Yes

by Carissa Johnson

Created on: November 16, 2009

They all wear purity rings on their left hands. They have said to the public more than once that they plan to remain virgins until marriage. 16-year-old Nick got his at Disney World. 20-year-old Kevin got his studded band at Tiffany's, which he says is quite the oxymoron, and is precisely the idea he was going for when he bought it. Joe, age 18, has a silver ring with a cross on his ring. He explains that their rings are "promises to ourselves and to God that we'll stay pure till marriage." Nick says that the rings are "just one of our ways of kind of like being different than everybody else out there."

And that is precisely what they are doing.

They have been mocked by Russell Brand, South Park, and countless others from Youtube to national television for holding so firm to their zero tolerance policy for drugs, alcohol, and sex. And yet they have held strong, forgiving each offender of the rings and proudly displaying them all the time.

While this is an admirable move, it is controversial whether or not the commitment is a good influence on their fans. Considering their squeaky-clean reputation as of now, I believe that this is not a problem. However, if they make this holy reputation into a joke, hypocritically claiming that they are drug-, sex-, and alcohol-free when it is public knowledge that this is not how they act, this will influence their fans negatively. As long as they take their purity seriously, their fans will see this attitude and maybe even take it up for themselves.

"I really respect the Jonas Brothers for wearing these purity rings," gushed one JustJared blogger. "I'm glad that they are staying pure and true to God!" Another commenter on a blog, Colin, summed it up by saying, "I think that it is really cool that the Jonas Brothers wear purity rings. It takes a lot of strength to stand up for something you believe in and doubly more when you are as famous as them and are in the Hollywood Scene every day of your life."

Many of their fans have even been inspired to get rings of their own. A girl whose screen name is Joe Jonas Lover said, "They have inspired me to get one. I want one just like Joe's."

The Jonas Brothers are not attempting to condemn anyone who does not wear a purity ring to a life of immorality or act like they are holier than everyone else in Hollywood; to them, it is a physical manifestation of the commitments they have made in their hearts, to God, and to their family. With this they set a wonderful moral example to all of their fans, contrasting so sharply with some of their contemporaries in Hollywood today. The fresh, clean band's reputation will be a good influence on their fans, showing them all that it is possible to be "cool" and pure at the same time.

Sources: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/02/22/jonas-brothers-virgin-pri_n_88007.html

http://justjared.buzznet.com/2008/02/22/jonas-brothers-purity-rings/comment-page-11/

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