Chapter 1
When Faith and Desire Collide: Breaking Free from Purity Culture
Skyler Mason's "Purity" has become something of a cultural phenomenon, particularly among readers navigating their own religious trauma. The novel has garnered praise from celebrities like Emma Watson, who called it "a powerful exploration of female autonomy and desire," and has sparked important conversations about the psychological impact of purity culture on young women. What makes this book particularly resonant is Mason's own background-raised in evangelical purity culture herself, she poured her personal experiences into this narrative that manages to critique harmful religious practices while maintaining a nuanced view of faith itself. Since its publication, "Purity" has inspired reading groups across college campuses and has been credited with helping many young women reconcile their religious upbringing with their sexual autonomy. Let's dive into this compelling story of a young woman's journey to reclaim her sexuality and identity.
Chapter 2
The Chains of Purity Culture: Livvy's Impurity Contract
Standing at the ocean's edge, Livvy finds herself unable to throw her purity ring into the waves. This small circle of metal - a physical manifestation of her religious upbringing - represents years of indoctrination. The ring symbolizes countless youth group meetings, father-daughter purity balls, and solemn promises made to remain "pure" until marriage. She was taught to view her body as a temple that must remain untouched, her virginity portrayed as her most precious gift to her future husband. Instead of discarding the ring, she channels her rebellion into something more purposeful: an "impurity contract." This deliberate rejection of purity culture becomes her roadmap to sexual freedom and self-discovery.
The contract includes milestones that most people take for granted, each one carefully chosen to dismantle specific aspects of her religious conditioning. Having a first kiss - something she's avoided well into her college years. Getting drunk, not to excess, but enough to loosen the iron grip of control she's maintained. Smoking weed, challenging the notion that altered states are inherently sinful. Dressing less modestly, refusing to accept responsibility for others' thoughts. And ultimately, losing her virginity by September 17th - a deadline that transforms this abstract concept into a concrete goal. Each item represents not just an act but a deliberate step away from the shame-based teachings that have controlled her life. When her friend Mari suggests adding "dressing slutty" to help overcome body shame, Livvy's visceral discomfort reveals how deeply purity culture has affected her relationship with her own body - teaching her to hide it, to be ashamed of it, to see it as a source of temptation rather than pleasure or power.
What makes Livvy's journey particularly poignant is her choice of partner for this exploration. Cole, her best friend of five years, represents both safety and forbidden desire. Their relationship exists in a complicated space - an atheist boy and a Christian girl who have maintained a close but carefully platonic friendship despite obvious attraction. Cole has never pushed her boundaries or questioned her beliefs, making him both the safest and most dangerous choice for her sexual awakening. When Vanessa suggests adding "telling Cole how you feel" to the contract, Livvy's hesitation reveals another layer of her conditioning: the fear of rejection, the habit of making herself small, of putting others' needs before her own desires, and the deep-seated belief that she doesn't deserve pleasure or love on her own terms.
The impurity contract isn't just about sexual liberation - it's about Livvy claiming agency over her own life, making decisions based on her desires rather than external religious expectations. It's about dismantling the false dichotomy between "pure" and "impure" women, between the virgin and the whore, between the good Christian girl and the fallen woman. Through this contract, Livvy begins the difficult process of unlearning years of religious conditioning that taught her that her worth was tied to her sexual purity. Each item checked off becomes an act of self-reclamation, a step toward understanding that her body belongs to her alone, and that pleasure isn't sinful but natural and human. The contract becomes a testament to the possibility of breaking free from religious trauma while maintaining autonomy over one's own sexual journey.
Chapter 3
The Weight of Unspoken Love: Cole's Perspective
Cole's perspective reveals the complexity beneath their seemingly simple friendship. For five years, he has harbored intense feelings for Livvy while maintaining careful boundaries. His internal struggle reveals how purity culture doesn't just affect those directly raised in it-it creates ripple effects that shape relationships in profound ways. Cole has convinced himself that their fundamental difference-her Christianity and his atheism-makes a relationship impossible, and he's grateful for this barrier that has preserved their friendship.
When he reads Livvy's text about having "HUGE news," his immediate fear is that she might have found a boyfriend. This reaction exposes the possessiveness that has characterized their friendship from the beginning. Cole wants Livvy in his life but has created rules about how that can happen-rules that protect him from vulnerability while keeping her emotionally tethered to him.
Cole's family situation provides crucial context for his fear of commitment. His parents' failing marriage and his father's infidelities have shaped his view of relationships. When his mother announces she's asking for a divorce, Cole's first instinct is to find her a "ruthless lawyer," revealing his cynicism about love and marriage. In this moment of crisis, his thoughts immediately turn to Livvy-imagining her compassionate response, her prayers, her unwavering support. She represents stability in his chaotic world, a role she has played throughout their friendship.
