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Seems like as safe a place as any to ask this! Many men say they like a strong woman. But, in action, I have seen many slink away after initial attraction. I don't respect game playing, I.e., withholding interest or affection to keep a man hooked. But, honestly, is that what some/many men want? I hate to generalize, but the experience repeats! Is an attractive, confident woman who admits she likes you to easy? or scary?

Lydiaeli 6 Jan 29
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8

I'm going to be single for the rest of my life. LOL

If you want to then that's a good thing...do you want to be single for the rest of your life?

Same, girl.

LOL!!!

@BobMcDowell I'm really okay with being single. I honestly don't foresee my circumstances changing to the point where I'd actually meet anyone.

yep, & me.

Yup, as will I

5

I think it's best to keep it real and let the chips fall where they will. If one ends up alone, living in a dumpy apartment above a laundry mat, talking to two ungrateful cats, and spending too much time online; well so be it!

you can always get a dog

@btroje lol. Yah. I love dogs but too much work.

@Rudy1962 or trade in the cats for some loveydovey cats

@btroje ahhhh. I've grown attached to these entitled kitties

1

How do you mean strong? If someone is intelligent this is an asset. If they are aggressive this means that they are driven and want power, power gets capital and capital can buy things. If a woman is passive aggressive can bee seen a deceitful. There are a lot of factors that come into play it is hard to just say. Some woman carry authority better than others. Just the example of Diane Sawyer she is strong but shows vulnerability. Roseanne Barr just intimidatingly aggressive. Think it just depends how the woman is perceived.

The word is not aggressive but assertive.

4

To be honest if such a women said when liked me. I’d be flattered! 🙂

You must be flattered a lot then, cause you're cute.

1

I hate to be pushy and am cautious of overstepping the line, only ever had 4 actual committed relationships and in each case they were initiated by the woman. Have never thought about it, but I guess that means I am more suited to stronger women and in cases where I have initiated the process they haven't lasted long. However, I have other instances where the women have initiated and it still hasn't gone far. Crazy world, 3 of those 4 women have contacted me with in the past 24 hours, worst is my ex dropped in this morning, 2nd time in 5 years, we don't talk and have been divorced for almost 25 years. Must be this trippy moon that is coming up.

May the trippy moon bring us all healthy, happy and wise lives!

1

At the risk of putting all men in the same category (yes, I know there are exceptions), men tend to be more intrigued by (want) what they can't have, or something they have to work for (chase). It is basic human nature. I'm not saying you should "play games." I'm just putting this out there as something to think about. Love is complicated. People are complicated. Some people make it look easy, but I have never found it to be easy. Not even a little bit.

Thanks for this comment. That's the internal battle I've been fighting inside for... 11 years? I've questioned almost everything I know to question about life and tradition since I left the rules of the church and have been finding my own place in the world. Of course I questioned gender roles, too - in many contexts. For romantic relationships, what I wished to be true has not matched up with the behavior I've seen from good men I care about. Even the enlightened feminists who like me for who I am seem to have a fight or flight mechanism that kicks in at times.

The life lesson that has served me best without being dogmatic is this: suffering comes from resisting life as it is. Radically accept life as it is, and only then do I have the calmness and wisdom to continue to forge my own path.

With great acknowledgement that this is a cis-normative, here goes! If primally the insemenators are wired to enjoy the chase, and the incubators are wired to seek comfort and security, then I can start by accepting that. And seek the enlightened ones who choose to not let those wirings run their choices like excuses.

3

Actually, I find it refreshing to find a confident woman who has no problem telling me she's attracted. Probably because that happens so rarely to me.

Duke Level 8 Jan 29, 2018
1

I can say that personally I prefer women who have a strong sense of self and a high level of confidence. People like that tend to be more interesting to me and challenge my world view. I find engaging on an intellectual level exciting when my partner is capable of making me rethink my position.

6

In my experience, a good match is really rare, so if someone retreats, I assume they just felt it wasn't a match.

skado Level 9 Jan 29, 2018
3

I like confident women. A confident woman can be strong when she needs to be, and soft at other times. Being strong all the time may be an overcompensation. If a man is intimidated by a confident woman, that's his issue, not yours.

So - are you equating strength with confidence? Maybe us dudes can answer better if you define these words a little more.

3

Is this something that happens to you ? And if so, how can you be sure your strengths are what inspires the "slinking" ?

Just because someone admits liking someone else - does not mean things will be reciprocal ...

Not sure where to go with this ...

5

"Scary" works for me. I like smart, I like independent, and I like self-confident. But it's tricky. The short-coming is mine, and it's real.

2

She is being just as "easy" as any man who is "easy...no big deal today. You did mean "too easy" didn't you?

3

You may realize that we are all on a sliding gender scale-even the most femme women are only about 80% female traits, according to some studies I've read.

