Does this double standard regarding sexuality surprise you? Do you think things are much different today than they were back then?

It's clear that all of Colin's characters are participating in sexual adventures. Yet as Jamie and the count show, the men seem immune to any censure while for the women, it can be their ruin. Does this double standard surprise you? Do you think things are much different today than they were back then?

How can anyone reading today's headlines or living in our country today be surprised at the "double standard" in this book? Every woman has a story to tell about this double standard.

No, not at all. This double standard will go on in society until the men and women in charge deem it incorrect and make some real effort to change it. Not baby steps.

Not at all and I'm old enough to remember it almost exactly as it is shown in the book. Things ARE much different now--so far as sexuality is concerned. In my teens and 20's a guy could sleep around as much as he wanted to but a girl was a slut. If she got pregnant she was ostracized if not sent away to have the baby and usually give it up. It is not like that today at all--one former student of mine even spoke about the fact that she had two kids, bought a house and lived with her boyfriend 10years before they married--no one thinks any the less of them. Single mothers are not looked down upon. But, I will say, I have to laugh when I hear a girl say " he got me pregnant! ". I guess she had nothing to do with it--in that regard things haven't changed--girls still consider the man responsible for such things--as though they had no role in the relationship. Anyone who doesn't think the double standard in sexuality hasn't changed didn't live prior to the 60's

No. Given the levels of society these characters were in, we can see how crucial it was to
lead a life that followed conventions of the the time. While that remains somewhat true today, women live in a much more open society today. Yes, they must still tread carefully and can find themselves in areas where but they are not nearly as restricted in what they can and cannot do.

There is and always has been a double standard. A lot of men think that women can't think for themselves and don't know what they are talking about, whether it be politics, sports or just everyday matters. Our pay scales are not evenly matched. A man must earn more to provide for their families; but what about the woman who is a single parent and must provide for her family. double standard again.

I wasn't surprised at the sexual double standard of the day. I was, however, very surprised to learn that Gabrielle prostituted Alice out not once, but twice! Human trafficking is a very in the moment topic today and to see it played out on poor unsuspecting Alice was disconcerting and a wonderful twist to the storyline. Gabrielle was supporting her drug habit, which also plays a major role in today's prostitution. She also was very devilishly trying to sabotage Emile.

Not really. Women are the child bearers; they have consequences of the sex act that men do not. Consequences that live long after the act, and can affect their bodies, their lives, and the lives of their born or unborn child.

You tell me. Dozens of women have recently come forward to level charges of sexual assault against the likes of Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein and Donald Trump and more, and many of their accusations have been dismissed as exaggerations, mistaken gestures and outright lies. Yesterday one man came forward leveling a charge of sexual assault against another man (Kevin Spacey) and nobody doubts it for a moment. Spacey even lost his tv show as a result. Is there a double standard at play here?

Not at all. We are fighting it but the patriarchal society keeps chugging along.