Purity... what does that word mean exactly?

The other day at work, as I was trying to act all innocent and shocked when someone made some sort of off colour comment, one of the ladies called me sweet and "pure". I laughed at the time, as I am quite fond of the lady who said it, and really didn't feel like dropping her opinion of me, but it really made me stop and think; why is it that I need to be worried about if she thinks I'm 'pure' or not?
It's interesting to think about how archaic the connotations behind that word are. Pure ivory soap means no bad chemicals in it, pure milk chocolate means all choco and nothing but, but a pure person? It's rare to hear a boy called pure... so what exactly does it mean when applied to a female?
Pure=innocent? naive? virginal?
Why is it that because I'm really none of these things, I'm no longer Pure? Am I dirty somehow because I've had sex with a handful of people? Or do I loose my purity at just one? And why, WHY praytell, is that a bad thing?

It's funny really... we look at people who are innocent in the same way that we look at bunnies: cute, but not a lot of brain power. (At the same time, there's the ol' saying "f*cking like rabbits... funny that...) I don't particularity want to be associated with that type of connotation. I want to be sweet, sure, and I don't mind being cute, but I've earned my experience and damn well enjoyed doing it.

It seems to me that the concept of purity is a rather outdated one at best, heralding back to a time when women were supposed to (key word here, supposed) be with only one man, and the idea of a pure woman was one who had never broken that trust (or her hymen for that matter). But in modern times that seems foolish to me. We pride ourselves so much on being an open culture; why can't the concept of PURE WOMAN update as well.

PURE WOMAN.

I like that.
I don't care what anyone says, I'm a pure woman. Not clean and tidy, not innocent, naive or virginal - a little ratty on the edges, sexy when she wants to be, sweet, bitchy, bouncy, ridiculous. Everything. All.
P-U-R-E.

Now, why can't we all just think of it that way?