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Bag Handlers
May 13, 2010
I'm a mostly gay male with a boyfriend who is also mostly gay. We are into BDSM—we are both tops and sometimes play with other sub men. I say we are "mostly" gay because we do like to fuck/top submissive women once in a while. We haven't done this a lot, and never together because we don't have the same taste in women—until recently. One of our new neighbors, a straight female, is very shy, but she's opened up to us about her interest in BDSM. We took her to a play party, and she was okay watching others play, but any time anyone expressed an interest in her, she clammed up and withdrew. She stayed at our side the entire time.
We are interested in propositioning her. Our dilemma is in how to approach someone so gun-shy. We want to seduce her into the experience and not make her uncomfortable, but we can't agree as to how to go about it. Another issue is that we think the reason she has been so open with us is because she assumes we are both 100 percent gay.
Two Guys And A Girl Toy
She meets two guys who live together, have presumably noisy BDSM sex with each other and other men, and identify themselves as gay. I'm sure you can appreciate why, under the circumstances, your neighbor might assume you two were gay, right? And that assumption convinced her it was safe to open up to you guys about her sexual interests—interests that are clearly scaring the shit out of her for the moment—because she further assumed, entirely reasonably, that you guys didn't wanna stick your dicks in her.
The sooner you come clean, the likelier you are to get into her pants, mouth, ass, twat, etc. Do not attempt to be seductive. Putting the moves on her now could transform a minor and perhaps unwitting violation of her trust into a relationship-ending violation. Instead, just be, um, straight with her: "We should've said something sooner, [her name here], but we're both actually bi, and we thought you should know that. And we also wanted you to know that we're both attracted to you and, hey, if you want to explore any of this stuff that you're curious about with us, we'd be up for that. If not, we're happy to keep being your kinky, gay-identified, completely platonic buddies."
I am a single, thirtysomething female who has been having a long-term affair with a married man. We have one rule: We tell one another if and when we fool around with other people. About a year ago, I discovered another affair he was involved in while he was out of the country, which he failed to disclose to me. I discovered it because he left his e-mail unattended. He was not apologetic, and I ended up being the one who begged for forgiveness for invading his privacy. He did, however, promise to end his relationship with the woman overseas. I recently discovered that he has struck up a fresh correspondence with this same woman. I gained this knowledge by invading his privacy again—this time by outright hacking his e-mail—but he also betrayed me, and he needs to be held accountable.
You are probably wondering why I am not just cutting this guy out of my life. We have amazing sex and enjoy the same kinks. It is difficult to find someone trustworthy to engage in these activities with. But how can I trust anything he says anymore? I really want to call him on this. He broke our rules. Do you think I am out of line in confronting him?
Mistress Is Pissed
According to the "Mistress, whining about being cheated on" listing in the Association of American Advice Columnists' Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Staggeringly Self-Serving Bullshit, I'm supposed to slap the shit out of you, MIP. The DSM instructs me to respond to letters like yours with something like this: "Your lover is cheating on his wife with you, you dumb piece of shit, and you're shocked to learn that he's cheating on you, too?" That strikes me as a little harsh. So I'll go with this instead: You can't expect a guy to take your rules more seriously than he takes his vows.
As for confronting him: The last time you confronted him about another other-woman, MIP, you wound up begging for his forgiveness. So let's skip the confrontation and accept reality: Unless you're willing to walk away from the amazing sex, unless you're willing to dump the motherfucker, he's going to go on cheating on you and lying to you about it, rules or no rules. He won't disclose when he's messing around with other other-women, MIP, because it's not just the sex that turns him on. Sneaking around, getting away with it, deceiving you and his wife and his other other-women—all of that gives him a feeling of power and control, and those feelings are as, or more, important to him than the orgasms. Accept it or get out.
I need support under my scrotum in order to ejaculate. I am 52 years old, and this condition has gotten worse as I have gotten older. When I am having intercourse, I need a position that supports or raises my scrotum, and when I masturbate, I need to put something under it. Is this okay? Is there a solution to make coming during intercourse easier?
This Old Scrote
Before I touch on your sack, TOS, I'd like to briefly—very briefly—touch on George Rekers's. Rekers is a towering figure in the religious right. He's the cofounder of the Family Research Council; a member of the National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality, a group that claims it can cure homosexuality; and the go-to guy for "expert" testimony about how gay people threaten and endanger children. And last week, Rekers got busted coming back from a 10-day European vacation with a 20-year-old male escort he found on Rentboy.com. Rekers told two reporters from the Miami New Times that he "can't lift luggage," so what other choice did he have but to hire a 20-year-old with an eight-inch cock?
To mark the downfall of yet another crazy and hypocritical closet case, I propose that "whatever floats your boat" be immediately and permanently retired in favor of "whatever lifts your luggage." This will be George "Rentboy" Rekers's legacy, his lexi-colonic gift to the English language. Help spread the meme.
Back to you, TOS: First, talk about this with a doc—get your sack examined and your prostate checked. If there's nothing medically wrong, rest assured there's nothing wrong. Some guys have large, loose sacks and sensitive balls, and the slap, slap, slap of intercourse or masturbation can be uncomfortable, and lifting your luggage spares you the slap, slap, slap. Alternately, TOS, let's not forget that your dick, balls, sack, and taint compose one big erogenous zone. Lifting your luggage may provide you with a little bit of extra ball/sack/taint stimulation, added stimulation that helps put you over the top, and naturally you rely on that zap more at 52 than you did at 32. So instead of viewing your need for a ball lift as a problem that needs solving, why not view ball support as the solution to a problem. Or to put it another way...
