This question came up at a party I recently attended, and I found the response interesting.

If you could change genders for one week, what would be the first thing you would do?

One of the women attending asked it of one of the men, who was stumped. Not to be stopped by the silence, she said,” I know what I’d do. I’d masturbate.”

Following the pause for more suitably-stunned silence, the conversation picked up with a debate about whether sex with a partner, or solo masturbation would be the best way to go.

To be perfectly honest, I was a bystander to this conversation and didn’t offer an opinion. I’d like to make up for that now. Rather than just the first thing, I’ll talk about a few things I might like to do as a woman.

1. Stand naked in front of a full-length mirror and just study my body. Not as a sex object, but as me.

2. Go shopping. Not to buy anything, but just to try on clothes. Women’s fashion is infinitely more versatile than men’s, especially in American culture. For example or this. It would be interesting to see what would look good on my new body. Colors, styles…
Shoes and undergarments would have to be included.

What would turn out both fashionable and comfortable, and what would be gorgeous but torturous?

3. Sex would come in a bit after I’d become a little familiar with my body. Personally, I’d be most curious about sex with a partner. What really worked and what was ho-hum? I’m not decided about masturbation – whether for early in the process of getting to know my body or after sex with a partner. It would be there somewhere though, I’m sure. All purely in the name of increasing my physical awareness and understanding of women.

4 and 5. I would also have to experience menstruation and childbirth, two physically definitive experiences of being a woman. I’d be happy to forego morning sickness, though. Of course that would take longer than one week.

As for emotional understanding – nice goal, but I doubt I’d be any more or less successful there in a woman’s body than I would be as I currently am. Could be wrong though. Any women with suggestions about activities that would be most helpful in this respect?

What about you? How would you do things differently if you were the opposite gender?

P.S. Just wanted to add a few of links that don’t fit perfectly with the narrative, but I thought they were interesting anyway.

Discover your companion’s world. Two worlds are richer than one.