Culture Feature

Demi Lovato's Sexual Trauma, and the Christian Purity Movement

In a new docuseries, Demi Lovato recalls how a teenage "purity" pledge added a dimension of shame to her experience of sexual assault.

Content warning: Discussions of sexual assault, disordered eating, self harm, and addiction.

Back in 2008, a group of young Disney stars represented what was intended to be a new model of fame.

While the cliche of child stars was that they are quickly corrupted — drawn into the dark side of the entertainment industry, with exposure sex and drugs from a young age — these young singers and actors were supposed to be different.

They were going to hold onto their innocence as long as they could. They had made pledges.

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