Being a Prude: What It Means & 21 Signs You’re Prudish & Modest to a Fault

Most people say prude like it’s a bad word. They make it a derogatory term. If you’ve been called a prude before, don’t take it as an insult!

Be proud of your prudish behavior. If we’re being honest, the world could really use a little more modesty.

What is a prude?

Depending on whom you ask, you might get an array of different answers.

One person might tell you that a prude is a goody-two-shoes who thinks they’re better than everyone else. Another might say that a prude is someone who won’t have sex. Somebody else will say that a prude is a person who is embarrassed by anything that they deem improper.

A real prude, however, might tell you that they’re just careful. They don’t like discussing private matters because they’re private.

They don’t have sex with everyone they meet because they value themselves and their bodies too much to just give it away. A prude doesn’t engage in illicit activities because they just don’t want to. [Read: How to stop being shy – 20 ways to kick your shyness to the curb]

A prude doesn’t withdraw from certain things because they’re afraid. They just know who they are. They know what they do and don’t want to do. They have a strong grasp on their values.

“Prude” might be freely used as a discriminatory insult, but it’s just because most people don’t understand someone who practices modesty.

The BIG signs you are a prude

A prude isn’t just someone who doesn’t feel comfortable talking about sex or discussing crude or explicit topics. They’re not just someone who has a serious sense of modesty.

A prude is someone who is chooses to be a little more modest than your average person. They feel that some things and some topics should remain behind closed doors, so that’s where they keep them.

There are some pretty popular thoughts about what makes a person a prude. Use these twenty signs to decide if you might be a prude. [Read: Slutty girls – what makes one and 17 reasons not to judge them]

1. You blush when you talk about anything sexual

A prude doesn’t want to hear every detail of your sexual history. They really don’t even want to talk about their own sex lives *if they have one*. Never mind getting down to the nitty-gritty about yours.

A major sign of being a prude lies in how you respond when someone tells you about their sexual escapades.

If you immediately shut down and get red in the face, you’re probably a prude. It’s okay! Too much information is just too much information. Nobody needs to know everything!

2. Discussing bodily functions is just as uncomfortable

Some people associate being a prude with simply having an adverse attitude toward sex. But prudes aren’t only conservative about sexual things. They’re really not into talking about any bodily happenings.

You might cringe when someone brings up bodily fluids, such as ejaculation. You might become wildly uncomfortable when someone talks about bodily functions. And you might even giggle when people talk about farts or act really ashamed when someone brings up being on their period. [Read: How being sexualized can make or break you]

A prude just comes from a thoughtful place of knowing that their body is theirs, and it shouldn’t be anyone else’s business.

3. Nudity is not your thing

It isn’t just that you don’t want to pose for Playboy. You don’t want to be anywhere near being naked when you are with someone else. You don’t want to see other people naked, either. Sometimes, you’re even uncomfortable with your own nudity!

If you ever played sports in high school or had a sleepover with a bunch of friends, you were NOT one of the ones who felt comfortable changing clothes in front of everybody.

You quietly retreated to a stall in the locker room or snuck off to bask in the privacy of a bathroom. You’d even change in a closet if you had to. [Read: Shy about getting naked? How to confidentially take it all off]

4. You don’t want to hear about who sleeps with whom

If you live your life believing that what happens in your bedroom should stay in your bedroom, then you are probably prudish.

You are the farthest thing from interested when it comes to hearing about the sex lives of others. You don’t care about their conquests.

You’re practically grossed out about their kinks. In fact, you’re probably even a little bit concerned about their promiscuity and willingness to tell all.

5. You’d rather die than discuss masturbation

To you, the idea of talking about how you spend time with yourself is far worse than talking about sex with someone else!

You prefer to live in a world in which masturbation doesn’t even exist outside the bedroom. You might be more inclined to put on a song and dance in front of everyone you know than to even consider admitting that you masturbate. [Read: Top 20 sexual taboos & sex topics most of us love but never talk about!]

6. In sex ed, you wanted to shrink and blow away

Sex education class likely traumatized you beyond repair.

There were kids who were actually interested. Some made literally everything perverse. The majority, of course, was taken over by the gigglers and squealers. And then, there was you, the kid in the corner just hoping and praying to magically disappear.

This class was your absolute worst nightmare.

7. Public displays of affection aren’t your favorite

Not only do public displays of affection make you uncomfortable, but they make you question the integrity of others. You would love nothing more than to tell them that there is a time and a place, but it isn’t here and now. [Read: Couples and PDA – just how much is too much?]

Putting on your own public display of affection? Out of the question.

Your significant other should consider themselves lucky to hold your hand or get a peck on the cheek because you have way too much self-respect for the rest of it.

8. You’re repulsed by bathroom humor

If you leave a funny movie talking about how there was too much bathroom humor, it might make you a prude.