Whatever lifts your luggage, TOS, whatever lifts your luggage.
Check us fallen people out:
theothers.boardspace.org
I am the moderator, so feel free to email me at the above address with any questions/concerns or just to say hi. Hope to see you there!
What do the other Other Women think? Any of you know how to set something up? I'm not so tech-savvy!
Is this the ideal situation? No. I would like to do away with the secrecy. I would love to be with him openly. And whatever happens between us, I will not go and 'out' him to his wife. He trusts me. And I do, him. Within the framework of what we have, we have a relationship; we love each other, and wish only the best for each other.
badgirl, yes, I would love to chat. If only to have someone else understand what it is to be in a situation like this. :)
There are two other things that bother me that haven't been discussed. First, a lot of people - many of the above posters included - seem to assume that "married man having an affair" is a single, homogeneous category. I doubt too many people would assume all "single men in a long term relationship," for example, are the same. Why should "married man having an affair" be any different?
Second, people always assume that cheating somehow denotes a stable characteristic: the cheater. But is that really fair? If somebody lies once, are they forever branded "a liar"? No; we tend to recognize that circumstances make lying an acceptable behavior in particular instances (e.g., the white lie). Again, why is cheating any different?
I'll offer my answer: we evaluate people who stray from marriages through a moral framework that doesn't recognize shade of gray. We don't do the same for "single men in long term relationships" or "people who lie."
And Justatart, you sound a lot like me. Never before attracted to men who had other women in or anywhere near the picture. It was like a fail-safe mechanism in my brain. And I'm married. But this guy comes along and whammo.
I have no idea what happened. I guess part of the problem is I grew feelings for him before I realized he was married. It was a misunderstanding. Long story. In any case, it's made for a real roller coaster over the past few months.
Thanks for sharing your story! And really, its fascinating, because even though we all have something in common and can be respectful and empathetic towards each others plight as the other woman, I think there are also moments that despite this common bond we go "how can she do *that*?" You question what do we hope to get out of that (those of us who have been into it for the long haul). My answer: AMAZING, earth shattering sex! I never get to see my lover for extended periods of time like you do, but I do get to see him roughly once a week- we live about 20 minutes from each other.
We all have things that we can't handle. For example, my limit would be, I could not do the other woman routine if I were single. This would simply be too heart breaking for me. I actually hate that I have developed feelings for my lover: we started out as supplimental fuck buddies, and I actually curse my stupid female, cliche feelings that arose! Dammit.
I have really enjoyed talking to all of you ladies (and guys too!). I have even thought about setting up a web email address to post to see if any of you would care to write....
For 5 years I didn't date, or have sex, after a 14 year marriage. Ugh! Hard to admit.
I felt like I never chose the right person. My "picker" was broken.
I have had many opportunities to "date" married men, but I never was attracted to men that were involved. Liars and cheaters will always lie and cheat.
Then last year, a person contacted me thru a website that I knew in 8th grade. He moved 1.5 years later and I never saw him again. He was cute, and I had a summer crush on him.
We would converse via IM for months. It was our 40th high school reunion. (he graduated from another high school). I'm a playful person. I may have flirted, but without motive. He told me he was married. What did I care, I wasn't going to meet him again. He lived in another city.
Then the next boundary was broken. Sex Chat. Okay, I thought, this is harmless. Then he wanted to come visit me. I freaked out.
Okay, I crossed the line. He came to visit me. He stayed at my home. I prepared him to be thrown out, if I go weird. We have fun. He doesn't want to leave his wife of a million years, I know. And I don't want to do his laundry. Perfect for me. Now I had a chance to have great sex. (my marriage sucked, especially with sex). I hadn't had sex for so long, and this seemed perfect for me. Well,
here I am, almost one year into this. He's visited me at my home, and brought me to a ski resort to be with him, and now wants me to come and stay at his home while his wife is away for 3 weeks.
For me, I understand he is a liar and cheater. With his wife, and probably with me, tho he uses those words "trust me". I don't. Now, I feel like he is really disrespecting his wife by inviting me to his home.
I don't ask about his wife, or their relationship. I don't want to know, nor do I want him to lie to me, some more.
I'm not that special. I know this. He says differently, but I know the lover's place. I know he could have contacted another 8th grade schoolmate, and he has, but nothing came of it. I took the bait. That is fine for me.
I never expect anything from this person. Well, that's wrong. He tends to call me every weekday when he is driving home from work. We chat every weekend. I won't respond to his emails when I know he is on vacation, with his wife. I have come to expect contact, kinda often.
But, funny, somehow, I do expect for him to respect my health. If he does see other women, he should protect himself. From me or the other ladies. Whatever. This is an important thing to me. Put the fucking "raincoat" on for Crisssakes.
Now, as other women, we are also betting the wife isn't cheating as well. We are in bed with their wives too, ya know.
Okay, I am finally having sex, and really fabulous sex at that, for the first time, in ????? (before marriage).
So me: I am having sex with a man that isn't available, and lives over 8 hours away. (we tend to see each other every other month for at least 4 days). This is his responsibility: our meetings.
I hope he never leaves his wife. (he could be too selfish: community property state; no kids, or, like other people here say, he still loves his wife, but isn't getting any).
