TOO VIRGIN FOR THE WEST, TOO SLUT FOR THE EAST

Trigger Warning: Sexual Assault, Sexual Coercion

Iranian-American Sasha got her first period because of 9/11 (yes, really). Growing up in the Midwest to a cultural - NOT religious - family, her life became a crash course in contradictions: purity rings and sex-ed teachers calling girls “hoes,” a mom who said virgins are chocolates in fancy wrappers, dating a man she wasn’t attracted to for three years, being sexually assaulted by him, and hearing her mom respond, “It’s your fault.” She chased a man into the street for sex, cried after a hookup couldn’t get it up, scrolled Tinder to find a husband, and finally lost her virginity at 28. Only then did she realize the “treasure” she’d been protecting was never what she was promised.

This is the messy, hilarious, and heartbreaking reality of being too virgin for the West, too slut for the East. Sasha unpacks the impossible contradictions of Muslim womanhood, and what happens when you finally decide to have sex on your own terms.

If you need support:

• Global: Use the NO MORE Global Directory to find sexual assault and domestic violence hotlines wherever you are in the world.
• United States: Call the RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or use their online chat. Support is free and confidential, 24/7.
• Canada: Contact the Talk4Healing Helpline at 1-855-554-HEAL (for women in Ontario) or the Canadian Association of Sexual Assault Centres (CASAC) via casac.ca.

CREDITS:
 Host & Creator: Salma Hindy
Executive Producers: Salma Hindy & Sara Hussain
 Editor: Salma Hindy
 Artwork: Rana Omar

© The Secret Sex Lives of Muslim Women, 2025

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