Sex is a weapon. Watching the first episode of Being Mary Jane, you can’t help but agree that those moments of physical euphoria give our brains time to discern through the messy state our hearts have found themselves in. Those moments of want, desire and lust are enough to blind even the strongest woman of her worth because at that moment that man is yours. In the last 10 minutes of the episode, trapped in a gym shower stall you can’t help but think that despite all of Mary Jane’s accomplishments and seemingly tough shell she is just as much human and vulnerable as anyone else.

In the panel discussion preceding the previewed screening of the inaugural episode, Demetria Lucas, Dr. Rachel Ross, Being Mary Jane co-star Robinne Lee and Jacque Reid gave a candid discussion on love, relationships and sex. Inviting us in on a real girlfriend chit chat, Dr. Rachel touched on the medical consequences of situationships, man-sharing and shocking general statistics concerning African American women and HIV status.

While sitting in on the panel Demetria said, “Mary Jane is giving a voice to single black women.” Much of the discussion centered around the small pool of eligible bachelors for black women who statistically are less likely to date outside their race. We are able to see through Mary Jane her shrinking dating pool and frustrating ex-boyfriend lands her in a situation with a married man she know she shouldn’t be in. 

There is something about the color white in these new dramas featuring strong women. Just like Olivia Pope’s infamous, fabulous white coats, we see that Mary Jane has a stark white house and in her opening scene saving her friend she is dressed in a snug white dress. As much as white seems symbolic for someone angelic, it is starting to ring off as a complicated woman alert. The beauty of Gabrielle Union’s character is that she is more relatable to the modern day career woman who is performing the balancing act of career, love life and family.

It may seem that both Scandal and Being Mary Jane are glorifying affairs but Robinne feels that the struggles seen within the women in their various situationships is more to prove that you “don’t compare your inside to someone else’s outside, everything is not as it seems.” These women do not have it all together.

Stay tuned for more drama and racy scenes, Being Mary Jane airs every Tuesday on BET.