basis of the decision to remain abstinent until marriage.

Teens wear purity rings on the left ring finger to symbolize the vow of chastity made by the wearer until he or she replaces the ring with a wedding ring.

"I wear it as a symbol of the promise I made between God and myself," says Green Valley High School senior Lauren Scott. "He gave me my body and everything I have, so it's a promise that I can wait for something important until marriage instead of just throwing it away earlier on."

Coronado High School sophomore Shelbie Stevens chooses not to wear a purity ring to symbolize her beliefs, but she says the rings can be beneficial to teens.

"I think purity rings are a good idea because they are a constant reminder of what your morals are," Stevens says.

Green Valley senior Derek Beauchamp agrees purity rings can be valuable to some, but says that he "prefers actions over objects."

"I think they are beneficial for some people as a symbol, but it depends on the person," Beauchamp says. "If someone needs a reminder of that or if they struggle with purity, then the ring serves a really important purpose."

Although Scott says she does not need her ring to keep her promise, she wears it as a representation of her beliefs and commitment.

"I wear it as proof of my promise to God, myself and everyone else around me," Scott says. "I know I can obviously abstain from sex without it, but it's just kind of like a proclamation that I'm not afraid to show people I'm staying abstinent."

Stevens says the promise that purity rings symbolize is a big responsibility, especially for a teenager.

"I think you really need to be committed to wear one, and I think you need to have a relationship with God," Stevens says. "You also have to know what kind of person you want to make yourself in high school."

Beauchamp says that wearing a purity ring or remaining pure in high school might be challenging for many people.

"When you're in school it's a lot harder because you're not hanging out with people who all believe the same thing as you," Beauchamp says. "When someone points out your purity ring, you're probably the only one in that group wearing a purity ring, and it causes a lot more issues for that person if they don't have enough confidence about it."

Purity rings are more commonly seen as a piece of jewelry that girls wear, but boys wear them also. Beauchamp says he knows boys with purity rings at church, but knows they are more open about their rings at church than at school because that's where they feel more open to express that belief.

Beauchamp says he believes there are more females than males with purity rings because it is more difficult for a male teen to take a vow of abstinence until marriage.

"I think guys have a lot more peer pressure from other guys to 'get with a girl' or to not be pure," Beauchamp says.

The choice to practice abstinence until matrimony might be encouraged by parents in some situations, but Scott says she made the decision to take the vow and her parents supported it.

"It was a personal choice," says Scott. "My sister and I both decided that we wanted to get them when we got more involved in church. Then my parents got them for us."

Stevens says she thinks some people wear purity rings just because they know others who wear them, but she believes, for the most part, the reason why they are becoming more fashionable is because they are more applicable today.

"I think they're becoming more popular because more people are having sex at a younger age now, so more people are getting them to remind themselves about what they stand for," Stevens says.

Scott says she would like to think that most people who wear purity rings do so because they believe in what they stand for, but she knows some wearers do not stick to their promise.

"Some people have purity rings and say they're not going to have sex, but then they do whatever they want, and they're not representing what the ring stands for," Scott says.

Beauchamp says he also knows people who do not remain true to their vow, and believes teens should think through their decision more thoroughly.

"If you're going to wear it, then you should stand by what it means and stand by the covenant of it," Beauchamp says. "But I don't think you should judge anyone based on if they wear one or not. If you're wearing one, try and represent what it stands for, but if you're not going to wear one, then that's fine, too."

Although Stevens says she thinks purity rings are overall a positive thing, she also believes that a ring is not necessarily needed to stay celibate until marriage.

"I don't have a ring because I know what my morals are and what I want to do without the reminder," Stevens says. "Some people like to actually wear the ring to always be reminded not to cross that line."