First-up, I'm not going to respond to ALL of the comments. Don't think that means I'm ignoring them. Some comments are inaccurate, others are spot on but I need to reflection further on them. Others are yes, spot on.
LEADING
From r.c
> You're expected to lead, not to oppress.
Yes, this makes perfect sense.
If I understand you correctly, it means: make suggestions... take initiative... have a plan... have a world-view/'frame' but show respect feelings and adapt towards her best interests.
Yes, I totally agree about boundaries - they are absolutely critical. And once bad habits have formed around weak/fuzzy boundaries it can indeed become a "living hell" of perpetual conflict that can be hard to transform.
DOMINATING
I do have a problem with the word "domination" as it depends EXACTLY what is meant by that.
If it means "rule" and "control" that makes me uneasy. You see, one of the most toxic relationships I know is between to people I know extremely well.
The man demonstrates a large number of features of a narcissist. It's complicated. She his wife is a "willing" victim and exhibits many of the symptoms of being a co-dependant.
What do I mean by narcissistic?
In all social situations he is very loud and controlling of conversation. His presence is very full-on. The conversation would be very different without him. Sometimes, particularly in a larger group, he will go into 'periscope'/people-watching mode where he studies everyone with great intensity, almost as if studying creatures in a laboratory.
But he is off-the-scale charming and has a huge gift of making people feel "special and wanted" and can be extremely warm - but only when it suits him. He can switch that on and off like a lamp. He can be extremely moody and bad tempered if things don't go his way. He is highly articulate and makes a ferocious and intimidating adversary. He has a sense of 'grandiosity' and not only plays by his own rules but enjoys violating rules of society. He likes to stay aloof and as a matter of principle never tells anyone what he does for a living. He will share small fragments of his inner life with a widely distributed number of people (mostly girls). He likes to stay mysterious and even his closer male friends never quite know what's going on in his life.
He loves dressing up with outlandish attention-seeking clothing, that are so extreme that they can look extremely camp - but that just helps him play mind games including making it easier to open conversations with women.
I have known him for a long, long time. He is a serial seducer of women, probably the most effective taht I have ever met. However because they are married and his main love is his wife, he choses to never, ever, EVER to french kiss nor have penetrative sex with any of them. (Yes, it sounds unbelievable but I happen to know this for a genuine fact).
So what he does is to go to endless parties, festivals etc etc where he *mentally* seduces other women. He is about 55 and these women are off-the-scale, good-looking often about half his age. He particularly loves anyone who looks extremely 'cool'. It's a buzz for him. I guess he is kind of addicted to the chase, the closeness, the validation, the rush and I don't think he could stop even if he wanted to. But he doesn't want to! "What are we but the sum of all our connections?" he said to me recently. And BOY does he have a large number of connections!
Interestingly good and early in the conversation, he tells the super-hot young women that he is mentally seducing that he is happily married. And most of them of course think he's not serious about the wife and that a sexual relationship is on offer. Except that it isn't.
He then - in order to feel less guilty - also tells his wife (almost) everything. He claims that he has a very "special" relationship with his wife and that she knows that she can trust him. And for now at least she probably can. But as you can imagine, this 50 year old woman feels somewhat insecure in their relationship.
Yes, it's her free choice to stay with him (and their 2 children) but the degree of "domination" seem pretty unhealthy to me. I mean he holds all the power.
And on her part, because she is being so dominated, at a deeper fundamental level, she doesn't really know who she is.
Interestingly part of the way he "dominates" his wife is with his "frame". His personality totally overwhelms her personality - sometimes just with raw enthusiasm. She is totally besotted with him. She confessed to waiting for him to come home "to see what mood WE are in".
He is a broadly very good natured guy. His conscious motives are all for the best. If some of the women he (mentally) seduce fall in love with him and want more, well that's just a bit of collateral damage that he obviously tries to avoid.
He is totally addicted to the hunt. He is addicted to doing something that makes his wife deeply insecure. Unsurprisingly she hates going to parties with him and mostly refuses to do so. She has told me that she knows if she tried to stop him then she would lose him.
WHY AM I SAYING ALL THIS?
I know this site is devoted to picking up/having sex with women as effectively and efficiently as possible. And no doubt many of you guys here are exceeding good at getting to have sex with vast numbers of women as a result. Some of you will rush to question my motives and crush my logic and question my "masculinity" or whatever else.
But my motives are sincere. I feel unclear about a lot of the issues raised.
Yes surely it's good for a man to be 'masculine' but what does 'masculinity' really mean? What different flavours are there? And are some of those flavours that are in fact deeply toxic.
What about the OP?
Yes, I know I need to change my 'game' and raise my game. And yes, I know I have a lot to learn/think about. But I need to get clear on
exactly where all this is heading!
Please be aware though that I have probably been under-playing my hand somewhat. In many ways my game is "superb" according so some close friends I've been sharing some of this stuff with. It's just that there are gaps that I do need to address...
Anyhow please can we focus on
the issues raised, rather than trying to beat me up.
'Type A' or 'Type B'?
I'll share one more thing with you. An exceedingly good-looking woman told me this story. She was brought up with loads of macho, risk-taking, maintain climbing, hearty, loud, high-achieving, larger than life, leading not following, competitive (Type A) 'masculine' men. She a charming, warm, sensitive, kind but fairly feisty woman, who had been an olympic athlete. She cute and with ample breasts and a figure to die for. At the time she also had vast numbers of guys including many 'high status' guys chasing her.
But who did she go for? She told me that the defining moment was when a large group of them were all on a big walk in the mountains. They came to a small river and all the men just charged straight through. However this one particular guy - who knew his way around the mountains - stopped and took his boots and socks off before crossing. He said afterwards that his rationale was "There is no point in getting my feet wet all day - that's just plain stupid". Her reading was: Wow here is a different kind of masculinity. The type that isn't always showing off, that isn't always competing and having to keep proving and reproving their masculinity. She fell for the guy on the spot.
Anyhow I tell that story to broaden the over-simplistic assumption that hot girls always go for overtly dominant, competitive Type A, "alpha male" men.
Right, times up.
I need to get on with my life and go chase some skirt
