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Scott, I'm sure you're a lovely person, but...

Vanessa Friedman's picture

Okay, I hate to rain on the love parade here in the comments, but I couldn't not comment on this article. While I appreciate that it is meant to be jokey and lighthearted, some of the stereotypes enforced are pretty detrimental to women, I think.

First of all, even with the disclaimer at the end, the fact of the matter is that a man's sexual behavior is NOT monitored as closely as a woman's is--unfortunately, that's just a fact. While you COULD theoretically give this advice to any dude, you wouldn't. For whatever reason (well, for a multitude of reasons, actually, including patriarchal values, double standards, and sexism) it seems that on college campuses it is a woman's job to remain "not slutty" and watch out for her reputation, but guys never really have to worry about it. I'd love for anyone to jump in if they disagree, but in my experience a guy has rarely experienced negative consequences for having a lot of sex, and the word "slut" is not thrown around with as much venom when used toward a man. Slut is a word that was created to shame women, and though I don't believe the author of this column was intending to do that at all (at least I hope not!) it's hard to get away from the intention of the word, even when it's used casually.

I also think that this article does enforce certain "rules" that are unfair and ultimately crippling for women, such as equating sex with babies (as far as I know, using a reliable form of birth control is a pretty easy way to stop that concern) and assuming that a woman who partakes in multiple one-night stands has intimacy issues.

I'm sorry I'm rambling, but I feel really strongly about this. We exist in a shame culture, and it makes women feel insecure and ashamed about having sex. That's wrong. Here's what I'm really trying to say: people like sex. Women are people. Thus, women like sex. Some women like to have a lot of it, some women like to have a little. Regardless of your desires, it's nobody's business what your sex life is like except you and your partner(s). Be safe, obviously, and make sure you're not making decisions that YOU will regret, but if the concern is some bro not wanting you because you've already been "milked", or because he can "milk" you and then move on (wtf this metaphor sucks, ew) then I think the problem is likely the bro in question...not your sex drive.

/Rant over.

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