What's up With Western Women? Are They Satisfied With Men?

Pea returns to Daytona Beach — this time to interview women about men, relationships, feminism, and life in America. This is the companion piece to her previous video interviewing men. She talks to American-born women, a Russian immigrant, and others, then delivers her own sharp assessment of the disconnect between Western women's dissatisfaction and their actual privilege compared to women in other countries.

Interview 1: Massachusetts woman ​

• Loves the US, appreciates the diversity of culture across states and the job opportunities
• Worst things: gun violence and racial oppression
• Defines feminism as equal rights between genders; believes men have more leverage, especially in pay, and women are shamed for their bodies
• A man's role: to provide and protect — "men are usually bigger and stronger"
• Wants a partner who "allows me to be me and doesn't dim my light" — accepts her as she is while providing and caring for her
• What she offers in return: she's a working woman and a nurturer — "it's in our nature as women"
• Love vs. money: says love is everywhere but "in this world you need money — if I didn't have money I wouldn't be able to be here right now"
• Rates herself physically: "I'm an 11. Everyone's an 11." Pea calls her "very generous"

Interview 2: Young American woman ​

• Has lived in the US her whole life, sees issues
• Biggest problem: social media and technology have pushed "toxic masculinity" thinking forward in recent years — thinks a lot of women would agree
• Defines feminism as "letting women be and do whatever they want to do — let them exist in their own space"
• Equality "sounds really simple but that's not the world we live in" — women face discrimination daily just for being women
• Brings up the abortion debate: "who should be making the decisions on whether or not women are able to have those abortions" — believes it should be women's choice since it's their bodies
• Pea challenges her on contraception: "you guys have contraception, why not just use contraception in the first place?" The woman explains birth control isn't 100% effective and people still get pregnant
• Mentions plenty of college friends who had unwanted pregnancies at 19-20 and chose abortion because they could — "they were not ready"
• Love vs. money: "I think it's okay to want both and to look for both"
• Rates herself: 10 out of 10 — "that's the mindset I always want to have"

Interview 3: Anastasia, Russian immigrant from Siberia ​

• Loves America — "it's paradise"
• Loves the weather, the sun
• Says Russia is "traditional" — men, women, kids in traditional roles, and same-sex relationships are not accepted ("don't like in Russia, and in America it's so normal")
• Was not surprised by American acceptance of same-sex couples because she watched YouTube and already knew the culture
• Sex before marriage is normal in Russia too, despite it being traditional — "not so so much traditional"
• Best thing about the US: freedom and free speech — "in Russia people don't have talk free" and she specifically values being able to speak freely here

Interview 4: American woman who doesn't know what feminism means ​

• Laughs it off: "I don't even know what that means — like a really funny part of your channel"
• Does believe there are rights men enjoy that women don't: "They have like thousands of years ahead of us because they was initially the ones running the country — we couldn't even vote"
• Her point: men have had a massive head start in controlling institutions, so their perspective still dominates

Interview 5: Older man on the beach (brief) ​

• Says he's "old school" and doesn't go along with feminism
• Doesn't think there should be "that much equality" between men and women: "Men do work harder — that's the reality of things"

Metal detector man interlude ​

• Pea encounters a man metal detecting on the beach with about $1,000 worth of equipment
• He's found 14-karat gold, diamond rings, and silver — keeps everything he finds, doesn't sell
• No permit required — free and open to the public
• Best finds come after storms due to erosion revealing older items buried in sand
• Has a YouTube channel called "Dave's Not Here" showcasing his finds

Interview 6: Young American woman ​

• Never heard of "passport bros" — guesses it means "two gay bros"
• When told it means men going overseas for wives: thinks it's fine, doesn't see a problem
• When asked why women don't do the same: "It's easier for women to get a partner"
• Almost propositions Pea in the process: "I wouldn't say no to you" — Pea reacts: "Did I just get propositioned by an American woman?"
• If she could change one thing about men: their entitlement — "they feel entitled to women or money or cars or whatever — especially white men"
• Does not believe there's sex equality in America, citing statistical gaps in jobs and pay
• Notes men's reproductive choices aren't governed by law the way women's are

Interview 7: American woman discussing quality of men vs. women ​

• Thinks there are "more quality women than quality men" — the pool of quality men is smaller
• When asked why more women don't go abroad: "Women are more flexible, more forgiving — I feel like we bend a little too much maybe"
• Says men generally move on quickly once something doesn't suit them, while women are better at multitasking, planning, and listening
• Just had a discussion with her husband about these topics that same day
• Does not believe there's pay equality — says studies consistently show a gap between men and women in the workplace
• Pea challenges her with an economic argument: "If women are paid less than men, why aren't companies just hiring women? Aren't they going to save a lot of money?" — the woman acknowledges it's a good question
• Defines feminism as "being there for women and supporting them to make up for the gap" — women are more highly criticized and policed for what they wear
• Sex before marriage: totally fine — "you want to check the merchandise before purchasing it — if it's not good then it's not sustainable. No returns, no refunds, no exchange"
• High body count: doesn't care personally, thinks the stigma falls more on women than men — "it's just life experience"

Interview 8: Russian-American woman (quarter Ukrainian) ​

• Her American husband couldn't find a nice woman in the US — but didn't have to go abroad because she came to America herself
• Born and raised in Russia, came to the US at 21 with $80 in her pocket
• Worked hard, put herself through school, now has everything she could imagine: "I am living the American dream — I could never achieve what I have today if I had stayed in Russia"
• On the Russia-Ukraine war: deeply emotional — her father is half Ukrainian, so she's a quarter Ukrainian herself
• Calls Putin "evil" and believes the war would end if he were gone
• Says many Russian people (in Russia and abroad) are "very misguided, very ignorant" with animosity toward Ukrainians — "it's literally brother killing brother"
• Loves America and would never go back to Russia
• If she could change one thing about men: "Man up. Men are very soft nowadays — the new generation, the 20s, the young guys. Softies." Blames broken families and lack of father/mother figures
• On equality: "Whole lot more than in other countries" — believes American women who complain about inequality should first visit Russia or India to see how women live there, then come back and talk
• "For some people it's just never enough — this country is beautiful, it's great, they like to whine"
• "If you want to have rights and be equal to men in many aspects of life, you come to United States"

Pea's editorial conclusion ​

• In the previous men's video, she was surprised American men didn't see many problems between the sexes
• The women she interviewed see things quite differently — the majority felt they were "being shortchanged at every turn"
• When pressed on specifics of what more they wanted, she got "very few concrete answers — just that things weren't fair, that more needed to be done, and that somehow men were the entitled ones"
• Imagines this would leave a lot of Western guys "scratching their heads"
• The immigrant women (Russian women specifically) were much quicker to recognize the good things about America and much more appreciative
• Pea's own position as a foreign woman: she agrees with the immigrants — "I seriously don't think a lot of American women know just how good they have it here"
• "It's almost like they've been told that things are so bad that they've started to believe it"
• Hopes this doesn't "spell disaster for the future of American relationships"
• Calls it "a divide that needs to be healed — but how to do that is anyone's guess"

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