I don’t know about you, but I find modern life pretty confusing. In a world of extremes, how do we find balance? When is it ok to break the rules and when is it not? How do we juggle everything without going cross-eyed?
These are some of the questions I investigate in my new series, How To Get a Life (Wednesdays, 9pm). Sadly I have to tell you that there are no neat answers and, kind of predictably, when we were filming, our questions mostly led to more questions! But what I found from talking to so many people were some really useful pearls of wisdom that have helped me get my head around some of life’s most perplexing issues.
In the series I’ll be meeting people to find out more about:
- modern relationships
- addiction
- how our looks can change our lives
- prejudice
- working & playing hard
- how money affects love.
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It’s probably not good to have a favourite but I definitely have a soft spot for the third episode. In this programme we ask how we can use our looks to change our lives and, in today’s society, have our looks become more important than who we are? I met a group of feisty ladies who set me a challenge that took me waaaayyyy out of my comfort zone! I also met a tattoo artist who completely changed my perception of how looks can be used to take control and, perhaps my favourite moment of filming of all time, I met a male stripper who made me laugh so much I cried.
I met a lot of young men and women along the way who were equally promiscuous, and some not at all, who were making up their rules as they went along. Some that I met had slept with high numbers of partners and told me that they love sex and are single so what’s the problem? How many is too many and who decides anyway? After talking to a lot of young people, I get the feeling that the taboo surrounds women more heavily and that it’s still more acceptable for men to sleep around. We really got into the heart of the debate in a few of my hub chats and I was really impressed with people’s honesty.
When I tweeted ‘How many is too many and is there such a thing as a ‘slut’ anymore’ there was a general sense that for girls an acceptable number is 8 whereas for boys it can be 15-20. It also seems that girls are still afraid to be called ‘sluts’ so often tell people they’ve slept with fewer guys whilst boys up their numbers to impress! It seems that whilst we do live in a relatively liberated society, we are all still very aware of the rules.
Later in the first episode I meet a young couple who are also making up their own rules - they have an open relationship that is full of experimentation. The more I talked to them the more I realised that this wasn’t as simple as it sounds. After going on a bit of an, ahem, adventure with them (not in that way!), they both had a bit of a revelation. I also had a bit of a revelation: PVC is extremely flattering but also extremely clammy. Nice.
The first episode holds lots of other surprises and, of course, I overshare massively - my poor mum. I really hope you enjoy the new series and would love to hear any of your questions via this blog or twitter.
Cherry Healey: How To Get A Life is on Wednesdays at 9pm.
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