Illustration of an uneven balance scale with a blue heart and a pink heart

The “Body Count of 800” Cartoon Is a Joke. The Double Standard Behind It Isn’t.

by Life Coaching Today Network | Nov 9, 2026

By Maxx Angenetta Jones (Just Ask Maxx), Founder, Life Coaching Today

Key Points

A cartoon making the rounds shows a man with a “body count of 800” turning his nose up at a woman for her past.
It is funny because it is familiar. Men’s numbers get bragged about. Women’s numbers get used against them.
A number tells you very little about someone’s character, loyalty or readiness for love.

The cartoon says everything in one picture. He’s had 800 partners and wears it like a medal. She has had a few, and suddenly she is “used.” People shared it with laughing emojis, but under the laughs I saw a lot of women who have been on the receiving end of that exact conversation.

How the Double Standard Works

For generations, men were told that more partners made them more of a man. Women were told that more partners made them less of a woman. Same act, two different scorecards. The body count conversation online keeps that old rule alive with new words.

And honestly? A lot of the men loudest about a woman’s number are not asking because they care about her heart. They are asking because they are insecure about how they compare. That is something to work on, not something to put on her.

Can You Have Standards? Yes.

I want to be clear. You are allowed to want a partner whose values about sex line up with yours. If faith or personal conviction matters to you, that is real and worth talking about. But if you have a standard, it has to be one you live by too. You cannot ask for something you won’t give.

The Coaching Moment: Better Questions Than “What’s Your Number?”

A number doesn’t tell you whether someone will be faithful, kind or ready. These questions do a much better job:

“What did your last relationship teach you?”
“How do you handle it when you’re hurt?”
“What does faithfulness mean to you?”
“What are you looking for right now, and why?”
“Is there anything from your past I need to know for our future?” (Sexual health, children, unfinished business. Those are fair.)

For women: you do not owe anyone a number to prove your worth. If someone is grilling you about your past while protecting his own, notice that. It is a red flag, and it usually shows up early.

For men: if her past bothers you, be honest about why. Is it your values, or your ego? Only one of those is her problem to consider.

My rule hasn’t changed: friendship first, heart before intimacy, and judge people by how they treat you, not by a number. If you want help sorting out your own standards, book a free discovery call. And for more on the tactics the manosphere uses to make women feel small, pick up Red Flags.