Everyone around you might think that jokes about farts and diarrhea are the pinnacle of humor, but you think they’re just grotesque.

A prude tends to think that bathroom humor and sexual jokes are nothing more than infantile and crude. You usually don’t laugh at these jokes at all. [Read: 17 good & bad types of humor and how it affects your relationships with others]

9. Clothes aren’t meant to be too tight, too short, or too low cut

You do NOT understand why people dress the way they do. Where is the rest of her shirt? Is that denim underwear? Why are their pants so tight that you can see the outline of their junk?

You believe in and practice modesty. A prude doesn’t believe that they have to have skimpy clothes to prove anything. They’d rather not draw that type of attention.

10. You don’t have sex on the third, fourth, or even tenth date

You don’t even believe that this makes you a prude. In your mind, it just makes sense. You’re not wrong.

You think that intimacy is special and should be treated as such. You’re not willing to just give away moments like that to just anybody.

You prefer to go on a pretty decent series of dates to really get to know the person. You require a deep connection before you entertain the idea of becoming intimate with someone. [Read: Third date rule – what it is and reasons why it works so well]

11. You think the new generation is too sexual, even though you are a part of it

The old definition of prude still applies, but you fight a bigger tide.

You’re astounded by what you see on social media. Your friends look way more scandalous than they actually are. You find the idea of someone taking nude photographs of themselves astounding, not to mention actually sending them around.

You know very few people who don’t roam around the world scantily clad, willing to show off whatever they’ve got to show.

12. You totally judge people by what they wear and say

If you’re a bit judgmental about how other people choose to dress, you might be a prude.

You think that short shorts are trashy and that too much cleavage makes a woman look desperate. You think that men who wear tight shirts are probably douchebags. This is one of the things that really gives prudes a bad name. [Read: Do some women deserve the label of a THOT?]

13. You always choose the non-explicit version of a song

Why anyone would want to hear all those swear words is totally beyond you. The non-explicit version is just as catchy. The language just ruins it. A prude often thinks that swear words are just a supplement for someone with a less-than-stellar vocabulary.

14. You’re not a fan of R-rated movies

If you tend to think that the world has gone downhill, you’re probably a prude. And you’re definitely a prude if you refuse to watch R-rated movies because of how downhill you think the world has gone. You don’t want to risk being exposed to sex scenes, too many unsavory words, or too much crude humor.

If you’re being honest about it, you’re starting to question PG-13 movies, too. [Read: Getting rid of sexual insecurity for a better sex life]

15. If someone asks you about something too personal, you don’t have a problem refusing to answer

You have no problem letting someone know if they’re invading your personal space or being too inquisitive about things that aren’t their business. You might even question whether or not the first date of your last period is something that he really needs to know.

You quickly rebuff any question you aren’t comfortable answering.

16. You’re not about the hard-partying life

Most people assume that being a prude just relates to sex. It’s absolutely not true. Prudish people are known to be rule-followers. They’ll never touch an illegal substance. [Read: Surefire ways to keep it classy at a party]

Even alcohol may be often off-limits for you because you don’t like losing control of yourself. Your modesty insists that they maintain composure and decency at all times, so the idea of getting too drunk and accidentally exposing too much makes you a nervous wreck.

17. When someone moves too fast, it turns you off

You might think that someone is totally hot, but the second they become too pushy, they’re totally not.

You know that someone who is after you only for the possible sex isn’t going to make for a good long-term relationship, anyway. You know how to respect your own boundaries even if someone else doesn’t. [Read: How to keep from moving too fast in a new relationship]

18. You’re pretty triggered by certain words

It doesn’t even have to be sexual. If it even sounds like it has the potential to be, you don’t want to hear it.

You doubt you’ll ever be able to say the word “penis,” and you feel extremely violated when anyone talks about a vagina using any word.

19. Even as an adult, you fast forward through sex scenes

Some might call it immaturity, but you call it decency. That thirty seconds of filth doesn’t add anything of value to the movie, in your opinion. You think it’s just there to satisfy the belief that sex sells. You could definitely do without it, so you do.

20. You don’t completely understand dirty jokes

On more than one occasion, you’ve laughed at a dirty joke just to fit in.

But you don’t even know what you’re laughing at. That type of humor is lost on you, and you don’t really think it’s a bad thing. [Read: Ways to make a guy laugh without dumbing down]

21. You’ve had to defend your prudish ways

It can be exhausting, but you frequently have to defend yourself. You don’t think that you should have to explain WHY you aren’t interested in doing drugs, having sex, or stepping outside of your morals.

When someone tells you that you’re a prude, you don’t understand how it could possibly be a bad thing.[Read: Hateful words we should stop using]

Even though the word “prude” is often used as an insult, you don’t have to accept it as one! There are plenty of reasons to be proud of your prudish ways!