Bridgerton with My 10-Year-Old, Lady Whistledown Might Not Approve
sexonwednesday.substack.com
Last week I joyfully watched Donald Trump leave the White House for the last time, Joe Biden promise to rescue our democracy in a moving inaugural address, and our first female VP—a Black and Indian woman—swear in a Latino, a Black man, and a Jewish man to the Senate. I also watched Bridgerton. With my 10-year-old. It was her idea, and she never wants to watch anything with me. I couldn’t say no despite having heard about the many steamy sex scenes. I suppose it wasn’t exactly age appropriate, but it worked. She was far more interested in the identity of Mrs. Whistledown than she was in the romance between Daphne and the Duke, and she tended to run out of the room or look down at her phone when things got hot and heavy. We had a really good time guessing what was coming next, and some pretty interesting conversations about the value of women and why everyone was so obsessed with virginity. She was horrified by the idea that women were controlled by the men in their lives (and could be given to a troll of a man by their brother), that they could not own (or inherit) property, and that anyone would consider a woman ruined because she’d been caught in one passionate kiss. (The duel didn’t seem to faze her, but she’s a big Hamilton fan so she’s familiar with macho gun battles.) I got to explain that virginity isn’t a thing—it’s a concept that is still used to shame some women today. And then we talked fashion and she started searching Amazon for an empire-waisted, glittery, light blue frock, preferably with a small train. She hasn’t found
Bridgerton with My 10-Year-Old, Lady Whistledown Might Not Approve
Bridgerton with My 10-Year-Old, Lady…
Bridgerton with My 10-Year-Old, Lady Whistledown Might Not Approve
Last week I joyfully watched Donald Trump leave the White House for the last time, Joe Biden promise to rescue our democracy in a moving inaugural address, and our first female VP—a Black and Indian woman—swear in a Latino, a Black man, and a Jewish man to the Senate. I also watched Bridgerton. With my 10-year-old. It was her idea, and she never wants to watch anything with me. I couldn’t say no despite having heard about the many steamy sex scenes. I suppose it wasn’t exactly age appropriate, but it worked. She was far more interested in the identity of Mrs. Whistledown than she was in the romance between Daphne and the Duke, and she tended to run out of the room or look down at her phone when things got hot and heavy. We had a really good time guessing what was coming next, and some pretty interesting conversations about the value of women and why everyone was so obsessed with virginity. She was horrified by the idea that women were controlled by the men in their lives (and could be given to a troll of a man by their brother), that they could not own (or inherit) property, and that anyone would consider a woman ruined because she’d been caught in one passionate kiss. (The duel didn’t seem to faze her, but she’s a big Hamilton fan so she’s familiar with macho gun battles.) I got to explain that virginity isn’t a thing—it’s a concept that is still used to shame some women today. And then we talked fashion and she started searching Amazon for an empire-waisted, glittery, light blue frock, preferably with a small train. She hasn’t found