July 10, 2025 • 10 mins
Cultural taboos around sex and sexuality run deep in many Latino households, often shutting down important conversations before they even start. In this special episode, Dramos opens up about how religion, gender roles, and family expectations shaped his own understanding of sexual health—or lack of it. He explores how these cultural norms can leave young people unprepared, misinformed, and anxious about their own well-being. Plus, Dramos shares what he wishes he'd learned growing up, why sexual health is about so much more than just sex, and how we can start having the hard conversations to better support the next generation.
This episode is brought to you by Healthysexual from Gilead Sciences.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Let me talk about talk.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
There we go, he said he live in life as
a ringo. Wait, you question where you fit in every
time you mingle, they say you do this with not.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
This life as a lingo.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Yes, Hello, and welcome to ano episode of Life as
a Gringo.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
I am dramas of course, and.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Man on today's show, today's little bonus episode.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
Here we're gonna be talking.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
About sex and the you know, stigmas and everything that
comes along with the idea of sex. Even I just
feel slightly uncomfortable mentioning that out loud. And I talk
about everything and anything on this podcast obviously, but you know,
it's still ingrained in me, this sort of like stigma
(00:57):
around sex, the word sex, you know, speaking about it
out loud, and particularly growing up in a lat you know, household,
and I think many of us sort of share a
lot of that, that stigma, you know, the idea that
cultural barriers in our community, you know, they can often
lead to limited conversations around things like sex and more
(01:21):
importantly things like safe sex right and our our families,
our households, you know, tend to shy away from some
of these conversations and what it ends up meaning is
less information about being healthy when it comes to things
like sex, right, So I kind of wanted to just
do a little little mini episode touching on all that.
(01:42):
It will basically be one long me hint this segment,
but just sort of talking about cultural norms and lack
of communication in our communities, you know, roles that things
like religion play and stigmas around you know, men and women,
and you know what it means to be a woman
(02:04):
of high regard, right, like these old fashioned ideas, and
you know, I think the general importance of being educated
on sexual health right, And also I think this is
incredibly important when it comes to young people. So we'll
talk about that on our show today. With that said,
(02:24):
let's get into Armyhante segment.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
So I think the best.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Starting place is the idea of like cultural norms, right,
and how for many of us. And I hate always
like I hate painting with the broad brush, but I
think it's safe to say that most people's parents probably
weren't too comfortable with the topic of sex and speaking
about sex with their kid.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
You know, there are obviously a lot of stick.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Was around the topic of sex when it comes to
our parents, and you know, I think back to my
own personal experiences. You know, we never really had the
birds and the bees talk. You know, it was more
of like that's you know, sex is something you save
for someone you really care about, and that was sort
(03:22):
of the extent of it. Right. There's so many question
marks that arrive from that lack of understanding, and in
my own case, the sort of lack of detail as
to what the hell that even means, right, the lack
of information for my parents, and I think for myself,
like a lot of people, you know, I got the
information from my peers, my friends around me, who were
(03:44):
just as clueless as I was, maybe you know, a
little more confident in what they thought they knew, but
really had no idea, right, had the same lack of experience.
All of us are going off of, you know, what
we saw in movies or TV shows, pornography, right, and
those are not resources that provide us with I think, great,
(04:08):
you know, healthy information on what it means to be
healthy if you're going to be participating in sex.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
Right.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
But also there are obviously for those of us who
grew up in religious households, which you know, many Latino
households are religious. There's also that stigma of religion, right,
the idea that you're sinning, the idea that if you
are not married, you're.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
Not supposed to have sex.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
I mean, let alone your im're supposed to think about
having sex, right, You're supposed to pray these feelings away.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
And also the other thing is gender roles, right, particularly
men and women. Right.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
And as a man, we sort of have this, We
sort of have this like get it a jail free card, right,
because it's it's act. Actually, you know, a plus if
we have women in our lives who are interested in us, right,
if we have girlfriends.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
I always think about the Bad Bunny video for right,
and the scene in the beginning.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
Where it's like the thea who's asking the kid, the boy, like, oh,
do you have a lot of girlfriends? Blah blah blah,
And then his sister comes in and she says, I
have a lot of boyfriends. And all of a sudden,
what was once a good thing when it was with
the boy, now she's reprimanding the girl about having a
lot of boyfriends.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
Right.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
And it's just these sort of gender roles that are
so deeply ingrained in our community, you know. And for women,
the idea of quote unquote purity, and so much of
what they do is, especially in the old school mindset,
so much of their upbringing is to attract a husband,
attract a spouse, right, And there's this unfair pressure placed
(05:57):
on them to be like this perfect virtuous angel, if
you will, you know, and again unfairly placed on their shoulders.