Very interesting. For some to be involved for 5-7 years, and aren't 58 years old, I wonder what they expect?
Sure the dreamy teen in me fantasizes about running away with my lover because my happiness reaches my zenith when I am with him. But, reality decends. Two families would be shattered. Plus, would the sex remain as hot if I could have it any time I wanted? Who knows, perhaps the reason it is so exquisitly delisicious is that I only get it once or twice a week. And, he is in a field that has been crushed by the economy, and been through 5 jobs in the 7 years I have known him, and unemployed for the past year....I could not deal with that stress.
In the case of my lover "cheating" on me....again, HIGHLY doubtful, but that is just because of my own unique situation. Wifey keeps SO close tabs on him; he needs to account for his whereabouts at every second of the day; ironically- he has less freedom now then he did when he had a job since he is at her beck and call! The only place we can meet up is his house in case she calls, and there is NO WAY he would bring a stranger there, or someone he had less then a super secure relationship with. We met pre-kids, and established trust before he was a family man. He knows I won't boil his bunny *grin*.
Neither do I. I'm still relatively new to the situation, and I haven't encouraged much discussion with my lover about his relationship with his wife (haven't discouraged it either, just don't bring it up). I have to assume whatever he says about it--or about any other relationship-related topic--is suspect. I leave it at that and don't go looking for evidence or asking questions when I'm fairly certain I can't trust the answers. That, in my view, can only be a mindfuck.
That's why my first comment here, to MIP, was to stop reading the guy's email: If you want to be deluded, be deluded. Otherwise, wake up and accept your situation for what it is.
For me, it's comforting to hear from badgirl and science chick because they understand the ups and downs of the situation. They have insight that my other friends don't. I guess it's just a human need to normalize things a bit, to feel that your experience fits into some larger context and that you're not alone.
Perhaps there are support groups for victims of Nigerian email scams too, and I wouldn't begrudge those poor souls any comfort that they might take from talking to each other.
Others can stand on the sidelines, shaking their fingers and being smug, but what good does that do?
Maybe this will sound familiar to some of my sisters - I just got arrested for DWI last week and have to go to court next week (another long fucked up story. Anyway...) He offered to go with me, drive me there because when I'm done with that hearing I won't have a license. Which I thought sounded very sweet until I thought about it and realized I don't trust him to actually show up. That if she calls and wants him to go pick up a kid at baseball practice or something... that's what he will do. That he's made so many promises to me that he hasn't kept, from "I'll come by tonight" all the way to "I'm divorcing her, let's get an apartment together"... that he hasn't kept. The only way I can stay in this, is to believe nothing he says until it happens.. and have a backup plan, if it's important. So I told him I didn't want him to go. Boy, did he hate being told he was unreliable! But that's just it - if I trust him, I'm being foolish.
(As to my blog - I took down my posts awhile ago because the site I had them on was getting a little hostile with the comments. Otherwise, I would have been happy to post the link.)
Good to have a forum for others to understand the dynamics so a) they know what they are getting into, b) they don't feel so alone, c) they can talk about it with others, and d) maybe someone who was cheated on can see some of the other side. It isn't all about trying to hurt someone you love. It might be about hurting them less and getting through the day yourself. Again, every situation has it's own circumstances that can't be judged by those not involved.
I don't know what kind of friends you all have but even in regular relationships, if I keep going back to a guy who's mistreated me before my friends stop being understanding about that too. Because these are known quantities and its your choice, at some point you can't complain about how the other person is treating you when you've signed up for it. And what you've signed up for is the cliche affair with a married man. The descriptions I've read here are a checklist of regularly scheduled events in this kind of affair.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/16/opinio…
Who is this 'expert'? And why does he have so much sway regarding public policy? (((scratches head)))
About having the conversation with his wife about lack of sex/ being unsatisfied...lol! You are correct there, I bet you dollars to donuts he didn't speak to her about it! Is this fair to her? No. But that being said, having been in "their" lives for 7 years know, I almost "know" her by proxy; I admit my feelings for her are tainted by jealousy and by the fact I don't really know her. But I have been there for MANY a phone call and I hear his end, and the woman is a shrew. She found his porn collection and threw it away- she is not ok with porn. In thier 10 years together, she has never even seen him masturbate, much less acknowledge it. I am his friend on facebook, as well as being over his house frequently and I have seen beginning of the marriage vs. recent pictures, and lets just say the 80+ pounds isn't flattering. As a woman, I realize what extra weight can do to self confidence and libido, so all of this leads me to beleive he is telling the truth about his lack of sex life at home. I also that he does love her and values his family tremendously, so as fucked up as it sounds, wants to keep the peace at home, so he does NOT mention her weight gain (hes packed on a few himself, lol) or fight about sex *anymore*. Since I realize how many tears this involves (I have had these fight myself!), I can sooooooo appreciate this perspective, and sometimes after so many fights and hurt feelings, one opts for domestic tranquility and getting your animal needs met elsewhere.
BTR: Man, I sooooooo agree with you! Everytime one of those homewrecking, fame-grubbing whores (ala Jesse James tattooed bitch or Ryelle Hunter) goes public, I want to VOMIT! I am like it CAN be done, you asshole men just chose the wrong women; hell look at the two I mentioned. You could tell those two dolts couldn't handle it the minute the opened their airheaded mouths. Poor Sandra :(. I would NEVER do that to not only my lover, but his two children, no matter what happened between us. How could I hurt those innocent kids?
