It was a sweltering August day in New York City, the tail end of a fever dream. My best friend Laura and I sat on the stoop of her East Village walk-up, sweating through our linen skirts and talking about sex—our favorite topic of conversation. She told me she never carried condoms, too bulky in her tiny handbags, too awkward when a guy rifled for his keys and found one. “It just kills the vibe.”

Last week, Hallie Batchelder said essentially the same thing on her podcast, except to a crowd of masses. “One, it kills the mood,” she’d declared. “Two, I don’t want to have your f***ing weird offspring baby. … Or three, are you calling me a whore?” The internet combusted. Everyone had a take, and none of them felt new. I listened while folding laundry, pausing at the part where she said she had

See Full Page