Taking Control of Our Sexual Experience

Taking Control of Our Sexual Experience

Peggy Orenstein, bestselling author of Girls and Sex, explores the gaps and nuances of intimacy. Today, she talks to Elise about how girls and women are taught that being sexy is important, but being “sexual” is reserved for men. They talk about why women are groomed to think about the potential dangers and harms of sex first—and why we often never learn to prioritize joy (or orgasm). Orenstein’s research involves a lot of fieldwork—she visits fraternities the morning after a party to find out why texting a sexual partner the next day can be so fraught. She helps us reframe the way we think about sex and pleasure. She helps us take back control of our own sexual experience. And she guides us as we try to help our children and the generations behind us to grow into their own fulfilling intimate lives. (For more, see The goop Podcast hub.)