Before the Jonas Brother broke up, went off to do different things, and then came back together, there was an obsession with the “purity ring” conversation. The JoBros were already a boy-band when Disney got its hands on them, but Disney packaged them the same as Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez and all of the other young stars from that era: wholesome, virginal, “family friendly.” The wheels came off to varying degrees in the years post-Disney for all of those Disney stars. What was interesting, at the time, was seeing the young JoBro BOYS get the same kind of asexual, Disney-ified image as the girls always got. The purity rings were apart of that. Looking back on it, I feel bad because the JoBros were so young and it shouldn’t have been the go-to topic of conversation. Then again, I still maintain that any conversation about “purity” is really offensive, sexist, stupid and insulting.
So now that the JoBros are back together, they’ve been reflecting on the whole purity ring thing. They chatted with The Guardian recently and I found Nick’s answer to be shockingly good.
The march of age – Nick is 27, Joe, 29, and Kevin, 31 – also means the brothers are no longer synonymous with the purity rings they once wore as a display of abstinence, which quickly became the target of a rather odd media obsession. Nick has since said that the purity rings ended up shaping his view of sex. “They did,” he restates today. How? “The values behind the idea of understanding what sex is, and what it means, are incredibly important. When I have children, I’ll make sure they understand the importance of sex, and consent, and all the things that are important. What’s discouraging about that chapter of our life is that at 13 or 14 my sex life was being discussed. It was very tough to digest it in real time, trying to understand what it was going to mean to me, and what I wanted my choices to be, while having the media speaking about a 13-year-old’s sex life. I don’t know if it would fly in this day and age. Very strange.”
That’s a great answer, especially this: “When I have children, I’ll make sure they understand the importance of sex, and consent, and all the things that are important.” If you think about the purity ring debacle as more of a protective shield around the brothers, it makes sense too – there really should not have been ANY conversation about “purity rings” or sex in the public sphere at that time. But Disney was gonna Disney, so look at that. I hope that in the future, teenage stars associating themselves with that wholesome-family-friendly Disney image just say “it’s none of your business” when asked about their dating lives or sex.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Hold up, am I…… am I warming to Nick Jonas.
What is happening????
Honestly, the more they talk, and the more their wives talk about them, the more they seem like totally nice, supportive husbands, decent guys with good values.
I feel the same as you guys! I found myself recently (after Sophie’s interview where she talked about how she was struggling and Joe said “I can’t watch you love me more than you love you”) thinking “oh my god, am I developing a JOE JONAS situation here?! I didn’t even like the band the first time around!” 😆 But yeah, as Tootsie45 says, the more they talk, the more I’m realising they seem like really good guys. This quote, the Joe quote from above, the whole Guardian interview this piece links to- I’m actually really liking everything I’m hearing.
And surprisingly, I also really like a lot of the songs on their new album, where I never liked their music before- to the point where I wouldn’t have even listened to this had I not decided to give it a chance based on my newfound growing fondness for them. They are NAILING this comeback so far, I must say.
They do. I don’t know why I’m so surprised, but they really do.
Dr Phil did a really long podcast interview with them a few weeks ago, and one of the things he said was, you guys are too normal to be famous. And, it was true! They come from a well-grounded, loving family and were very focused on family, hard-work and values. I can see why they do well with the ladies, because they would be a breath of fresh air. They were really impressive.
Yeah when you take a step back and think about the fact that grown ass adults were asking a 13 year old CHILD about his sex life… it’s rather disturbing and gross.
Yes really ! It amazes me these three young men grew up to be so well rounded and well just plain normal. Pretty nice guys from what I’ve heard. Good for them.
And keep in mind the fact that this is just what we’re heading from a male former child star whose chastity the public (including people past tween/teen years, and even past their 20s) was focusing on. For the females, it’s much worse and much more aggressive. Men and women well into their 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s sit up projecting all the victim-blaming, misogyny, anger, fear, and hatred they’ve internalized in life over this issue onto all these girls, and policing their sexual modesty accordingly. The message is sent that that’s a woman’s human worth. They get very abusive, manipulative, and nasty when they feel like these girls may not be meeting their pure, classy expectations, even to the point of wishing violence on them and blaming them for other girls getting raped. Conservatives, liberals, and feminists all do it. The expectations took a toll on Selena ‘s mental health apparently when she was ready to take on a role that involved deviating from this purity script.
My respects to you, Mr. Jonas Number 3. These guys have been growing on me in ways I never imagined.
They had every possibility to become former child star trainwrecks yet they seem to have become some of the most well-rounded guys in showbiz. They must have great parents or someone else looking out for them.
I honestly think the band taking a break and them doing their own thing was the best thing for them in the end. Their parents were their management/PR and they would have rode that train off the rails if the guys did not speak up and say they wanted a break and do different music.
I think the Jonas Brothers are honestly really good men. They seem like very loving, supportive husbands and just down-to-earth people.
Yeah I like them better now as they have matured into a good example to other men of that age range. I know they had stage parents but they could have turned out a lot worse – seems taking a break and doing their own thing was good for them.
On a purely superficial note: I think Sophie got the better looking brother.
“Purity rings”…only in America! Do most Americans have the slightest clue how weird we are to the rest of the world?
Uh plenty of other cultures emphasize purity to an absurd/damaging degree. Or is it the ring that’s weird?
You guys…I just gotta say go listen to their new album. It’s GOOD. And I never listened to their earlier stuff. It’s a really solid fun pop album. Has a great summer vibe…kinda sexy. Seriously, I was surprised how much I liked it
I agree that these guys seem pretty evolved when it comes to discussing relationships, emotions, and sex. Recently seeing things like how they support their wives as strong women instead of getting all emasculated-feeling makes me like them better. Nick Jonas’ embrace of Priyanka’s faith and hers of his in their 2 wedding ceremonies or this interview about sex and consent generally make them seem way more inclusive and aware than the Disney Christian purity image presented them.
I still am not a fan of their “fairytale romance” or “happy ever after” family reunion narratives. It seems too much like they are constructed a social media “perfect life” mirage- more fake than authentic. They also seem really attention seeking (like Nick’s month long wedding and now Joe’s week long paris pre wedding festivities). But that’s why they are celebrities!
I am super surprised to start liking these’ guys… sophie Hunter and her Jonas are my favorites but the others are thoughtful great dudes too it seems. The world is full of surprises.
This topic was broken down pretty well in an episode of South Park a few years ago.
While we’re all coming out, I can finally admit the Joe Bros 2.0 have been my dark little secret for awhile now. I’m 50 and I am not their demographic, but their new music is pretty damn good as far as pop goes. “Only Human” is great, super mature and sophisticated.
Yeah they do seem to have “turned out so well” but I think a few people were worried about Joe during his Blanda Eggenschweiler years.