Despite the ambitious approach to life of overachieving high school graduate Brandy Clark, there is one subject in which she feels terribly behind her peers: sex. Maggie Carey’s new comedy The To Do List follows Brandy(Aubrey Plaza) as she attempts to experience a self-created list of sexual acts before she begins college in the fall.

While The To Do List has been celebrated for its depiction of a woman’s sexual agency, it is hard to get the sense that Brandy made her decision autonomously; her initial decision to pursue the project occurs during a teasing conversation with her older and wilder sister. Deciding to lose one’s virginity is “a deeply personal choice for everyone,” says Evelyn O’Rourke, Information Coordinator and fourth-year volunteer at U of T’s Sexual Education Centre (SEC). “[It’s the right time] when you feel like you won’t regret it … you need to feel like you’re not being pressured by family, or by any outside source.”

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Instead of taking it slow, Brandy jumps right into her sexual escapades with other people. O’Rourke feels that Brandy could have made a better first-step choice. “I would suggest that before anyone consider losing their virginity, they get well acquainted with their own body,” she says.

Brandy’s friends react with disgust when faced with the topic of masturbation, although knowing one’s body and being comfortable with it are actually important tools in effectively communicating with partners. “We have this whole concept that it’s inappropriate for a woman to own her own orgasm,” says O’Rourke. Brandy has the right idea when she defends the practice to her friends: “Ladies, we must take charge of our own sexual gratification!”

As the film goes on, Brandy’s motivations align more and more with pursuing her own sexual pleasure. She has an excellent role model in her mother — the one character who seems to get everything right with regards to sexual health. “I feel that as a parent, you have a responsibility to talk about sex with your children in an open way,” says O’Rourke. Brandy’s mother does exactly that, acting as a teacher — showing Brandy the difference between circumcised and uncircumcised penises — and providing Brandy with supplies, such as in a pivotal scene where she gifts her daughter lubricant.

Nevertheless, there is a glaring area that Brandy fails to study up on: safe sex. “The first thing I would say is, go get checked,” says O’Rourke. “Make sure you’re healthy, which is something you should make a regular habit. Make sure to pick up barrier methods, they are easy to learn how to use… I would definitely suggest talking about hormonal methods with a physician if there is a risk of pregnancy… Until you take these steps, you’re not ready to be sexually active.”

That she downs alcohol in preparation for sex is a red flag that indicates that Brandy may have jumped into her sexual experience too soon. “That tells me that she’s not actually ready to do it,” says O’Rourke. “If you have to chug a beer to be comfortable to actually go and do something, it means part of you doesn’t want to do it, and you are trying to silence that voice that is telling you ‘don’t do this!’”

Ultimately, Brandy learns through her mistakes that sex is something incredibly personal that can matter as much or as little as you want it to. The more-educated Brandy at the end of the movie would probably agree with O’Rourke’s sentiment: “Do it if it’s something that you would do just for yourself.”

Visit SEC at 21 Sussex Avenue, Unit 612, to ask questions, and obtain free safe sex supplies and educational resources.