Episode Summary: Value, Babies & Double Standards: Let’s Really Talk About It

Podcast: The Latest with Loren LoRosa
Date: February 23, 2026
Host: Lauren LaRosa (The Black Effect Podcast Network and iHeartPodcasts)

Overview of the Main Theme

This episode delves into the charged and widespread conversation about the "value" of women, particularly in the context of motherhood and dating, and unpacks societal double standards that exist around gender, children, and relationships. Jumping off recent comments made by NFL star Cam Newton about women’s value “declining” with more children, Lauren examines how these views surface in pop culture, explores emotional labor and worth from a woman’s perspective, and discusses what truly contributes to a person’s value in relationships. The episode is peppered with personal anecdotes, parts of Cam Newton’s interview, and a candid, impassioned analysis that challenges conventional narratives.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Lauren’s Check-In: On the Road with Femit Forward (03:00–08:50)

• Lauren records from Miami, preparing for a cruise with Fem It Forward, a movement focused on uplifting women in entertainment.
  • Background on Heather Lowry, creator of Fem It Forward: “She’s always been a person that is, first of all, just. Her foundation is really solid...she’s like a hug in real life. Like, everything about her feels like a hug.” (05:30)
  • Personal reflection on women in entertainment who are supportive and genuine, “...People talk a lot about how this industry is so fake and phony, but you really can run across good people in the process of being a good person as well too. And Heather is one of those people.” (07:10)
  • Lauren promises behind-the-scenes content from the cruise with Monica, SWV, and Keyshia Cole.

2. Cam Newton’s Controversial Comments: Women, Value, and Babies (10:34–12:23)

[Segment start: 10:34]

• Context: Cam Newton’s comments from an interview (“Funky Friday” podcast) are played:

  • “Women’s value get lower the more children that they have...the guy that you’re dating or will date, if he ain’t willing to love on these five children that you have, that ain’t the guy for you.” (11:25 - Cam Newton)
  • Cam on his own confidence: “I don’t feel like she gonna get better than me. That’s just my confidence.” (12:17 - Cam Newton)

• Lauren’s Take:

  • Recognizes the painful “hard truths” women face once they become mothers and are no longer with their child’s father: “When you have kids with someone and then you decide to no longer be with that person, your experience in the world, your experience dating...is very different than a man with kids.” (12:23 - Lauren LaRosa)
  • Casts the conversation in terms of a broader societal double standard: “Y’all look at single women with kids way differently than y’all look at a single man with kids...” (13:58)
  • Lauren reflects, “My natural conversation has never went to the value of that man ever. But with women, it does.” (16:42)

Memorable Moment:

“It just is annoying to hear it. But the reason why I was saying that it’s unfair in the beginning of this podcast is because I think men never take into account all the things that women have to do for us to even be valued in the first place, especially black women.” (18:19 - Lauren LaRosa)

3. Double Standards and How Women’s “Value” Is Measured (14:20–27:15)

• Lauren examines societal expectations and “boxes” women get put into based on career, family choices, and single parenthood.

  • “You can’t be too much of the ‘I got it all figured out...’ and you can’t be too much of the ‘I need you’...because now you gotta be scared of how much you’ll be controlled because of that.” (20:36)
  • The difficulty of finding men who treat women as full equals, particularly after divorce or long-term relationships fail.

• Expansion on age and fertility double standards:

  • “The older men get, it’s like, oh my God, he got himself together. He’s seasoned...Clifton Powell say he just learned how to love somebody at 70 years old.” (22:00)
  • “A woman at 65, 50 years old that is single and still trying to figure it out, it’s like, what was wrong with her...?” (22:50)
  • Societal anxieties about women “ending up alone” don’t apply to men in the same way.

Notable Quote:

“Women are birthing human beings...and we out here at the top of our lungs saying, because you made it through childbirth and you brought this, this beautiful baby into the world, your value has now decreased. That is insane to me.” (24:10 - Lauren LaRosa)

4. Baggage, Parenting, and Relationship Realities (27:35–30:08)

• Lauren on what people bring into relationships, regardless of gender:
  • “Everybody comes with baggage. You just pick and choose whose shit you want to deal with...If a woman has children and she is handling her business...it would be so nice to not be devalued.” (28:15)

5. Men and Unconditional Love: More from Cam Newton (30:08–32:00)

[Segment start: 30:08]

• Clip from Cam Newton:

  • “There’s no such thing as unconditional love. You only get that from very few people on this earth. One of those is your parents...And then that’s your children...But with your children, they still gonna choose you.” (30:08–31:30 – Cam Newton)

• Lauren’s Reflection:

  • Some pushback: “I do think it’s a little gaslight because Cam Newton is in a relationship with a woman who has just given him two babies...she still ride or die for that man. She has to love him down and very unconditionally.” (32:00)
  • Describes her own efforts to show love and affirmation to the men in her life, recounts a heartbreakingly honest conversation with her brother about feeling valued.
  • “Men are not these, like, blank canvases that don’t want to be filled up and filled with color. Like, they are just as colorful, they’re just as vibrant, they’re just as loving. It’s just sometimes they come with this blank canvas, hard exterior because of what they’ve walked through...” (33:50)

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Women and Motherhood:

  “We get devalued because we had a baby.” (23:50 - Lauren LaRosa)

• On Men’s Expectations:

  “Men just don’t wanna take care of nobody kids. And I think people left that part out of what Cam Newton was saying...” (17:45 - Lauren LaRosa)

• On Fairness and Changing the Conversation:

  “I’ve had to change the conversation. And that’s what I mean by fairness...let’s have a full conversation about, like, how we even ended up to the point where, like, devaluing women because of babies, that they have a gift to the world.” (23:00)

• On Emotional Support:

  “I just always want him [my brother] to feel like, you got somebody...no matter what you do, have done, where you go...will always be right there with you. And it’s us, it’s your family, it’s me, it’s your sister.” (34:42)

Timeline & Timestamps

• [03:00–08:50] Lauren’s check-in: Miami, Fem It Forward, tribute to Heather Lowry
• [10:34–12:23] Cam Newton’s comments on women’s value and children, initial analysis
• [14:20–27:15] Deep dive into double standards, value, career/motherhood choices, stigma for single mothers, age/fertility conversations, men as “seasoned” versus women “left behind”
• [27:35–30:08] Baggage and relationship realities, standards for dating parents
• [30:08–32:00] Cam Newton on unconditional love, Lauren’s reflection on men’s emotional realities and family support
• [34:00–37:23] Closing reflections, gratitude toward listeners, preview of potential cruise content

Tone & Style

Lauren maintains a conversational, honest, and empathetic tone—often mixing personal stories and vulnerability with cultural critique. She’s both passionate and self-aware, giving context behind her opinions and inviting listeners into her thought process.

Key Takeaways

• Society’s perception of women’s value is still heavily influenced by motherhood status, age, and relationship history, often to their detriment, while men are not held to equal standards.
• Many of the judgments placed on women—especially regarding “baggage”—overlook the strength and reality of what women handle day-to-day.
• The emotional realities for Black men are frequently ignored, with love and affirmation in their lives mainly coming from family, especially children.
• Lauren calls for deeper conversations about fairness and respect when discussing relationships, value, and the realities of modern dating and family—pointing out that everyone brings “baggage,” and we should be conscious and kind in the standards we set for each other.

“Thank y’ all for tuning in this episode. I tell y’all every episode: y’all could be anywhere with anybody talking about all of these things, but y’all choose to be right here with me, and I appreciate y’all for that.” (36:45 - Lauren LaRosa)