The most revealing aspect of Cole's perspective is how he suppresses his romantic fantasies about Livvy, reminding himself that their friendship is too valuable to risk. This pattern of denial and suppression becomes his coping mechanism, allowing him to keep her close while avoiding vulnerability. When he resolves to control his attraction to her, even if it means accepting any boyfriend she might introduce, we see how he's created a narrative that positions him as the selfless friend rather than acknowledging his own desires and fears.
Cole's perspective shows us how purity culture creates impossible situations not just for those raised within it but for those who love them. His respect for Livvy's religious boundaries becomes entangled with his fear of rejection, creating a complex web of unspoken feelings that will eventually require confrontation.
Chapter 4
The First Cracks in the Facade: Testing Boundaries
When Livvy approaches Cole at his graduation party, the carefully maintained boundaries between them begin to show cracks. Their reunion is charged with unspoken tension - Cole's unusually tight embrace lingering several beats too long, his declaration that they're "never doing long distance ever again," his pointed introduction of Livvy as his "best friend" to the pretty girls surrounding him. These moments reveal the possessive undercurrent that has always existed in their relationship, made more apparent by their time apart. The way Cole's hand lingers at the small of her back, how his eyes track her movements across the party - these subtle gestures speak volumes about feelings neither can acknowledge.
The pivotal story about Cole getting suspended for shoving a boy who hugged Livvy exposes his protective (or controlling) tendencies. Though Cole insists the story has been exaggerated over time, dismissing it as middle school drama, it points to a pattern of behavior - one where he positions himself as Livvy's protector, keeping other men away while maintaining that they're "just friends." This dynamic has allowed him to have her emotional intimacy without risking vulnerability himself. Their friends have noticed this pattern over the years, with Mari particularly vocal about how Cole seems to "mark his territory" without actually claiming it.
When Mari introduces Travis as a potential make-out partner for Livvy, Cole's immediate alarm signals the beginning of a reckoning. His face drains of color, his jaw tightens, and his usual easy charm vanishes. He can no longer maintain the pretense that he wants nothing more than friendship when faced with the reality of Livvy pursuing her "impurity contract" with someone else. His reaction - pulling her aside to talk privately, his fingers gripping her elbow with barely contained urgency - reveals his inability to accept her autonomy when it threatens his place in her life.
The scene brilliantly illustrates how purity culture creates unhealthy dynamics even in non-sexual relationships. Livvy has been conditioned to seek male approval and protection, interpreting Cole's possessiveness as care rather than control. Meanwhile, Cole has benefited from this dynamic - having her emotional support and devotion without having to acknowledge his own feelings or intentions. Their weekly Bible study sessions, their late-night phone calls, their inside jokes and casual touches - all exist in a gray area between friendship and something more, sustained by their shared religious background.
As Livvy begins to break free from these constraints, questioning the rules that have shaped their relationship, their carefully constructed facade begins to crumble. The tension between them builds as Livvy prepares to share her "impurity contract" with Cole, unaware that he's dealing with his own family crisis. This intersection of their personal journeys - Livvy's quest for sexual autonomy and Cole's confrontation with his family's dysfunction - sets the stage for a profound transformation in their relationship. Their shared history of church youth groups, summer camps, and family dinners now feels like quicksand beneath their feet, threatening to pull them under as they navigate this new territory.
Chapter 5
The Proposition: Vulnerability and Desire Collide
When Livvy asks Cole to be her first kiss, their carefully maintained boundaries collapse. This moment represents a pivotal shift-Livvy taking control of her sexuality while Cole struggles with his desire and his fear of ruining their friendship. What begins as a gentle peck quickly escalates into something passionate that leaves Cole physically shaking, reinforcing his belief that he must resist her to preserve their relationship.
Livvy's proposition is both bold and naive. She trusts Cole completely and doesn't believe physical intimacy would ruin their friendship if they "approach it methodically." Her perspective reveals how purity culture has created a disconnect between her body and her emotions-she believes she can compartmentalize physical experiences without emotional consequences. This thinking is ironically similar to the casual hookup culture she's been taught to avoid, though her motivation is different.
Cole's internal struggle is palpable. Looking into her "soft brown eyes and pink mouth," he's transported back to when he first believed this "angel" could be his. For years, he's buried his feelings, convinced that their religious differences made a relationship impossible. Now, faced with her direct request, his desire "burns through him like wildfire," challenging his resolve to protect their friendship at all costs.
