“Perhaps it’s true that in our sex-saturated culture it does take a certain amount of self-discipline to resist having sex, but restraint does not equal morality. And let’s be honest: if this were simply about resisting peer pressure and being strong, then the women who have sex because they actively want to — as appalling as that idea might be to those who advocate abstinence — wouldn’t be scorned. Because the “strength” involved in these women’s choice would be about doing what they want despite pressure to the contrary, not about resisting the sex act itself.”

American feminist writer

Jessica Valenti is an American feminist writer. She co-founded the blog Feministing and wrote for it from 2004 to 2011. She has 91 quotes on the site. Valenti is the author of six books, including Full Frontal Feminism, The Purity Myth, Why Have Kids?, and Sex Object: A Memoir. She has also co-edited Yes Means Yes: Visions of Female Sexual Power, A World Without Rape, and Believe Me: How Trusting Women Can Change the World. From 2014 to 2018, she was a columnist for The Guardian, and she now runs the Abortion, Every Day newsletter. Michelle Goldberg described her as “one of the most successful and visible feminists of her generation.”