MIP sounds like a troll, though, I have to say. Not that nobody would be that...um...oblivious...(trying to be nice here) but really, she didn't even ask a question. Just blurted out her issues like they were really that interesting...I blame reality tv.
It may be an old story. So what? Don't pass judgment just because you only see part of the situation and you feel like being judgy.
EricaP - I realize that anything he tells me about her is suspect. I know if I tell him I would rather he only has sex with me, that I can't verify it (although I have some evidence that that's the case). I do know that he tried to start the conversation many times with her and the only way he got her attention was to tell her he'd been having an affair. That eventually got them into counseling but it took a year and a half, during which all she wanted was for me to go away but didn't want to go to counseling about what the problems are.
So as far as I am concerned, the two people that fucked that marriage up are them, not me and him. It was circling the drain long before I came along. And I really hate, in some ways, that I was the thing that finally got them to talk to each other. (On the other hand, he lied to her in counseling about our relationship, and continues to lie to her about me, so it's hard to imagine that it's gonna last for the long haul... then again, stranger things have happened, right?)
BTR - trust me, I've thought many times about letting her know what's happening, but it doesn't seem like the right thing to do. I guess she deserves to know, but I'm not the right person to tell her. That would cause a LOT of bad shit to happen.
And when you can only see your boyfriend in limited fashion during some work hours and when the spouse is out of town, you aren't seeing him much at all and you don't even know the tip of the iceberg as to how many other women he's seeing. Its sad to still see piles of women deluding themselves over these notions.
Every individual circumstance is it's own. I have empathy for kristen, badgirl et al., but I think what they are saying is that they are not homewreckers. There are asshole men (and women) in cheating circumstances, but lots of men involved in these situations would probably tell similar stories about dealing with guilt etc. as these ladies have done. They are in a unique set of circumstances, as everyone is. Damn hard to see it from the outside and understand.
111
So she is not quite as oblivious as you are making her out to be.
I think Dan's nailed it though - the secrecy is a part of his turn-on, and she will have to decide how important it is for her to have knowledge of everyone he sticks his dick into.
But, of course, the reason she and he even made the dumb rule about telling each other if they have sex with other partners is to remind themselves that 'open relationships', as well as 'open marriages' carry the risk of STDs. One might be lulled into a false sense of security if not for the knowledge that dicks are being dipped into other places.
Because what MIP wants is a trustworthy guy to share her kinks with. That simply isn't going to happen with this guy. You can't confront your way into making him the right guy for you. He's a POS, get over it and find someone else. A kinky woman shouldn't have a problem doing that, they're in high demand compared to kinky guys.
So I so get your "it definitely makes me NOT a home wrecker" comment!
EXACTLY!!! How I wish I could hang out with my girlfriends and TALK about my "boyfriend" for hours over a bottle of wine like I used to for hours when I was single! Gloat and moon over him when things were going well, cry when we hit a rough patch....I think that is one of the hardest things about it is the isolation that being the other woman entails.
There is no sympathy for the mistress- for most of society, we are simply "homewrecking whores"
After the whole Larry Craig incident, I still say "I have to go use the craig" (in place of the "john") when I'm at the airport.
I have come to the conclusion based on my own experience that you can never say what is going on within a relationship, unless you are a part of it.
I have come to the conclusion based on my own experience that you can never say what is going on within a relationship, unless you are a part of it.
I have come to the conclusion based on my own experience that you can never say what is going on within a relationship, unless you are a part of it.
I have met some very nice men and have some wild sex but one thing I do not do is expect them to be "faithful" to me, any more than I am "faithful" to them. I don't believe in the whole monogamy thing anyway. And from my experience, very few men do. I tell them about my other relationships and they tell me about theirs sometimes. (Depends on the guy.) It can be very arousing. It also takes the pressure off them to pretend they are somehow faithful to me. We're in it for sexual fun, period. If we click in other ways and can be friends, great. But that's where it stops.
If you're going to play this game, you have to do it with a realistic attitude.
And by the way, all those married women out there who think they can keep a man faithful despite a lousy, boring or non-existent sex life are deluding themselves. Put out or shut up and let him live a little and meet his needs with someone who loves sex and lets him know it.
At least for me, part of the problem with having a secret relationship is that, well, there are so few people in my life with whom I can talk about it. And even the people I can tell haven't been there, so I can only say so much about the painful bits before they (understandably) say "oh just get out." Talking about the good parts usually just draws incredulous stares.
Still, it's good to know that you're out there, and I'm sorry for the pain you've been through. I'm also thankful to Dan, who's done a brilliant job of providing a forum--with a surprisingly small asshole contingent--for people to talk openly.
Dan, don't you love the way your readers look out for each other?
I've been with my guy off and on for 5 years, like I said. We were both married when we met (I'm divorced now) and were work colleagues for 4 years before anything started. He'd been unfulfilled in his marriage for many years, both sexually and emotionally - she just didn't connect with him the way he needed despite years of trying.
I can see now that it was the typical "I am the one who he's always needed and I will save him" dynamic on my side... and since I was new to such things I didn't see it. Until him I was very strict that married men were OFF LIMITS... but I fell so hard for him and so fast that it didn't matter. Yeah, the sex was and is great.... but that's because I'm IN LOVE with him. And he is with me.
