I find it amusing that you think being pestered by every man on the planet is something desirable when in fact it becomes a huge pain in the ass. Rather than thinking of it as having power, think of it as having a bull's eye on your back.

... yes, evil, but it is power in a very real sense. Teenage manipulations are young women just learning of their power and practicing for the long life ahead. A mature woman is aware of this power and what it can get her. We each have to decide when and how this may become manipulation that can be harmful to all parties to a relationship. In addition to the bullseye, Cat talks about, it is a huge responsibility. Men are so easily manipulated we must be very careful of signals being sent and what our desired ends are. Manipulative women piss me off. The men who fall for it and accept being manipulated piss me off as well.

Elizabeth Taylor was once quoted as saying she could not wait for the beauty to go. She was simply expressing that she wanted to be free from being that bullseye and the responsibility to not use it to do harm.

But even when blameless, men blame women as if we can turn THEIR emotions on and off. Just another thing that men will not accept responsibility for - their own lusts.

"You made me want you."

Bullshit!

Te ONLY power anyone has is what the other chooses to give them.

I find the concept of the bulls eye interesting. I well understand that most attractive women can have there pick of men physically. However thats not generally what most women are seeking. Most women I have met are generally seeking a deeper commitment. I understand why attention from men would be anoying sometimes. However if a man never approached a particular women she would feel unappreaciated. Besides I have met very few women who would ever approach a man. Even if they where really attracted to him in much more than a physical sense. I also wonder how many women were not intially receptive to there husbands.

theus - you haven't considered being hit upon by every horrible woman either now have you? CONSTANTLY.

being hit on by every horrible woman ia chore my husband would welcome.

I have to agree with the Cat on this one. Don't put this all on women. The female of the species is not the only entity with power or responsibility here. It takes two to tango. Men have just as much capacity to manipulate as women do. And it's just as wrong.

.... until he experienced it, smooth! It can become a real drag and cause guarded relationships with men. Then we are perceived as aloof or unapproachable. I have found one good response to really pushy mashers: "Thanks, but my girlfriend is waiting."

Interesting how EvilEvilKitten has hit at the core of most fundamental religionists: We women are the cause of men's lust and we are the ones who are stoned for adultery or banished from the sect for "promiscuity." I address no one religion but, rather, the fundamentalist elements of ALL religions.

Be careful. theus, or overgeneralizing. I have a phone list for booty calls and know not a few other women who have the same, such as my girlfriend.

Agreed. Likewise, I find it ironic that ED meds are often covered by insurance, but BC is often NOT covered. But women are the root of all sexual evil. Okay.

EEK,
I have many attractive male friends who were constantly approached by women. I have never heard any of them complain about these advances. When the women were less than desireable these guys usually took the approach as a complement. However, none of them are doctors, lawyers, or musicans. Im sure they may have a similar problem if they were considered to be more financially secure. Women and men seek different attributes within each other. If you are an extremely attrative woman you are going to be far more desirable to men. If a man is attracted to a woman then he will do many things to get to know her. Hence the title of this thread " A woman's power". This is because a man is visual and an attractive woman can be very visualy stimulating.

Brandye,

It is impossible to discuss the actions or opinons of any demgraphic of society and not generalize to some extent. I was simply stating my opinion and I will not use the terms all or none to discribe any demographic.
I am not at all surprised that you or your friends have a list of booty calls. I have many female friends who have the same lists. I have often found women who were secure within there own sexuality to be very attractive. I find sexually relationship with uninhibited women to be incredibly fulfilling. I have noticed that most of my friends only developed this mentality within their late twenties.
I have never understood why women are blamed for mens sexually desire. In male domenated cultures woman are punished because men are to insecure to admit there own falacy.
Ladies correct me if im wrong but there are pharmacist who will not fill bc perscriptions because of there belief system. I would imagine ED meds are covered because men make the decisions within the insurance companies. In america its a good time to speak to you congressman or congresswoman about unfair insurance policies.

Those who haven't experienced the attention and spent much time frustrated with failed attempts to garner it might think it would be wonderful to receive it. Those people should be careful what they wish for, for the reasons Brandye explained.

I've experienced both sides and believe that the quality of most relationships with people is greatly enhanced when you both start from scratch(relatively) getting to know each other without preconceived notions and one party's obviously blinding lust for whatever notions those might be.

As a guy in his early 20's in incredible physical shape with a national championship, 24/7 access to a private plane, and modeling offers while attending the most prestigious university in his field, I received a lot of attention from those without my best(or any) interest at heart and experienced much of what she mentioned. People constantly trying to find angles so that they can use you for sex and/or attention instead of simply enjoying time together and letting it progress to that (better)sex is not enjoyable.

Despite those things, as a guy it was probably 1/10th the amount of attention that a slightly above average woman with a little makeup wearing a cute pair of sweats gets at the grocery store - but without nearly as much disrespect.

Fortunately, those of us women who are of a somewhat more dominant nature are not subject to this pestering - simply because we scare them away.

