Margot and Robert in Cat Person find themselves having sex after an awkward date – but she doesn’t want to be there at all A 20-year-old university student has been on a date to the cinema with a 33-year-old man. At the end of the night, and a sloppy kiss, she decides to go back to his house rather than to her dormitory. They’re in his bedroom and he begins getting undressed, albeit clumsily. His shoes are still on as he tries to take his trousers off and he stumbles.
A quick straw poll of friends, colleagues and social media confirmed the same. I had responses from people along the lines of: “Omg all the time” or “I’ve done this 100 times”. The figure is definitely higher than we might wish. As we see Margot lie back and wait for Robert to finish, we are reminded of an earlier scene in which her mother offers sage advice: “ make peace with a little discomfort if you want a man,”
This is why so many women will have found themselves having sex they don’t really want to be having. Not just in one-night stands but also in long-term relationships, or marriages, how much sex have you had out of obligation? Out of guilt? Out of not wanting to make your partner feel unloved or unwanted and to deal with the emotional cleanup of that? It’s an offering one can feel obliged to make, or face the consequences.