He told his wife 3 1/2 years ago, ostensibly because he was going to leave. Didn't happen. Went back and forth for a year, told me he was leaving, we found an apartment, and then he changed his mind before he moved in. They went to counseling. End of story, he's staying and she thinks he hasn't seen me in over 2 years.
So he's chosen a double life in order to maintain the marriage and family, AND have me on the side. In a fucked up way I think I am one of the reasons he can stay married.... which definitely makes me NOT a home wrecker. I'm under no illusion any longer that we're riding off into the sunset some day.
So why do I stay? I can't explain it exactly. Because I do love him... but I don't trust him. (Also he's exhibited some stalkerish behavior when I've tried to walk away before... which makes it hard to leave). So even though I don't hope to find anything like the intimacy we've built in these years with anyone else, someday I need to get out.
I don't even know if anyone who hasn't been in this can even understand how complicated it is. Glad that there are a couple of other people here who get it... even though I'm sorry you have to live with this the way I do.
Now, after trying to reignite some, no, ANY romance into our lovelife I have heard these tidbits: :
" you need to quit trying so hard"
"What we have is fine."
"do you feel like you still need Viagra?"
"I bet we have more sex than most people our age".
In Any discussion of our intimacy, she immediately refers to my affair as a default cause of any lack of interest.
So here I am, 57 years old and boy is it OVER
t
Still, divorce is not an option for either of us, and we know and accept that our families will come first for both of us. Being together brings us much happiness, and that can happen only rarely. The rest of the time, well, we talk as often as we can.
I do wish that I had met him before I met my husband. But if wishes were horses ...
We are neither of us proud of what we are doing. I go through more than enough guilt, but I am trying to do the best I can under the circumstances. I never thought I would cheat on my husband. But I am not ashamed of my lover, and like you said, I would love to introduce him to my family.
Its no problem. Its a humbling experience. What many people forget is that few grow up WANTING to be cheaters. I sure didn't; I never foresaw this lifepath for myself. I know my lover is certainly not proud of his actions either. Its tragic in a way- I would love for my friends and family to know this funny and charming man whom I feel so deeply for, yet I must keep him hidden, and I know he is ashamed of not me per se, yet the role I play in his life. He has even said had we met in any other way, we would be the best of friends since we are two sides of the same coin.
So those who are judgemental- well, we suffer enough at our own hands....at least those of us "reluctant cheaters" do, wishing perhaps that things had not gone quite the way they had. But yet not knowing how to resolve them for the greatest good, we continue. It did teach me to have more empathy for others, and more humility. To be less judgemental, since I am so very flawed and far from perfect myself.
Good luck my dear.
You're right about the mindfuck and the roller coaster. Sometimes I feel like I'm trying to navigate through the twilight zone, so I must admit it helps to hear your very frank perspective.
Seven years seems like an eternity right now! I think I'm just trying to keep it all in perspective and get through today and tomorrow...
http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=…
I think the issue is that most mistresses I've ever heard from (or simple "other women", in the case that the cheater isn't married) complains that they expected fidelity from the person they were cheating with, and were disappointed. The relationships weren't usually based on the idea that this is just sex, but on the fantasy that desire for her had overwhelmed him.
There are many different types of cheaters, I accept. And if your point is that a good kind of cheater is one who doesn't expect fidelity from his other woman, and doesn't promise fidelity, I agree. But, in the same breath, no other woman should expect fidelity of any order higher than "until this is more trouble than it's worth, or I get a better deal, I'm yours".
You seem to be better off than MIP, and if your partner in infidelity were to stray from having strayed (as it were), I think you wouldn't be the type to try to rally sympathy by claiming he should have shown your relationship more faith than his relationship with his wife (in both cases, a lack of satisfaction from sex, or the offer of more satisfying sex, brought his attention elsewhere). The problem I (and many others, it seems) takes with MIP is that she's complaining that the most predictable result happened.
Perhaps MIP's partner should have ended it (it would have been more respectful), but she didn't have call to expect respect. Besides, it doesn't take a James-Bond-esque "catch me if you can" thrill of the forbidden to want to make sure that you have hos in different area codes. His actions make perfect sense if we assume he doesn't have any consideration for the wellbeing of his partners (as MIP should expect), and simply wants to make sure he can always get some wherever he is.
She expected him to act in a way counter to what any evidence of his actions would indicate comes naturally to him. What I'm complaining about is that people are calling him a bad man for hurting her, and treating her like an innocent victim. She signed up to be treated like shit.
@81
If you lie down with pigs, you wake up smelling like livestock.
Thank you again for keeping your tone respectful even when you disagree. I think where the disconnect lies is the fact that you are getting your experience of cheaters from the dating arena as you state above. I would think that those types of cheaters might be more of the "player" variety....the ones who cheat because they get off on the whole cheating scenario.
Perhaps MIP's man is like this. I am lacking the background information to know. If he is, then I will agree with you, you can't hang with a player and not expect to get played; that is simply foolish.
However, I would say that there are a different breed of cheaters out there, us "reluctant" cheaters...myself and ankylosaur's friend would qualify. One of the first indicators of the reluctant cheater would probably be married/children (trapped!). I would submit that our respective lovers *would* be ok in expecting fidelity from us if that was what we had promised each other. Considering the primary purpose of these extra-marital relationships was sexual pleasure, and again, many of them were entered quasi-reluctantly, we should not enter them with a lie about the sex. Unlike other relationships, sex is our primary goal: you must not lie about it, and if the sex becomes less then amazing, why bother? If you find someone you like to fuck better then me, at that point, just end it, I am not your wife.
