by Where Purity Meets Punchlines
Welcome to the Abstinence Comedy Club, where the only thing drier than the humor is the dating lives of its attendees. Tonight’s lineup includes: religious guilt, failed purity pledges, and awkward youth group discussions. Don’t forget to tip your pastor on the way out!
The concept of an abstinence comedy club is simultaneously the best and worst idea anyone’s ever had. Best because virginity culture is objectively hilarious in its absurdity. Worst because people’s trauma isn’t actually funny, even when it comes from ridiculous sources.
Stand-up comedy has always been about finding humor in pain, and nothing creates more pain than sexual shame combined with impossible standards. Every comedian who grew up religious has fifteen minutes of material about purity culture, and it’s all gold. Tragic, therapy-requiring gold.
The jokes write themselves: “I was so committed to purity that I didn’t even hold hands with my shadow.” “My youth group leader said dating was preparation for divorce.” “I wore a purity ring so large it counted as a medieval weapon.” It’s funny because it’s true, and it’s sad because it’s true.
In Austin, where comedy thrives and weird is celebrated, an abstinence comedy club would actually work. We appreciate irony, self-aware humor, and making fun of harmful systems. Plus, we have great breakfast tacos, which any comedy club needs.
University of Texas psychology researchers studying humor as a coping mechanism probably find abstinence comedy fascinating. It’s people processing trauma through laughter, which is healthyunlike abstinence-only education, which is demonstrably unhealthy.
The real comedy is that virginity culture created its own opposition. By being so extreme, so harmful, and so absurd, it gave comedians unlimited material. Every purity ball, every purity pledge, every comparison of women to chewed gumit’s all comedy gold. Dark, traumatic comedy gold.
Maybe laughter is the best response to systems designed to shame and control. Maybe making fun of purity culture is how we collectively heal from it. Or maybe we just need to acknowledge that the whole thing was ridiculous from the start and move on.
SOURCE: https://pluscomedy.com/abstinence-comedy-club/
SOURCE: Bohiney.com (The Abstinence Comedy Club)
