no kissing until marriage

Here's an interesting article about the growing purity movement among girls in the U.S.

It cites a statistic that 1 in 6 U.S. girls between the ages of 12 and 18 has taken a "purity" pledge, and describes some extreme scenarios in which girls vow not to kiss until marriage.

I had a 20-something friend who lived under the same promise. I actually kind of admired her for it.

I've thought a lot more about the whole purity issue since moving to the South. When I researched for a feature on being single here, lots of people told me that they've had religious friends marry early in life simply because they were ready to have sex. And their religion prohibited them from doing it before marriage.

I think purity backfires when you adhere to a code of behavior primarily for reasons outside the personal standards you hold.

That happens often, but there also plenty of cases when a belief in purity elevates someone's character and extends a certain level of discipline into other aspects of his/her life.

And if that's you, then please, by all means, continue to refrain from kissing.