Interview with Heather Lane
Heather describes the term, "ladylike".
Heather’s comment on the “Collaborate” forum expressed her concern for bringing justice to human sexuality. Her first idea was to report on sex education in the K-12 system, however, now she plans on writing about a topic that overlaps with mine: the sexual double standard. Heather will be touching upon the “slut versus stud dichotomy”, that is, women are seen as promiscuous for having multiple partners, while men are praised. As a fellow writer for SexInfoOnline, she feels very comfortable with writing about topics in sexuality and wanted to make her own observational studies in the field. In fact, tonight (Friday the 20th) she will be starting her study on Del Playa by taking note of the “cat calls” made by men to women. She remarks, “People don’t realize that it’s [cat calls] a form of harassment in itself. Just because they aren’t touching you, it doesn’t mean it’s okay”.
When asked about her feelings on the idea of sex as a taboo topic in the US, she mentions how it is stigmatized by many aspects of our culture – our upbringing, the media, and our school system, just to name a few. She feels that this class is an excellent way to raise people’s awareness on topics within the realm of human sexuality. She also thinks that a comprehensive sex education in schools could help our society feel more comfortable and be more open about the discussion of sexuality.
When talking about our modern hookup culture, she agrees that women are looked down on for having many sex partners. When I started to bring up how men feel about having many partners, Heather cuts in, “Men parade their amount of hookups around like trophies!” Many would agree, she hit the nail on the head.
Heather compares “ladylike” with the following: “legs crossed, women from the Victorian era, unrevealing clothes, and no swearing”. When asked if she considered herself ladylike, Heather smirked and simply replied, “at times…when I need to be”. It seems that these ladylike standards are hard to meet in our fast-paced culture. Further, Heather explains that our society’s view on a “proper” woman has affected her personally in terms of feeling sexually suppressed. For instance, she gives the example of a dad and his daughter: the daughter is about to go on a date, so the father is very strict with her about curfew, what she wears, and insists on meeting the boy taking her out. On the other hand, a father with a son going on a date simply praises him (in general). Heather comments, “Girls get all these ‘talks’ about being careful and about not getting pregnant or getting STIs. It makes sex sounds scary. Guys don’t get those talks to the same extent, even though they are equally responsible [for a resulting pregnancy or STI]”.
Overall, she agrees that sex has become a taboo topic of discussion for girls, but not for boys. She hopes that her Justice project will impact the way we look at gender expectations, roles, and stereotypes in terms of sexuality.
When asked about her feelings on the idea of sex as a taboo topic in the US, she mentions how it is stigmatized by many aspects of our culture – our upbringing, the media, and our school system, just to name a few. She feels that this class is an excellent way to raise people’s awareness on topics within the realm of human sexuality. She also thinks that a comprehensive sex education in schools could help our society feel more comfortable and be more open about the discussion of sexuality.
When talking about our modern hookup culture, she agrees that women are looked down on for having many sex partners. When I started to bring up how men feel about having many partners, Heather cuts in, “Men parade their amount of hookups around like trophies!” Many would agree, she hit the nail on the head.
Heather compares “ladylike” with the following: “legs crossed, women from the Victorian era, unrevealing clothes, and no swearing”. When asked if she considered herself ladylike, Heather smirked and simply replied, “at times…when I need to be”. It seems that these ladylike standards are hard to meet in our fast-paced culture. Further, Heather explains that our society’s view on a “proper” woman has affected her personally in terms of feeling sexually suppressed. For instance, she gives the example of a dad and his daughter: the daughter is about to go on a date, so the father is very strict with her about curfew, what she wears, and insists on meeting the boy taking her out. On the other hand, a father with a son going on a date simply praises him (in general). Heather comments, “Girls get all these ‘talks’ about being careful and about not getting pregnant or getting STIs. It makes sex sounds scary. Guys don’t get those talks to the same extent, even though they are equally responsible [for a resulting pregnancy or STI]”.
Overall, she agrees that sex has become a taboo topic of discussion for girls, but not for boys. She hopes that her Justice project will impact the way we look at gender expectations, roles, and stereotypes in terms of sexuality.