Purity culture didn’t disappear, it just got a TikTok account. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you scroll online for long enough, you\u2019ll eventually be told that a woman\u2019s body is public property, that if a woman has a past she should be disqualified from love, and that female desire and sexuality should be contained, hidden and ashamed of. These strict rules, disguised as morals, are being taught as guidelines to young girls on how to be \u201cwife material\u201d. In 2026, purity culture hasn\u2019t disappeared, it just hides behind softer language and gentle affirmations and is being fed to us through a carefully curated algorithm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What was once upheld by churches, schools and outdated tradition is still being enforced, but is now masquerading as wellness, femininity and self-respect. Social media is teaching women that abstinence is empowerment and casual sex is moral failure. A high body count is undesirable, experience damages a woman\u2019s purity, and promiscuity makes you disposable. Men are largely absent from this debate, their actions left undisclosed and unexamined, and women are left to take the full weight of criticism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sex has always been inherently political – who is allowed to want it, who is punished for having it, and who comes out on top will always be the same. The current digital resurgence of purity culture is not about concern for women\u2019s wellbeing; it has always been about control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Purity culture thrives online, utilising platforms like TikTok that can reward content that promotes gender hierarchies like submissive femininity, and punish those that celebrate women\u2019s autonomous sexuality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPeople feel a bit more uncomfortable accepting that women are inherently sexual,\u201d Rosie Cameron, a woman in her 20s who is outspoken and critical of the messages purity culture pushes, says. \u201cWomen don’t have as much of a voice and they are not allowed to express their desires.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The online nature of this resurgence means that this message can spread like wildfire, and the language used can trend and disperse with ease. Women are labeled \u201cused up\u201d, \u201cloose\u201d, and \u201clow value\u201d, specifically on platforms like only fans: they are framed as immoral and disposable, whilst their consent and autonomy is ignored completely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe biggest lie is that women get \u2018looser\u2019 the more sex they have,\u201d notes Rosie, \u201cit\u2019s biologically untrue, and just not how the vagina works.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This misinformation is not by accident. It is entirely purposeful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Challenging purity culture does not mean arguing that all women should be having casual sex, but rather recognising that sex should be rooted in choice and consent. Lucy Jeffries\u2019 perspective makes this distinction clear, a Christian woman in her early twenties, she frames her rejection of hookup culture as deeply personal rather than prescriptive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think it makes you more intentional, so you are more picky with what you want. Being Christian, I see being in a relationship as only dating somebody to marry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lucy notes that she is conscious not to impose her beliefs onto others, but her concerns about modern dating are rooted in emotional wellbeing rather than moral judgement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou get a quick fix and physical gratification, and it is exciting, but once that is over, it is over. You see people feeling dissatisfaction, and I think it can really damage your self-esteem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, it is worth questioning whether some of the emotional fallout often associated with hookup culture is in part a direct consequence of purity culture itself. When men are excluded from the conversation on sexual morality, it allows only them to participate in casual sex without consequence, whilst also criticising women and devaluing the women they engage with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This double standard then creates a dynamic in which women are encouraged to engage in sex, which Lucy highlights in saying \u201cYes, absolutely there is pressure to be sexually active,\u201d yet they are left to carry the shame afterwards. By framing women\u2019s sexuality as the problem, rather than unequal expectations, misogyny and accountability, purity culture becomes part of the problem it claims to prevent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this context, feelings of regret and shame are instead perpetuated by a culture that demonises women for the very same behaviors it normalises for men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shame has always been used to drive the control over women\u2019s bodies, being morally condemned by society allows women to be relegated into a submissive role beneath men, upholding the patriarchy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf a friend felt guilty after a hookup, I would tell them not to carry this guilt and shame about it,\u201d says Rosie. \u201cBecause they did not do anything wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That distinction is crucial. Feeling regret for an experience is normal and human. Being told that experience makes you less worthy is about control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shame is used as a social tool, and social media has given it the perfect platform to do so. The online fixation with body count is a prominent example. It reduces women to merely a number that determines their value, like property. Whereas that same number, when claimed by a man, is ignored and even celebrated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI would like to see people not feeling like they can comment on women\u2019s bodies as much,\u201d notes Rosie. \u201cEveryone feels like they can have their own opinions about what a woman is doing with her own body and that is not applied to men in the same way. I would like to see women being able to make their own decisions about their sex life and it not be a question by other people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sex politics have never been gender neutral and this highlights that. It has always been socially accepted to comment on women\u2019s bodies that has never been comparative to the way society discusses men\u2019s. It is driven by the idea that women need to be managed, and this is something that needs to be challenged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is a cycle we have seen repeated time and time again. This online resurgence is nothing new, it is simply a different platform where purity culture can grow and thrive in a widespread environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPurity talk back in the 80s was merely a way to protect yourself,\u201d says Flavia Bertolini, who grew up before social media. \u201cNow it seems to be being pushed as a way of life, a way of life that perhaps makes life easier for men.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before the time of social media slut shaming was more explicit, more mainstream in the way it was portrayed in newspapers and television. Today, the tactic is more hidden and discreet, using a curated algorithm that is optimised to shame women while maintaining the illusion of empowerment and wellbeing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was more mainstream as a concept, certainly it was very casual to see women demeaned in newspapers and on television,\u201d Flavia notes. \u201cYou could never imply, on the front of a newspaper whoever it may be was some kind of floozy, as was a regular occurrence in the 90s, there would be outrage, but you can do it online, as clickbait, because you know your right-wing and misogynistic audience go looking for it, to validate their ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She worries most about how this will affect the young women being exposed to this content. \u201cI don’t think many realise they\u2019re engaging with purity culture. It\u2019s being sold as empowerment, simplicity, femininity and even self care. But we have to ask ourselves why its coming back, and who it benefits.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She worries that this resurgence highlights a step back for women if they are being refused the choice of what to do with their bodies. \u201cWhen women have no choice but to be ‘pure’ because they fear backlash, whether it be societal, financial, or pertaining to their physical wellbeing, it certainly is a massive step back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Is purity culture really about sex, or is it about who controls women’s bodies? \u201cI have always believed that men get annoyed when women sexualise themsleves,\u201d Flavia explains. \u201cIf they sexualise us, it’s fine, and we should accept it, no matter what the situation, or how young we are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The contradictions are glaring. Pressure comes from all sides, and often from the same voices. \u201cIt’s about taking away our choices. Again, the moment we take control of our image, or sexuality, that is when we get criticised.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The moral connotations of sex politics are not innate, they are taught. If women\u2019s sexual choices continue to be associated with morality, then it allows for women’s bodies to be publicly evaluated rather than allowing them their own autonomy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The digital age acts as an amplifier for this narrative. The algorithm rewards content that pushes the dynamics of traditional gender hierarchies, and that hides the nuance behind women\u2019s choices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So what now?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Defeating purity culture doesn’t mean everyone must start having casual sex. The goal is choice without punishment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The question isn\u2019t if purity culture exists, because it does. The question is will women challenge this narrative and reclaim the right to their own bodies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Purity culture didn’t disappear, it just got a TikTok account. If you scroll online for long enough, you\u2019ll eventually be told that a woman\u2019s body is public property, that if a woman has a past she should be disqualified from love, and that female desire and sexuality should be contained, hidden and ashamed of. These […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":244,"featured_media":352,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[22,5],"tags":[41,32,37,43],"class_list":["post-354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-pillar-2","tag-culture","tag-relationships","tag-social-media","tag-tiktok"],"yoast_head":"\n