‘Red Table Talk’: Amber Rose is Teaching Her 7-Year-Old Son About Women’s Periods Now
Over the years, Amber Rose has established herself as an advocate of women’s rights and sexual freedom. Her SlutWalk event promotes empowerment and opposes slut-shaming and rape culture, and she’s often spoken about how she’s raising her sons to be feminists.
Rose appeared on Red Table Talk with hosts Jada Pinkett-Smith, Willow Smith, and Adrienne Banfield-Norris to discuss sexual consent and what she’s teaching her kids about women. The episode, taped pre-COVID-19, aired on Facebook Watch on Oct. 20.
Amber Rose and Rumer Willis were guests on ‘Red Table Talk’
In a candid discussion about “gray zone” sex and consent, all the women talked about uncomfortable situations they’ve been in with partners. Both Willis and Rose spoke on feeling compelled to go along with a sexual encounter even if they didn’t want to, and how men may interpret the meaning of “no.”
It was a sensitive conversation where multiple points of view were considered, and Rose opened up about her personal experiences and having agency over her body.
Rose, who has two sons—Sebastian, 7 and Slash, 1—was asked about what she’s teaching Sebastian about boundaries and consent.
Amber Rose started schooling her son early
Rose shared that her eldest son is aware of the world. She told Smith, “He knows everything. I’m not hiding nothing from my son. My son knows what a period is.” She said he comes and sits in the bathroom with her to talk and will ask, “Mommy, do you have your period?”
Rose answers him honestly. “I’m like no, not right now, but I will. And he’s like do you need a tampon? Do you need a pad? I say that to say my son is seven, and I don’t feel like it’s too soon. Because once he hits 13 and the girls in his classroom are getting their period, and the boys are like that’s disgusting she’s bleeding, he’ll be like, ‘That’s nothing.’”
Rose added that she’s also had to explain inappropriate touching and shared an example about Sebastian playfully shaking her bottom. She reiterated to him it’s not ok to touch her or any girls he comes across.
At first, Smith’s mom reacted with a shocked look about Rose’s period revelation, but she commended the mom of two for teaching him early.
Rose once said she doesn’t want to make things taboo
In a 2018 interview with Teen Vogue, Rose mentioned that parents often make the body out to be a taboo subject. She told the outlet it’s not like that in her household and she’s frank about more than women’s periods.
“I teach my son that a woman’s body is not a sexual object. It’s human anatomy,” she said.
“I have feminine paintings all over the walls [and] pictures of naked women. My son is so used to seeing it, so it’s not weird to him.” She added that when adults to do that, it makes things seem like a bigger deal than they are. Rose would rather normalize the female form.