Odd, but does it make a strange sort of sense if one puts it in this perspective?
Of course, there ARE also scumbag cheaters who are in this for the power drive, the secrecy, the "James Bond" feeling; that's the "they-can't-catch-me!" con artist.
It's just that these are different people, as different as night and day. (OK, there are intermediate types as well; but that only goes to show that everything is case by case.)
Badgirl, even though I am a quite satisfied man married to a lovely and also (so she says) quite satisfied woman in a monogamous marriage, I can understand your situation very well, because I have a friend -- one of the greatest guys I've ever met, a man I profoundly admire for many reasons -- who is exactly in your situation. His wife has stopped giving him sex, for some reason or other -- her libido disappeared faster (she is 8 years older than he is and is now about to hit 50) -- and he grew more and more desperate. It took him about five years of suffering before he started cheating -- and to this day he does it with many emotional problems. I'm one of two or three people who he trusts with the details of his situation, and I can see both the depth of his love for his wife and the level of desperation that his sexless life had given him. I certainly know he is not a "compulsive cheater" or a "power-is-play" cheater.
And I don't want to blame his wife. He tells me she suffers too, she tries to give him sex but it just doesn't turn her on the way it used to anymore, so he feels unfulfilled, she feels unfulfilled, she feels sad for him, he feels sad for her, they try to comfort each other, and nobody gets off. So they reached some sort of don't-ask-don't-tell situation in which she pretends she doesn't know and he does his best to hide any evidence.
I wished life were simpler. Like you, my friend certainly would love it if his wife were to be as passionate as she once was, but she apparently is never going to be again. Such is life.
Scum is, perhaps, a more emotion-invoking word than I should have used. I guess the feeling that anyone who is willing to cheat on his wife (or husband) would also be willing to cheat on the person he's cheating with comes from similar experiences in dating. If she'll leave another guy for me, she'll leave me for another guy.
Yes, if you're confident that he will never, ever, ever, find someone more perfect than you (see: Lady Chatterly's Lover Fantasy), you're probably safe. But, that's a different issue. Your argument isn't "he wouldn't cheat on me like he cheated on his wife because he's honorable, it's because I'm awesome enough to keep him". That, at least, is respectable.
But, let's assume he does. If he did, it would be because he found someone more desirable. You would have position to complain that he didn't find you as desirable as you think you should be (which would be met with derision by many people), and that he broke his promise to you (same thing).
As before, my point isn't that MIP doesn't have a right to complain, just that everyone else is reasonable to meet her complaints with dismissal and invective.
Obviously we will agree to disagree about whether a guy who would cheat to find "that something special" would be willing to be monogamous to the special someone while double-dealing his wife, but to each their own. My point is that when/if he does cheat, it will be predictable to most people, and thus you will not get the amount of sympathy you would if you hadn't know he was willing to cheat in the first place.
Infidelity has a lot more impact when you have a cause to anticipate fidelity.
I guess everybody out there who is so happy to judge MIP has already forgotten the lesson of "whatever lifts your luggage." The fact is that people cheat for many reasons; it's not always immoral when they do; and as long as people aren't doing it simply as a way to cruelly punish or manipulate someone I think the cheaters deserve the benefit of the doubt.
I am actually going out on a limb here, because there is this huge view of cheaters as morally bankrupt people. I cheat out of sexual desperation. It really isn't my first choice; I wish my husband sastified me. I wish I met my lover years before I met my husband. Cheating is NOT my first option. However, it is my most palatable option (over divorce or a sexless life). I strive to be a decent human being, but I cheat because I feel backed into a corner; I realize not every cheater is like me (Tiger Woods?), but I would be willing to say there are many in my situation.
Now to address your rebuttals:
1. We tend to see each other when we are either supposed to be working, or his wife is away and his kids are asleep. So we never miss out on family time, the only one who really gets screwed (pun intended) in terms of missing out on our time is our respective bosses.
2. He is not compromising his wife's safety by being with only me and me alone. I am married and clean.....again....7 years. As long as we are "faithful" to each other and our spouses...well, surely you see how that is safe.
3. Lol...impossible ;) You will just have to take my word on this *grin*. It truly is mind bending!
4. Again, this goes back to #3.
Strangely, I am confident that he will NEVER top our physical experiences together, EVER. Its just not possible, as we have reached the zenith, and of course it has taken 7 years for us to build up enough trust to let ourselves go and discover how to really get each other off like we do. I don't value him because he cheats with me, I value him because he can play my bosdy like an instrument, he taught me how to come on his cock from penetration alone, he taught me I can have multiple orgasms......
I don't think my lover is scum; I mean, he pisses me off a lot!! But not in the way MIP's man is, and the way you are assuming all cheaters operate. He came to me because his wife almost never gives him sex. He not only misses the feeling of shooting a load in a woman, he loves to please me! Jacking off will never give him the same feeling of having me moan and squirm and tell him how good he makes me feel. He cheats not because he is "scum" as you put it, who likes to fuck around on his wife just because he is a dick, but because he misses this special connection with a woman that his wife denies. Now that he has a woman in his life that he cares for and provides it, why should he go elsewhere, since he really is a pretty decent guy? I don't think he would have ever cheated either if his wife had stopped denying him sex.