As the sliding marker moves from femme female toward the center of the gender chart-halfway between femme girl and macho male, the fewer female instincts will activate.

In my case, I lack the female brain chip to manage men, the one my cis hetero female friends and relatives take for granted. In their cases, they are picky about which man they choose out of the eager line up of suitors and would never think of chasing after men. Men chase after them, as most cis males are wired (as the predator) to do and all women have to do is to pick out the best ones.

In my case, I have a sort of "whatever, bro" male vibe, the way men let their male friends borrow and trash their cars, spill beer everywhere, and borrow money again without paying it back. But the females I know who have active female instincts won't even date men unless they do everything right..any disrespect, and their stuff gets tossed into the yard and the locks changed.

In my case, I lack the female outrage when a guy messes up..in fact, I often don't even notice, and if I do, I can't work up any rage, and if I do yell at him, that's also a male move that doesn't work.

Men, and male-ish females, yell at each other when offended, but if a man messes up, typical women withdraw. Suddenly, they're "too busy" and have "other plans" and disappear from the startled guy's life. The men have no choice..do whatever she wants, or find someone else.

Lucky for men, the male-ish females chase men and put up with anything, making excuses for the bad behavior of their men, the way men routinely do with their girlfriends.

Knowing this doesn't help, though. My instincts to react as a male are strong, but if I follow the advice in the book, "The Rules" which shows women like me how to act like a typical cis female, which attracts men, it works...I was inundated with marriage proposals. However, unlike most females who date, I had no interest in marriage..just in having a pal for ballroom dancing, and hiking.

3

I'd say neither easy nor scary. Acting intentionally is attractive to me.

1

Idk. In my case I'm convinced I'm either way uglier than I think I am or possibly smell bad. All my guy friends are always telling me how great I am yet the dates do not line up @ my door.

6

A strong woman who admits that she likes you is interesting.

4

some of us fellers, right or wrong, better or worse, truth or not, like to believe that somehow we're in charge. not necessarily like the boss but like the go to, the fixer, the planner, the conductor, but some of us are just too used to sitting in the drivers seat. Steering wheel, throttle, and brakes are under our control. Control of the radio, it's kind of a grey area. personally I find that kind of silly. I wonder if it's not just that 200000 years of evolution hasn't caught up to the last 100 years of women's rights.

2

Not me.... my wife is tough and had to be that way while working and taking care of a child. I prefer a lady that's seen hard times and worked through them. It's tough out there .women don't get a break. I don't have to be a women to know how tough it is for them. I'm lucky.

0

I need honesty even if it's just for a fuck

0

I certainly don't like the game playing. I wonder if that's really what you're experiencing. Perhaps you're "strong" to the point of seeming dominating? I think lots of guys would be put-off by that.

1

Maybe it is where you are from...I don't know too many 'weak' women...playing games leads to a bad relationship foundation, I think...all the women I know are pretty damn strong...I realize as I am typing this all I can say is this: be glad they slink away, because who needs that type of person in your life, anyway.

1

To me there is a difference between 'strong' and 'assertive'. Assertive should be the ability to say and do what you want without being aggressive. I am very attracted to an assertive, open woman. That way I don't have to play guessing games plus it makes it easier for each of us to do our own thing. My late partner was very assertive in a loving way and I could never go back to anything else.

My uncle was a German who fought as a tank commander in Russia for 4 years (including the battle of Stalingrad). He was captured and spent 5 years in a Russian gulag. Needless to say he was tough. He met my aunt when they were in their 50's. He said he wanted a strong woman and had a lot of books with strong women as central figures. They fought like cats and dogs for 34 years. When she died he cried like a baby. I asked him why because she treated him like dirt. He said he knew but he missed her!!

1

Wow - still new here, so really impressed by the quality and thoughtfulness of the responses and questions back.

Yes, I am asking out of my own experience. And, yes, the evidence is anecdotal. (Well, I mean, relationship coaches selling webinars may say there is a science to 'where women go wrong', but...) yes, I realize it's a binary way to frame the question, which is not usually my style. And yet, honestly, I'm tiring of opening up to love only to lose it and doing so many things alone. So, like everything else, I am willing to question my assumptions about romantic relationships.

"Strong" could mean several different things: assertive, aggressive, self-sufficient, independent, etc. It could also mask my own unattractive behavior: fear leading to a need for affirmation of attention, selfishness, testing love, etc.

I also know 'love lost' has been dodged bullets a few times.

I know myself better the more time I spend on this earth. As a friend says "this may be what it feels like to be alive."

2

I'm new here, but I've definitely had this experience many times, and have also had the experience of men becoming insecure and controlling (or at least attempting to be controlling) in the face of my confidence and independence. It's incredibly frustrating.

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