I recently saw the movie “What’s Your Number?” (a dinky little blink-and-you’ll-miss-it piece with Anna Faris), and despite the horrid reviews from the general public, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I am unashamed to say Ms. Faris, the actress best known for her critically-acclaimed smash (not) “House Bunny,” had me literally ROTFL. The movie was the perfect balance of soft, tender moments and hilarious highjinks…so yeah, definitely a four-star movie.
Anywho, the movie’s premise – a woman (Faris) convinces herself she’s slept with too many men and vows to never sleep with another until she finds “the one” – got me thinking: how many is too many? I, for one, have a hard time judging. My theory is: whatever floats your boat. If your number is a tad high, so be it. Have fun, now is certainly the time to do it.
However, after having this discussion with a male friend, I was extremely bothered by his “justification” for his relatively high number: “Well, it’s different for guys than it is for girls.” EXSQUEEZE ME?! Maybe it’s just the feminist in me talking (Intro to Women’s Studies, what up), but why should it be any different for guys than it is for girls?! Cue the “is there a double-standard for girls?” debate.
To get the real low-down, though, I went straight to the source. I held an informal chat with my girlfriends, and compiled a list of some of their wisest –and I use that term loosely – remarks on the subject. I’ve paraphrased some and added my two cents, but you get the idea.
“I meeean, a girl’s just gotta do her, ya feel me?”
And we’re off.
“My number is three, and I intend to keep it that way until…idk actually, my boyfriend and I have been having a lot of problems and like maybe stepping outside my comfort zone will be good for me and…”
At this point we’ve launched into Confession Session mode, so for your sake, I’ll end that rant with an ellipsis.
“I don’t know, I feel like three is kinda low, no? Now I’m kinda embarrassed to admit I’ve hit double digits.”
“Wait same, I’m double digits too. Do you guys think that’s weird?”
As a sidenote, what is it with girls and starting a sentence with “wait”…just something to ponder.
“Not weird at all, most guys I know are welllll into their double digits and they could not be prouder. Double digits earns you a fist pump in guy land.”
Solid point, if I do say so myself. But let’s keep in mind that most guys are prone to exaggeration.
“Ohmygod I know, right?! Except I have to admit I’d be a little skeeved out if a guy told me he’s been with like, that many women.”
Another solid point, but let’s not forget we wouldn’t want a guy judging us for the same thing.
And so the chat continues, until we find ourselves talking in circles/veering off topic. We eventually came to a conclusion much like the first, extremely eloquent sentiment I quoted. Basically, a girl’s just gotta do what’s right for her. If you feel confident and secure in your choices, then that’s all that really matters.