The characters in the novel find their desires and sexual behavior influenced by online pornography, which a sex educator at Brendan’s former school describes as “an unregulated cesspool of degrading images and extreme sexual perversion available to everyone in the privacy of their bedrooms, regardless of their age or emotional maturity” (9). The main characters’ interactions with pornography shape their storylines; Brendan is eventually punished and taught a lesson because of his misappropriation of what he has copied from pornography, while Eve uses pornography as a means of sexual exploration, both virtually and in the real world.

The reader never sees Brendan watching pornography in real time. Significantly, his internet browser is scrubbed of his browsing history, which means that the exact type of material he consumes remains unspecified. However, the degrading, misogynist phrases he uses during sexual activity imply that the pornography he consumes objectifies and demeans women. Perrotta’s non-specification of Brendan’s pornography choices is a device that heightens the sense of ominousness regarding Brendan’s private pursuits. Brendan’s recourse to sexually domineering tactics enables him to manage the vulnerability and lack of control that he feels when he is about to engage in a sexual encounter. He remembers how the first time he had sex with Bella his “hands were literally shaking when [he] put on the condom” (176).