7 Questions About Sex, Gender, and Infidelity

At our wellness summit, In goop Health, psychotherapist Esther Perel provided many mic-drop moments on stage (one favorite was when she offered that in the English language, there is no equivalent word for effeminate when it comes to describing women)—much like at her Ted talk from 2013 that has north of 10 million views—and her new podcast, Where Should We Begin?. Naturally, we jumped at the chance to sit Perel down backstage and ask her a series of questions on tape, ranging from the biggest myths about sex, to the conversation about infidelity in this country (the subject of her next book, The State of Affairs, out in October). For more Perel, see our conversation about the nature of desire here, which came out of a dinner she co-hosted with GP for Netflix’s new show Gypsy, along with a series of questions about who really gets bored first.

A Q&A with Esther Perel

1. So, to cut right to it, why is sex so complicated?

2. In your new podcast, Where Should We Begin, you take listeners inside a marathon-length couples therapy session—what was the impetus for doing this?

3. What do you think is the biggest myth about sex?

4. When do you believe it’s time to end a relationship?

5. Do same-sex couples struggle with the same issues, or are some issues unique to gender?

6. Why can the crisis of infidelity sometimes be constructive for some couples?

7. What do you think are the most damaging gender stereotypes?