What happens when purity culture and diet culture collide? In this episode, Laura Anderson and Andrew Kerbs sit down with writer Ashley Dunston to unpack the complicated overlap between evangelical theology, fat phobia, and body shame. Ashley shares her story of growing up in Colorado Springs during the peak of 1990s and early 2000s purity messaging, navigating intense pressure to present a “perfect” family image, and being pushed into gastric bypass surgery at just 19 years old. After losing 100 pounds in a year, she faced not only the physical consequences but the emotional and spiritual fallout that followed.

Together, they explore how phrases like “your body is a temple” became tools of control, how food and weight were moralized in church spaces, and why purity culture often excluded or invisibilized girls who did not fit a narrow beauty standard. The conversation moves through grief, bodily autonomy, medical fat phobia, and the painful unraveling of a faith identity that once felt essential. Ashley also reflects on healing, learning to trust her body again, reclaiming desire as strength rather than weakness, and the hope she sees in younger generations finding more diverse and affirming representations of their bodies.

Guest Info:

Website: AshleyDunstonWriter.com

Social Media: Instagram: @ashley_dunston_writer, https://substack.com/@ashleydunstonwriter

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The Sunday School Dropouts podcast is not anti-religion but it is anti -harm, -power and control, -oppression and, -abuse and will speak to the harmful practices and messaging of fundamentalist groups.

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Hosts:

Laura Anderson and Andrew Kerbs

Music by Benjamin Faye Music @heytherebenji