And the lack of logic inherent in that, I think, is what bristles the hides of many people here. It's not so much that we abhor cheating in general (I do, personally, but it's not my place to judge), as it is that we see a disconnect between the concepts of "he could be unfaithful with someone else, but should be faithful to me".
Without any more details of MIP's relationship (not knowing whether the man is in an unfulfilling marriage, has kids, or anything else), the assumption we all have is that he's just in it for some quick sex on the sly. If she knew that going in (that he was a cheater and a liar, insofar as he lied in his vows), she kind of got what was inevitably coming to her.
I don't think many people who have read Savage Love for long will believe that it's always universally possible to find sexual satisfaction within a marriage for eternity (though, some sympathy is lost if you cheated without making a good faith effort to cheat it), and we do understand that sometimes a bit on the side is necessary not to do something more destructive.
I think what it comes down to (on any of your reasons for feeling betrayed) is that while you are perfectly entitled to feel hurt by his decisions, everyone else is entitled to think that you should have seen it coming. I don't mean to beat a dead horse, but.
1. He's already willing to forgo time with the people who should be most important to him to be with you. It only stands to reason that if he got the chance to have steamy sex with someone else he was even more attracted to/into the same kinks as/is more convenient, he'd take the opportunity
2. Same sort of thing. He's willing to risk his wife's safety by being with you, it's only reasonable to expect him to be just as cavalier about your health and safety
3. Same thing. If he'll go behind his wife's back to be with someone more satisfying (you), he'll go behind your back to be with someone else more satisfying.
4. It doesn't require that he get off on the cheating, just that he find someone else to be more pleasurable.
I think a lot of it boils down to balking at the mistress fantasy of "I'm special enough that he'll break his vows to be with me". It's all Lady Chatterly's lover, and it's unrealistic to a lot of people. If he has so little concern for his vows/promises that he'll sleep with someone who happens to be "more satisfying", there's no reason to expect that he won't do the same to you when he finds someone more satisfying.
No one is saying he wouldn't be scum. Everyone is saying that you signed up to sleep with someone who's scum.
We met because we were both unfulfilled in our marriages and wanted sexual satisfaction, but yet did not want to destroy our families. We both wanted something safe, hot and very, very discreet on the side that enabled us to be sexually contented, but yet stay with our children, and yes, even our respective spouses. Believe it or not, we both love our spouses and our families even if we no longer find sexual fulfilment within those bounderies.
As I mentioned previously, I have been seeing my lover for 7 years. What we have has gone from sex, to porn-style fucking, to some actually pretty intense lovemaking. We have grown to know a lot of intimate details about each other, and care about each other a lot. Whereas I know his wife and his family are obviously always #1, I will admit that yes, I would be upset if he had yet another woman besides me for several reasons, because I have come to feel very close to him indeed over the years.
Here are some of my reasons I would feel betrayed:
1. Less time to spend with me....very jealous! If he can get away for a tryst (and its hard because his wife monitors him so closely), I want him to be spending his free time with ME dammit!
2. Obvious health and safety concerns.
3. I would feel like I was not satisfying to him- we have HOT sex, why should he take further risk when he has it so good with me?
4. I don't think either of us are into the whole "lying and cheating" for the sake of the adventure/getting away with something. We are doing this for the physical pleasure involved, not because we get off on the cheating. We are both TERRIFIED we will get caught and take huge precautions not to. Another person would be another layer of lies for him and more chance of getting caught- to me , to his wife. More risk.
So yes....I admit that it is not 100% logical, but it would greatly hurt me if he had another, but those are my reasons. Based more on emotion than stone cold logic I am afraid....so sue me, I am a woman ;).
While @58 was, perhaps, unfair, it is kind of difficult to work up a whole lather of sympathy for a woman complaining about being hurt by a man who is by definition hurtful and unfaithful.
I guess my confusion is how it's a mindfuck at all. You're sleeping with a liar and a cheater, is it really a mindfuck when he lies and cheats? I'm not saying it's a good thing that he isn't faithful, or that he lies about his level of fidelity to his partner, but you knew that going into the situation.
I'm really not meaning to be insensitive, but I'm honestly completely bewildered. I think the point is that such overwhelming failure to recognize a pattern (if he's a cheater, he's a cheater, you're not special enough to make a cheater exclusive to you) leads some to think that MIP is simply an idiot.
Here's an old Native American fable for MIP: Old woman befriends poisonous snake. One day snake bites her, but before she dies she asks the snake, "Why did you bite me? I thought we were friends? The snake replies, "Look, you knew I was a snake."
Well, good luck with it...you will never find a deeper mindfuck on the planet. The rollercoaster ride is *intense*. Wish there was a way to discreetly exchange emails, because if you are like me, you would probably love to have an understanding ear....most of America are like charming #58.... ;)
Start by telling her you're actually bi and let her chew on that new information for a while, maybe a few weeks. After a little while, after she sees you as bi, and still non-threatening, then you can admit that you're attracted to her and see if she's interested.
I'd bet anything that something's happened in her past that makes her nervous about men and that's why she stuck by her gay protectors at the party. I'd say play this one slow and casual. It would really suck to make things awkward between you and your new neighbor.