And the idea that women don't share in the same
curiosity and want or need for expressions sexually as men.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
Is just utterly ridiculous.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
But we've sort of like created these weird narratives that
then people hold on to guilt or shame and don't
share information or pursue information in a way that would actually.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
Help them and help them lead a healthier lifestyle. Right.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
And I think there's this this lack of understanding about
sexual health, right and how it really has this effect
on so many aspects of our lives. So there's obviously
the physical aspect of it, including you know, our reproductive
organs and the conditions of them, right and for women
(06:51):
menstrual health and pregnancy and childbirth, and for all of
us you know, sexually transmitted diseases and STIs and things
of that nature.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
You know, sexually transmitted infection and all.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
Things that we want to be sort of educated on obviously,
and how we could protect ourselves. And that all comes
from having conversations and information, right. And I mean there's
the mental health aspect, which I feel like get swept
under the rug so much, right, And this encompasses anything
from body image to sexual satisfaction and access to reproductive healthcare, right.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
And to not have.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
The resources there of those close to you as sort
of people you can talk to, it will take a
toll on your mental health, right. And and that you know,
altogether leads to your social well being. You know, you're
you're talking about, you know, trying to navigate social norms
and cultural beliefs and access to education and resources. You know,
(07:51):
and you're not wanting to be ostracized by your peers, right,
And that's so much of being a young person. And
I think even with that, it's like I can remember
not wanting to sound inexperience, so you're not asking questions, right,
or you're pretending like you have all the information right.
And again, all of this I feel like it leads to,
(08:13):
in different ways a detriment to your overall health, be
it mental or physical. And you know, overall, the only
answer to all of this is being far more open
to having these tough conversations, these these traditionally tough conversations,
if you will. Right now, with that said, let's quickly
tie everything we talked about today in a neat little
bow in a segment we call conclusion.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
STU time for conclusion.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
Now. I'm not gonna run down everything we talked about
in the episode. I think, generally speaking, sex is a
big deal in all of our lives, right, and we're
lying to ourselves if we claim otherwise.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
And it is.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
Very much a part of navigating this life as a
human being, from you know, a young adult to an adult,
and it shows up in various ways of our lives.
And it's sort of silly to think that we are
so nervous about talking about it and that we don't
provide the next generation the proper resources because we're so uncomfortable,
(09:21):
or we're caught up in cultural stigmas and societal norms
and whatever other nonsense, you know. I think at the
end of the day, information is the best tool, you know,
and with the right information, people can then make the
right decision for themselves.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
And that's up to them.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
You know, it's not up to us to decide how
somebody else lives their life.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
And I'll leave it at that now.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
This episode of Life as a Getinggo is brought to
you by Healthy Sexual from Gilead Sciences, and thank y'all
so much for tuning in.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
Until next time, stay safe and we'll talk soon.
Speaker 2 (09:56):
Life as a Gingo is a production of the micro
Thura podcast Network and iHeartRadio.
Let me talk about talk.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
There we go, he said he live in life as
a ringo. Wait, you question where you fit in every
time you mingle, they say you do this with not.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
This life as a lingo.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Yes, Hello, and welcome to ano episode of Life as
a Gringo.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
I am dramas of course, and.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Man on today's show, today's little bonus episode.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
Here we're gonna be talking.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
About sex and the you know, stigmas and everything that
comes along with the idea of sex. Even I just
feel slightly uncomfortable mentioning that out loud. And I talk
about everything and anything on this podcast obviously, but you know,
it's still ingrained in me, this sort of like stigma
(00:57):
around sex, the word sex, you know, speaking about it
out loud, and particularly growing up in a lat you know, household,
and I think many of us sort of share a
lot of that, that stigma, you know, the idea that
cultural barriers in our community, you know, they can often
lead to limited conversations around things like sex and more
(01:21):
importantly things like safe sex right and our our families,
our households, you know, tend to shy away from some
of these conversations and what it ends up meaning is
less information about being healthy when it comes to things
like sex, right, So I kind of wanted to just
do a little little mini episode touching on all that.
(01:42):
It will basically be one long me hint this segment,
but just sort of talking about cultural norms and lack
of communication in our communities, you know, roles that things
like religion play and stigmas around you know, men and women,
and you know what it means to be a woman
(02:04):
of high regard, right, like these old fashioned ideas, and
you know, I think the general importance of being educated
on sexual health right, And also I think this is
incredibly important when it comes to young people. So we'll
talk about that on our show today. With that said,
(02:24):
let's get into Armyhante segment.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
So I think the best.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Starting place is the idea of like cultural norms, right,
and how for many of us. And I hate always
like I hate painting with the broad brush, but I
think it's safe to say that most people's parents probably
weren't too comfortable with the topic of sex and speaking
about sex with their kid.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
You know, there are obviously a lot of stick.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Was around the topic of sex when it comes to
our parents, and you know, I think back to my
own personal experiences. You know, we never really had the
birds and the bees talk. You know, it was more
of like that's you know, sex is something you save
for someone you really care about, and that was sort
(03:22):
of the extent of it. Right. There's so many question
marks that arrive from that lack of understanding, and in
my own case, the sort of lack of detail as
to what the hell that even means, right, the lack
of information for my parents, and I think for myself,
like a lot of people, you know, I got the
information from my peers, my friends around me, who were
(03:44):
just as clueless as I was, maybe you know, a
little more confident in what they thought they knew, but
really had no idea, right, had the same lack of experience.