The "I want her but she might hurt me." thing.

Life is amusing!

[QUOTE=wet_suit_one;249561]Interesting that you talk of "responsibility" and "manipulation."[/QUOTE]

Aren't the two quotes below some definition of manipulation? And anytime one has any measure of power, be it sexual, professional, physical, what have you, that power is accompanied by a measure of responsibility to use it appropriately.

[QUOTE=wet_suit_one;249561]"doing whatever they feel like with that power."[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=wet_suit_one;249561]uses it to maximize his advantage (money, sex partners, and all the good things that come with being considered beautiful).[/QUOTE]

We all give this 'power' away. We respond to the manipulator. We give in to peer pressure and 'the group'. We follow the crowd.

We all develop bad habits and tend to get in our own way.

Yes, WSO, some people do use it to take advantage of others and it almost always ends up ruining those people's trust of others for a long time. It also ruins that person's own trust of people because they're often assuming everyone is trying to manipulate them as they do to others. Many people don't realize that it is self destructive in that fashion and only see the immediate benefit of getting what they want asap. It's not a pretty cycle and typically ends with many hurt people and a very unsatisfied reflection on one's life. That goes for men and women regarding possession of anything (wealth, sex, fame, etc) that another wants to the complete exclusion of anything else that person has to offer.

When I speak of manipulation, WSO, I mean 'taking inappropriate advantage of people'. No, getting a PhD isn't manipulation. Nor is exercising one's personal choice, within the tenets of law and common human decency. Using wealth, sex, fame, what have you, saying or doing certain things because you know full well that it will get people to bend to your will, with total disregard and disrespect for them as human beings, caring only about what you get out of them, IS. That's what I'm hearing in those two statements I mentioned.

Perhaps I was hearing a more negative connotation than you intended. And perhaps that's because I've been on the receiving end of that type of manipulation more than once.

We DO give that power away. We DO get in our own way. But when we're on the receiving end, we have a responsibility to the giver not to abuse it.

Well, getting that degree with sex rather than intelligence is manipulation and there are many who have. Gold-diggers are the prime example of women using their sexual attractiveness to get the material things of life lying on their backs. There are women in this situation who do not even like the guy, but tolerate him for the lifestyle it brings them. The stories are legion (and sometimes accurate) of women advancing careers manipulatively whether or not vaginal penetration was ever an element. Stories of "monkey girls," so called because "they hold onto their jobs by their tails."

These are all bald faced and rather obvious. There many more subtle and less blatant examples in daily life. The waitress with an extra button open; the "accidental" flashing whilst sitting; the clear demonstration that we know our attractiveness is temporarily blinding to the male we are near.

And, then, there are our mixed signals. When I am wearing a lab coat and a bloke tries to get a peek down my blouse, I get angry; when in a formal gown and no one is dazzled with what I have on display, I get angry. Same goods; different presentation. Actually, all women become accustomed to the first and when we do show it off, it is more to impress other women than men. If, however, a man gets caught in the dazzle .....

We can do this so easily and naturally (being somewhat attractive helps!) that there is a responsibility for when, with whom and TO WHAT END we engage in these sometimes unconscious behaviours.

One does not always "choose" to let another have some measure of influence over his or her self.

I was played for a fool once by a girl who was bored. I was blinded by her wit and charm; did I choose to let that happen? No, I was young, inexperienced and clueless to what she was doing. When I figured it out, I terminated the situation. Even when I chose to leave she made me miserable. I certaintly didn't choose to feel that.

Actually Browser - YES you did.

Your emotions are your choice. She didn't say Feel Happy and - plang! - there you went smiling and dancing away. Neither did she say "Cry and grovel and feel awful". She set up a light flirtation and you chose to go for the bait hook line and sinker.

Nope, you did that all on your own.

Thank you.

You are responsible for ALL of you - not just the good parts or the parts you like/enjoy - ALL of you.

How it is, WSO.

WSO, there is no win as there is no contest. Simply focus on enjoying and sharing the good things you and another have to offer each other and expect them to be mature while dealing with the bad things.

Right, fun, no one wins and no one loses. Maturity is partly reading what is appropriate when and in what setting. The rules are different when we are all wearing business attire from when we are all wearing casual attire or when we are all wearing formal attire. The woman with deep cleavage at a business meeting is wrong; the man who takes advantage of that is wrong. Regrettably, current television shows have female doctors and even judges with their breasts mostly exposed and some women use that as behaviour to model. They should have learnt better. The mature male recognizes her being inappropriate and has some other woman tell her about it. Or, better, another professional woman should have a little chat with her.

Situational awareness is important. To both the man and the woman.

And, no, that earlier post has nothing to do with my bra crusade. If you wore one of the things regularly, you would agree. Elsewhere I have posted on the characteristics of a good bra. Remember, most of the time we are wearing regular day to day work bras 12 or more hours at a stretch (no pun). Why more women do not pay the premium for the comfort they bring, I shall never understand.