Chastity? Purity? Is There a Better Term?

Sunnyday, an e-friend of mine mine from the Philippines who blogs at This Is Not a Job for Superheroes, recently sent me a link to a good article—well, really more of an interview—between (husband) Greg and (wife) Lora Tan Garcia, the latter of whom recently wrote a book on chastity titled Keep Love Real.

Here's a snippet from the interview with Lora:

[Q:] Going back to difficulties with chastity for women, what is their struggle?

[A:] I think all women believe in chastity, especially Filipinas. It just hasn’t been offered in a nice package yet. They believe you have to be a liberated woman to find a man because of media. TV characters don’t get STDs. So, I guess they conform because they think that it is what works. Also, chastity is such a biblical term, so it turns people off.

[Q:] So what do you want to name it then?

[A:] Wala! I have been searching and “purity” sounds so holy. I guess that is why I wrote the book as an attempt to help my friends since chastity is the forgotten virtue...

This is an issue I have talked about with many others who also speak to kids about sex, dating, relationships, abstinence, etc.—what to call the topic under which we address these issues?

I know many people who agree with Lora that "chastity" unfortunately has somewhat of a negative connotation.

But is "purity" an improvement? I'm not so sure, as it's not a term that resonates with teenage guys.

Personally, I'm still inclined to favor, albeit not without some reservations, the term "chastity".