Question 2

The conversation discusses how being a woman creates awareness of gender expectations. It mentions experiences with romantic and sexual memories, societal pressures on women regarding contraceptives, and the book "Careful Where You Ejaculate" advocating for male contraceptive responsibility. The dialogue also touches on societal norms around sex, redefining virginity, and the pressure on women in sexual relationships. It highlights the unequal burden on women due to their bodies, especially in terms of reproductive health. All right, now we're going to dive into our second question. Molly, can you recall a time when being a woman made you more aware of your expectations? And do you think that moment taught you about gender in everyday life? Yeah, so this definitely feels like a little bit more of an intimate question, because I guess the first thing that comes to mind is just kind of those romantic and sexual memories of just kind of them not always being necessarily about me, but rather about a male counterpart. Or when it comes to a conversation about contraceptives and whatnot, coming from a more religious family that isn't necessarily as accepting of that, I do feel a lot of weight on my shoulders as a woman to make sure that that is taken care of. And there's actually a book that I love that I always tell you about, Lahari. And it's called Careful Where You Ejaculate. And it essentially is about how the conversation around contraceptives should be focused on males, because they're the ones who are fertile for longer periods of time. And it just kind of offers a new perspective. And I think that all of my experiences within just those romantic and sexual settings have just taught me about how there's more expectations on women to have accountability, even when they're not necessarily more likely to me to be held accountable. I know what you mean. Yeah. We were really talking about this in class the other day, and how it feels like the norms around sex are shaped between a cis-gendered man and a cis-gendered woman. And it's always about how the man feels, and how the man, like, it's literally penetrative sex. You know what I mean? Totally. The whole idea of virginity being taken now has been redefined, because people don't just want to have penetrative sex. Totally. People want to have lesbian sex, gay sex. Totally. It is just such a different way to think about it. Yeah, and even I think that really feels like it rings true for my experiences, especially in high school, being younger and not necessarily feeling, I don't know, I was scared. I was a 16-year-old girl who had a crush, and I just remember a significant other of mine essentially insinuating that if I were to do sexual things with him, that that would equate to me not loving him. And obviously, that was a sight. And the fact that I had to teach him that that isn't OK, I think is really, really scary, first and foremost, because, I don't know, you tell the wrong person that. It's just off on all accounts. And once again, it's like that idea of sex is made for the pleasure of a cis male, instead of it, I don't know, being something else. It just, it's hard for me. And I think it's hard for a lot of people with uteruses. Yeah, and that made you more aware of your expectations. Totally. Especially at such a young age. Yes, and even recently, like a week ago, I was at an appointment surrounded by contraceptive. And I just remember the doctor saying, it's a hard time right now to have a uterus. And it couldn't be more damn true. It just feels like so true. There's a lot more natural weight that falls on our shoulders, whether it be periods, or childbirth, or contraceptives, or just everything. It's just, it's kind of hard to be in this day and age and not be constantly reminded of the expectations that you have compared to other people because of your body. Agreed.