This scene brilliantly captures the complexity of desire when it collides with long-established boundaries. Cole's hesitation stems not just from concern for their friendship but from fear-fear that giving in to his desires would lead to losing Livvy entirely when the relationship inevitably sours. His thinking reveals a deeply pessimistic view of romantic relationships, one shaped by his parents' failed marriage and his father's infidelities.
Livvy's persistence-insisting Cole is the perfect person to help her overcome her fear because she trusts him completely-eventually wears down his resistance. When he agrees to her request despite his better judgment, we see how their mutual desire has been building for years beneath the surface of their friendship. The passionate kiss that follows confirms what both have tried to deny-their connection has never been purely platonic.
This proposition marks the beginning of their journey from friendship to something more complex, forcing both to confront the unspoken feelings and fears that have shaped their relationship from the beginning.
Chapter 6
Shadows of the Past: How Family Shapes Desire
Cole's reaction to Livvy's proposition reveals how deeply his family history has shaped his view of relationships. Hours after their passionate kiss, he's still shaking with desire, ancient fantasies racing through his mind. His desperate attempt to distract himself by finding someone at a bar exposes his pattern of using casual encounters to avoid emotional vulnerability.
The encounter with Sophia in the Uber becomes a pivotal moment when she recognizes the Walker family gate and realizes Cole is Mark Walker's son. Her reaction confirms Cole's worst suspicions-his father brought women into the family home. This triggers memories from five years ago when Cole caught his father cheating, an event that "dimmed his world and changed everything."
This revelation provides crucial context for Cole's fear of commitment. He witnessed firsthand how marriage failed his parents, how his father's infidelity destroyed their family. His cynicism about love isn't abstract-it's rooted in personal trauma. Yet there's a beautiful irony in Cole's reflection that his father's betrayal ultimately led him to transfer schools where he met Livvy, "who brought brightness back to his life."
Livvy's family dynamics similarly influence her journey. Her father's rigid religious control and her sister Vanessa's more moderate faith create the framework within which Livvy must navigate her own beliefs. When Livvy faces judgment from Vanessa about her changing behavior, their conversation reveals the complexity of religious family relationships. Livvy reassures her sister that she'll always love and respect her beliefs, even as her own evolve, showing that breaking from purity culture doesn't necessarily mean rejecting family or faith entirely.
The contrast between these family systems is striking. Cole's family represents the failure of secular marriage-infidelity, divorce, broken trust-while Livvy's represents the constraints of religious control. Both have created damaged views of relationships: Cole believes romantic love inevitably fades, while Livvy has been taught that her worth depends on her sexual purity.
Their coming together represents a potential healing of these family wounds-the possibility that they might create something healthier than what they witnessed growing up. Yet before this can happen, both must confront how their family histories have shaped their fears and desires, recognizing patterns before they can break them.
Chapter 7
Breaking Free: The Journey to Sexual Autonomy
Livvy's journey toward sexual autonomy involves not just physical experiences but confronting the deep shame purity culture instilled about her body. While trying on a revealing black dress Mari picked for her, Livvy struggles with body image, particularly regarding her breasts. She worries about Cole seeing her flaws but forces herself to continue as part of overcoming her sexual shame. When Mari helps her recognize that her negative feelings stem from religious conditioning, we see Livvy beginning to deconstruct the harmful messages she's internalized.
The scene where Cole sees Livvy in the revealing dress marks an important shift in their dynamic. His wide-eyed reaction makes her feel "unexpectedly powerful," suggesting that embracing her sexuality might be a source of strength rather than shame. This moment of feeling desired rather than judged represents a crucial step in Livvy's reclamation of her body.
As Livvy continues her exploration, she confronts the inadequacy of her abstinence-only education. She laments to Mari, "I didn't even go to sex ed," explaining how her parents signed a waiver and the only penis she's ever seen was "a cartoon with a big green cartoon STD." This humorous moment highlights the real harm of denying young people comprehensive sex education-leaving them unprepared and ashamed rather than informed and empowered.
Cole's role in Livvy's sexual journey is complex. When he carries her away from the bar after she's been drinking and dancing with Travis, his behavior is both protective and controlling. Their argument exposes the tension between his genuine concern and his possessiveness. Livvy's direct question-asking Cole again to take her virginity and demanding a real answer-represents her growing assertiveness about her desires.
Their eventual sexual encounter becomes a powerful reclamation. When Livvy shares her fantasy of being pursued in a forest, uncertain if Cole will hurt or pleasure her, his aroused rather than judgmental response helps her embrace desires she's been taught to suppress. Their roleplay, with Cole chasing her and establishing boundaries with a safeword, allows Livvy to explore power dynamics in a consensual context-the opposite of the non-consensual control purity culture exerted over her sexuality.
