Whew, time for me to weigh in. First, my response to things Bonita said -- after all, neither men nor women all think alike. Specifically, I agree with you on the "smile!" urging; if I'm in a bad mood, I'll smile just to get the guy to piss off. Any cute back-rubbing, etc. at that point just creates anger, because the guy has shown that 1) he doesn't believe she has a good reason to be upset, belittling her feelings; and 2) he doesn't care if she's not in the mood to be flirty. Not only that, but it comes off as patronizing.
Yes, attractive women are also very self-conscious. Usually in a good way (the I'm-the-bestest sort of feeling), but at the same time, once you've got a reputation, you feel like you have to work to maintain it. Sinn seems to be pretty right-on with most of what he says.
Similarly, I agree wholeheartedly that attractive women can be rotten at social interactions. That was me, and I'm guessing that you (Bonita) also had some of that going on... hence, the draw of PU. Personally, I've been using it more for social capital than anything, but there's also an element of preparing for when I'm single again.
Still, I have to disagree with your first couple of statements about whistling and such. The first couple of times, it's cute and strokes the girl's ego. The next couple of times, it's annoying. After that, it makes her feel like everyone's staring at her -- and not in an "I'm the queen of the world" sort of way. Instead, it's the "everyone's scrutinizing me" way. It goes without saying that no one should ever continue to solicit attention from a woman on the street without overt positive feedback.
Finally, responding to some comments from Rye (especially about the "slut" image)...
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Sadly Bonita, almost all the the things that you have stated "society" thinks girls shouldn't do, is bullshit. That's purely what women perceive and you being a woman, fall into that catagory. Heck half of those myths are merely perpetuated because women buy into them themselves and aren't "man enough" to do what they want. Hell us guys would appreciate it if women did what they wanted and approached who they wanted, we have absolutely nothing at all against that. If guys want it and women want it, then who is this "society" we keep talking about? It's merely people fooling themselves into accepting limiting beliefs that they expect other people to hold. Free your mind and just say "fuck it!".
Some of the complaints I hear most often from men, are that women don't approach men and that women won't sleep with guys they like, just because they are afraid of looking like sluts. We aren't worried about you looking like sluts, hell we love sluts! Any secure man won't even label a girl that sleeps with guys she likes as a slut! We'll say she's empowered!
For the most convincing rebuttal to this, I'd suggest that you visit Bonita's thread about tips for a female pua. Wonder who this "society" is? Have a look at what your fellow male puas say. Direct approaches are "intimidating"; several guys say that "slutty" is the wrong approach, especially if the woman wants to receive any respect. I find this ironic, in a community where guys lament the last-minute resistance (hell, it has its own trendy acronym) that is attributed to the perceived "slut" image. If it works against them, why do guys continue to use this term?
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It's also a crock of shit that women are expected to be happy and please the people around them. I'm sorry, but c'mon, that's expected of everyone! I'm constantly happy and in a positive mood, but when I mention that a teacher is pissing me off cause of the way she runs the class, people start riding me for always being negative. Men are expected to be in a good mood just as much as women, lest we infect others with our poor tempers. We're supposed to be fixing problems and taking care of people cause we're the protectors. You're buying into the whole battle of the sexes mentality too much darlin, you gotta just let it go and realise we're all the same.
On the other hand, guys can get the "bad boy" image working for them a lot more easily than women do. We're much more frequently expected to be cute, and, combining a couple of comments in this thread, we're judged much more on our looks, which are generally held to be better when we give that brilliant smile. And you should know better than most that we're not all judged the same way: isn't that the basis of this entire community? (I.e., the concept that women can get laid by going out half-naked, while guys resort to pua tactics.)
You've got a lot of good sense, Rye... but there are indeed plenty of guys who are put off by the direct approach, and think that women who come on to them aren't also seeking respect.
Excellent, excellent thread. Bonita, we've got some talkin' to do.