| I've got a little bit to say regarding the topic of cheating. It is something that is near and dear to my heart as I am just a couple of years out of a very long term relationship where I was systematically cheated on over an extended period of time by a very deceitful woman whom I loved, trust, and fathered children with.
--------------------
For the purpose of this post I am going to describe things from a perspective of PUA mentality versus AFC mentality.
And, for the purpose of this post I am going to define what these terms, PUA mentality and AFC mentality, mean (at least to me in the context of cheating):
PUA mentality: Controlling the situation. I think we can all agree that "controlling the situation" is PUA-like behavior.
AFC mentality: Being controlled by the situation. I think we also agree that "being controlled" is AFC-like behavior.
The underlying question (or theme) that I will refer back to several times throughout this post is this: "Is it truly PUA-like behavior to know that something inappropriate has transpired and yet ignore it or accept it?"
--------------------
Hypothetical situation: A guy and a girl are in a mutually agreed upon exclusive-monogamous relationship. The guy senses that something is wrong, but he doesn't know what. All humans have instincts and they are there for a very good reason, our very survival. Our instincts have been honed over thousands upon thousands of generations by our forefathers with each decision they made that led to their "survival". So, it is incredibly (INCREDIBLY) foolish to ignore our instincts. So following his instincts, the guy does a little research (looks in his girlfriend's phone, or looks in his girlfriend's laptop, etc) and BINGO! He hits paydirt! There it is, his girlfriend has initiated contact with an ex-boyfriend or ex-fuckbuddy and she has begun to act differently.
--------------------
Next, comes the question: Does the guy find this to be acceptable or unacceptable behavior? I submit that there is not one "right" or "wrong" answer to this question. Each individual has varying levels of what they will or won't tolerate, in relationships or just in general.
* I am going to refer, again, to PUA-like and AFC-like behaviors for just a moment here. The common thought that I hear expressed a lot is that it is PUA-like behavior to "not let things bother you" or to "be essentially unfazed" by what happens around you. I don't necessarily disagree with this mindframe, however, I tend to think that it needs to be put into context. Taken to extremes, this type of permissive (almost aloof) demeanor can lead to literally being walked all over while maintaining delusions of grandeur as some sort of machiavellian genius. Again, context is key. We expect different things in different situations in life. Do we expect the same level of commitment from someone we are casually dating, as opposed to someone we are exclusively dating, as opposed to someone we are engaged/married to? Of course not. With each escalation of "closeness" in a relationship come spoken (and oftentimes, unspoken) new levels of commitment to one another. Context. Whereas it may be okay to look the other way and ignore the fact that someone we are casually dating is talking to other guys, it would however be potentially foolish to ignore the same behavior from a spouse or even an exclusive-monogamous significant other. PUA is good. But all things in life need context. It's like chocolate. It's good for you if it's the proper type, in the proper amounts, and at the proper times.
So, again, the question I referenced above: Does this guy find this to be acceptable or unacceptable behavior? (I disagree that these sorts of things should be brushed off in an attempt to "not let things bother you" and "be essentially unfazed" in an attempt to maintain a PUA-like frame in the situation. I'll explain why I think this is actually strongly AFC-like behavior in the coming paragraphs.
--------------------
Let's talk about cheating: We all agree that sexual intercourse and any sort of sexual activity undertaken by someone outside of his or her exclusive-monogamous relationship is cheating (with the exception of swingers, etc). But just as with women and their orgasms, and the fact that 90% of getting them there is mental/emotional, the same holds true for cheating. 90% of cheating for a woman is mental/emotional and therefore those things such as "seeking out an ex-boyfriend or ex-fuckbuddy" and "having private/intimate conversations with him" as well as "meeting up or spending a lot of time talking" are actually not inoccuous behaviors, they are in fact, the beginning steps of the cheating process. Make no mistake, from the moment your girlfriend looks up an old flame on facebook and sends him a friend request saying "Hey, I was just thinking about you and wondered how you were doing" she has begun the process of cheating on you. How far she will go with this process is anyone's guess, but, the process HAS begun.
Why do women cheat? For attention/affection/excitement. Everyone hear will agree that women cheat mainly because they want the attention, affection, and excitement.
--------------------
There are two ways for a woman who feels that she is being emotionally neglected to react (ie: not getting enough attention, affection, and excitement):
1. Make her true feelings known (or shown) to her partner and ask for (and work toward) change, and not cheat.
2. Not make her true feelings known (or shown) to her partner, and by a lying, cheating slut.
In its simplest terms, this is really what it comes down to.
Now, I am familiar with the argument that if your are playing your cards right and doing your job that your woman will not be unsatisfied with you and therefore not prone to cheat. However, whether or not one you play your cards right, so to speak, it does not remove the fact that your woman is either a cheater or not a cheater in response.
--------------------
There are personality quirks and their are character flaws. Personality quirks are things such as annoying shit tests, or aggravating habits, or exhausting neediness, etc. However, character flaws are things such as dishonesty and infidelity. If your girlfriend has begun to cheat on you and lie to you (whether or not she has had sex with the guy) is it really PUA-like behavior to maintain an aloofness to her conduct in an endeavor "control the frame"? How PUA is it to try to hold onto a woman with a proclivity toward cheating when there are almost 3.5 billion more of them out there, and many of those women would choose option #1 from above (honesty and fidelity) over option #2 (dishonesty and infidelity).
Like stated above, I have found great wisdom in the PUA community, but the one common theme that I've seen expressed time and time again is that the most important thing in the world is to "act aloof" and "be unfazed" by what your woman does. I get it, I do. And I don't necessarily disagree with this statement or point-of-view, however CONTEXT is crucial. It is one thing to ignore shit tests from a girl we are dating, and it is entirely another thing to ignore dishonesty/infidelity from someone we are in an exclusively monogamous relationship with.
--------------------
Personally, I won't tolerate any "dabbling" in cheating from a woman that has agreed to a monogamous relationship with me. And I don't think that this collides with PUA-like mentality unless you act like a needy douchebag once you realize you are being gamed by a girl. Honestly, I think that having strongly held core beliefs about what you will and won't tolerate from a partner is very strong PUA behavior because it is being genuinely "alpha" and not "machiavallian".
In closing, I am all for seeing things from a PUA mentality, but at some point in life, with big decisions, you've got to put aside "being a PUA" or "keeping frame control" and actually make decisions based on your deeply held core moral/ethical beliefs.
It is my deeply held moral/ethical belief that if a woman I am exclusive with is dabbling in infidelity and looking for get other penises in her vagina, that I am not going to look the other way and pretend it isn't happening and jedi mind trick myself into thinking that I don't care. No, instead, I am going to act swiftly to take the power back and make a decision to either be okay with it or to not be okay with it.
That IS true alpha behavior. Going for what you want, knowing what you will accept, and not playing games.
However, ignoring your god-given instincts, acting aloof as to transgressions, and pretending to be unfazed by things that genuinely bother you IS ACTUALLY A FORM OF ALLOWING YOURSELF TO BE CONTROLLED BY THE SITUATION! OR......STRONGLY AFC BEHAVIOR.
|