The culmination of their physical relationship-Cole taking Livvy's virginity-is both tender and intense. The symbolism of her pristine white dress, representing her pure life, being "dirtied" by Cole captures the deliberate rejection of purity culture's values. Throughout their encounter, Cole balances dominance with tenderness, helping Livvy discover pleasure without shame-a direct counterpoint to the shame-based teachings of her religious upbringing.
Chapter 8
The Courage to Want More: Confronting Unhealthy Patterns
The most profound aspect of Livvy's journey isn't physical but emotional-finding the courage to demand more than friendship from Cole. After their passionate encounter, she expresses her desire for a relationship, but Cole hesitates. This moment becomes a reckoning for both of them, forcing them to confront the unhealthy patterns that have defined their friendship.
Livvy realizes their relationship has been unhealthily enmeshed-she's "lived small" while Cole has enjoyed her devotion while sleeping with other women. This insight represents a breakthrough in her understanding of not just purity culture but the ways she's continued to diminish herself even while breaking free from religious constraints. She recognizes that she's replaced religious submission with emotional submission to Cole, continuing to prioritize his needs over her own.
Summoning her courage, Livvy confesses she's always been in love with Cole, since they first met. She explains she thought he was "designed for her by God," loving him exactly as he was. This revelation stuns Cole, who realizes he's been living under a delusion-protecting himself from the despair of thinking her feelings would never match his own. The irony is painful: both have loved each other all along but were prevented from expressing it by fear and misunderstanding.
When Livvy declares, "You made your choice, and it doesn't work for me. We can't be just friends anymore," she's finally prioritizing her own needs. This ultimatum represents the culmination of her journey from passive acceptance to active agency. She's no longer willing to accept crumbs of Cole's attention while he keeps her at arm's length emotionally.
Cole's panic at losing her leads to his desperate confession of love, but Livvy rejects it, believing he's only saying it out of fear rather than genuine desire for commitment. This moment tests Cole's growth-can he move beyond his fear of vulnerability to truly open himself to love?
Their separation forces both to confront their deepest fears. Cole sits in his room, "unable to disturb anything she touched, preserving the space as if it might bring her back," while Livvy stands firm in her decision despite the pain. This period of separation becomes necessary for genuine transformation-Cole must learn that love requires vulnerability, while Livvy must learn that true autonomy means being willing to walk away rather than accepting less than she deserves.
Chapter 9
Finding Balance: Love Beyond Purity Culture
Cole's conversation with his father leads to a profound realization about his relationship with Livvy. He sees how his father's fear of vulnerability after his mother's affair led to years of destructive behavior and a broken marriage. Cole recognizes he's made similar mistakes with Livvy-keeping her entirely to himself out of fear, effectively asking her to "live small" to accommodate his insecurities.
This epiphany represents a crucial step in Cole's growth. He begins to understand that true love isn't about possession but about supporting the other person's full development. His father's cautionary example helps him see how his own fear of vulnerability has led him to control rather than nurture his relationship with Livvy.
Meanwhile, Livvy struggles with maintaining her boundaries despite wanting to give in. She proposes they meet on September 17th (her impurity contract deadline) for her final decision, though Cole finds the waiting torturous. This deliberate delay represents Livvy's commitment to making decisions based on her own needs rather than emotional impulse-a significant change from her previous pattern of always being available to Cole.
At the beach with Mari and Vanessa, Livvy contemplates burying her purity ring but can't bring herself to part with it. This moment beautifully captures the complexity of breaking free from purity culture-it's not about rejecting everything from one's religious past but about reclaiming agency to decide what to keep and what to discard. When Mari suggests she keep the ring for nostalgia and Vanessa challenges her black-and-white thinking, we see how Livvy is learning to navigate a more nuanced relationship with her past.
The resolution comes when Livvy arrives early at Cole's guesthouse in July, taking him "off hold" and declaring she wants to be with him. In a symbolic gesture, she gives him her purity ring, explaining she couldn't part with it because she always imagined giving it to him. This moment represents not a rejection of her past but a transformation-the ring no longer symbolizes her submission to religious authority but her chosen commitment to Cole.
Their reunion represents a new beginning based on mutual vulnerability rather than control or submission. Cole vows never to let her go as they reconnect intimately, finally together after years of longing. This resolution suggests that true liberation from purity culture isn't found in rejecting all commitment but in choosing commitment freely, based on desire rather than obligation or fear.
The journey of Cole and Livvy offers a powerful message about finding balance-between autonomy and connection, between honoring one's past while creating a new future, between physical desire and emotional intimacy. Their story suggests that breaking free from purity culture isn't about rejecting all values but about reclaiming the right to determine one's own values and live accordingly.