All of us are going off of, you know, what
we saw in movies or TV shows, pornography, right, and
those are not resources that provide us with I think, great,
(04:08):
you know, healthy information on what it means to be
healthy if you're going to be participating in sex.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
Right.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
But also there are obviously for those of us who
grew up in religious households, which you know, many Latino
households are religious. There's also that stigma of religion, right,
the idea that you're sinning, the idea that if you
are not married, you're.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
Not supposed to have sex.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
I mean, let alone your im're supposed to think about
having sex, right, You're supposed to pray these feelings away.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
And also the other thing is gender roles, right, particularly
men and women. Right.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
And as a man, we sort of have this, We
sort of have this like get it a jail free card, right,
because it's it's act. Actually, you know, a plus if
we have women in our lives who are interested in us, right,
if we have girlfriends.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
I always think about the Bad Bunny video for right,
and the scene in the beginning.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
Where it's like the thea who's asking the kid, the boy, like, oh,
do you have a lot of girlfriends? Blah blah blah,
And then his sister comes in and she says, I
have a lot of boyfriends. And all of a sudden,
what was once a good thing when it was with
the boy, now she's reprimanding the girl about having a
lot of boyfriends.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
Right.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
And it's just these sort of gender roles that are
so deeply ingrained in our community, you know. And for women,
the idea of quote unquote purity, and so much of
what they do is, especially in the old school mindset,
so much of their upbringing is to attract a husband,
attract a spouse, right, And there's this unfair pressure placed
(05:57):
on them to be like this perfect virtuous angel, if
you will, you know, and again unfairly placed on their shoulders.
And the idea that women don't share in the same
curiosity and want or need for expressions sexually as men.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
Is just utterly ridiculous.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
But we've sort of like created these weird narratives that
then people hold on to guilt or shame and don't
share information or pursue information in a way that would actually.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
Help them and help them lead a healthier lifestyle. Right.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
And I think there's this this lack of understanding about
sexual health, right and how it really has this effect
on so many aspects of our lives. So there's obviously
the physical aspect of it, including you know, our reproductive
organs and the conditions of them, right and for women
(06:51):
menstrual health and pregnancy and childbirth, and for all of
us you know, sexually transmitted diseases and STIs and things
of that nature.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
You know, sexually transmitted infection and all.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
Things that we want to be sort of educated on obviously,
and how we could protect ourselves. And that all comes
from having conversations and information, right. And I mean there's
the mental health aspect, which I feel like get swept
under the rug so much, right, And this encompasses anything
from body image to sexual satisfaction and access to reproductive healthcare, right.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
And to not have.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
The resources there of those close to you as sort
of people you can talk to, it will take a
toll on your mental health, right. And and that you know,
altogether leads to your social well being. You know, you're
you're talking about, you know, trying to navigate social norms
and cultural beliefs and access to education and resources. You know,
(07:51):
and you're not wanting to be ostracized by your peers, right,
And that's so much of being a young person. And
I think even with that, it's like I can remember
not wanting to sound inexperience, so you're not asking questions, right,
or you're pretending like you have all the information right.
And again, all of this I feel like it leads to,
(08:13):
in different ways a detriment to your overall health, be
it mental or physical. And you know, overall, the only
answer to all of this is being far more open
to having these tough conversations, these these traditionally tough conversations,
if you will. Right now, with that said, let's quickly
tie everything we talked about today in a neat little
bow in a segment we call conclusion.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
STU time for conclusion.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
Now. I'm not gonna run down everything we talked about
in the episode. I think, generally speaking, sex is a
big deal in all of our lives, right, and we're
lying to ourselves if we claim otherwise.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
And it is.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
Very much a part of navigating this life as a
human being, from you know, a young adult to an adult,
and it shows up in various ways of our lives.
And it's sort of silly to think that we are
so nervous about talking about it and that we don't
provide the next generation the proper resources because we're so uncomfortable,
(09:21):
or we're caught up in cultural stigmas and societal norms
and whatever other nonsense, you know. I think at the
end of the day, information is the best tool, you know,
and with the right information, people can then make the
right decision for themselves.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
And that's up to them.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
You know, it's not up to us to decide how
somebody else lives their life.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
And I'll leave it at that now.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
This episode of Life as a Getinggo is brought to
you by Healthy Sexual from Gilead Sciences, and thank y'all
so much for tuning in.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
Until next time, stay safe and we'll talk soon.
Speaker 2 (09:56):
Life as a Gingo is a production of the micro
Thura podcast Network and iHeartRadio.
Host
DJ Dramos
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