Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell's Approach to the Sex Talk

pasadena, california january 16 dax shepard of top gear america speaks during the discovery motortrend segment of the 2020 winter tca press tour at the langham huntington, pasadena on january 16, 2020 in pasadena, california photo by amy sussmangetty images — (Image credit: Amy Sussman)

Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell seem like incredibly thoughtful parents, as Shepard proved once again on his Armchair Expert podcast. With two young daughters, Shepard and Bell have had to think about how they want them to understand sex, and their approach to the discussion sounds positive and empowering.

"I'll tell you one thing that my wife does which I think is ingenious—she didn't make it up, she got it from somebody—is when she describes sex to our children, she says, 'and the woman takes the man's penis and puts it in her vagina,' so right away it's like, 'you're in charge of this, you will decide to put this in your vagina, not the man puts his penis in your vagina,'" Shepard told his guest Gwyneth Paltrow.

The dad of two also shared his attitude to the archaic notion that he's responsible for "protecting" his daughters from having sex at all in the future. "Of course, the most generic thing every guy says to me is, 'Oh, you better have a gun, there’s gonna be guys coming around,'" Shepard said. "This notion I have to protect my daughters’ virginity with great prejudice if necessary."

He turned this notion on its head, explaining that it would be hypocritical of him to paint sex as a bad thing. "My response is, I do not want my daughters to have sex so they can get approval from somebody, but if my daughters are horny and want to have sex, that was my favorite activity, remains my favorite activity, I’d be lying if I said I was in any way anti-that activity," he said. "I’m anti-getting esteemed from that activity, but that’s it." Mic drop.

Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of British Vogue, InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Refinery29 and SELF. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.

Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell's Approach to Discussing Sex With Their Daughters Is Super Progressive

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