64
Dan nailed it on the head. A few pieces of advice:
Find out *what* her kinks are before you make the admission. There's no point in trying to seduce/cajole her into joining you, then rushing home to the sight of your "curious" friend wearing a massive strap-on and brandishing a paddle that would make a Catholic school nun flush with envy. Unless, of course, you're into that sort of thing.
Once her level of kink has been established, the both of you should meet her alone, separate from each other. Feel her out, see if she's actually *attracted* to either one of you.
Make the admission in a private place, limiting any sort of alcohol/intoxicating substance use. If she's really interested, it's better to say it sober. And seeing as how (according to your letter) she's literally a one-in-a-million catch, the timely application of the, "If it's you, it's OK.", qualifier could be very effective.
With any luck, you'll soon learn that your mutual object of affection is a yaoi-loving submissive with a penchant for spitroasts and Chinese fingercuffs. However, taking her to a play party on one day, then blurting out your attraction to her on the next may be seen as contrived or *gasp* aggressive. And if you scare her, the last thing you'll see is her steadily dwindling back as she runs into the sunset.
63
Yes and no. While Dan has given authority (even imperative) to married people whose sex lives are unsatisfying to cheat if no other option is available, he never discussed any responsibility the cheater has to the other woman/man.
I don't think Dan's position here is "he's not being a jackass for cheating on MIP, because she's just the other woman", I think his point is "morality is irrelevant, the reality is that a man who's not going to want to be monogamous with his wife isn't going to be so into you that he gives up all other women as well." So, yes, it is very much an issue of "if he'll leave her for you, he'll leave you for someone else".
So, it's not a "you deserved it" in a moralistic "you're getting your just deserts" kind of thing. It's more along the lines of "this was completely predictable, and the fact that you signed on for it means you're getting what you asked for". If someone is too stupid to recognize "hmm... A guy who's going to cheat on his wife for me isn't likely to be exclusive to me, even if he promises to", is functionally leotarded.
He's still an ass, but she knew that going into it. You don't shoot a duck for quacking.
@43
Yes, she wants the fantasy of "I'm so fantastic and wonderful that he can't resist", and the idea that he would find a bunch of other women just as infidelity-inducing kills that.
She has to come to grips with the fact that it wasn't overwhelming desire for her that made him cheat, and that she isn't any "better" than his wife, or than the other women. Otherwise, she's going to constantly keep going back to him to reaffirm the delusion that he truly prefers her.
Hugh Grant didn't really like the prostitute more than Elizabeth Hurley
Dan, you said that it was performance anxiety. But I think it could be something else. I've also noticed that I'm often attracted to the ugly ones. But it's not that I'm intimidated by the good looking ones, I think that it's just my wiring which responds to different types of looks than the culturally agreed on notions of attractiveness.
I am also attracted to the kinds of character strengths which develop in people as a result of not having to rely on looks, so for me, I don't think it's about power. It's about my hormones knowing what they like, my wiring knowing what works, and my eyes being not so onto it. My eyes are the ones which notice what the rest of society notices, which is whether someone is attractive in the conventional model, popular ideas of beauty.
He's a POS. She's a POS. They probably deserve each other. Reading letters like this makes me want to RUN right out and get a boyfriend....
Right there with ya girl, I sooooooooo hear ya....
Seven years in myself, but dammit, the sex is fucking PHENOM!!!!!!
i found myself thinking "what a loser" after the first paragraph. i quickly chastised myself for being so judgmental and thought, without thinking about it, "hey man, whatever lifts your luggage."
mission accomplished.
48
Dan> was the 'we tried to change the sexuality of our child' line a joke or an admittance of total hypocrisy on this issue?
Yay...just yay. I dunno how I missed this!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Whatever-l…
(And yeah, I'm in 5 years and counting. Yes, I'm a fucking idiot, no need to tell me.)
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Whatever-l…
Back feeling better?
30
George Rekers and his ilk to bring back "I'm not gay, but my _________ is!" t-shirts. Fill in the blank #hypocriteshirt
Rentboy, bellhop, contracted European holiday companion who provides massages and dinner dates...
Finally the FRC and I agree on something! Only for that one sentence, but, hey, it's a start. Take out Christian and replace it with generically religious, political, or just plain leaders.
Additionally, electronic eavesdropping is a criminal offense...
26
My step-dad was unfaithful with my mother, and divorce ended the marriage. The woman, or the last woman, he was unfaithful to my mother with ended up marrying him. Many years later, I ran into one of her daughters. She was telling me how my former step-dad had been, wait for it, unfaithful to her mother. All I could say was "No shit?"
I am beginning to think that some women just like the drama and choose men like that on purpose.
25
24
Off to work "lifts your luggage" into a manuscript.
Oh and how exactly does one keep one's email "unattended"??
21
Good advice Dan.
20
19
@ 17 I don't think the gayish neighbors were expecting her to go for it right away, at the play party. They might forget what's it's like to be squeaky-new in such a scene.
I would like to add to Dan's excellent advice to the want to be good neighbors: when you have the conversation Dan suggests above, please don't have it in your or her apartment or house. Take her out somewhere for lunch. ;) There's a disruption of balance of power, telling her something like that over your place, & she might feel weird if you guys drop this news on her at her home as well. I dunno, maybe that's only my hangup. But I suggest a neutral space for that revelation. I have many gay guy pals, & decent gaydar, so I dunno if this situation could happen to me. But if guys in my life I thought were gay really weren't & liked me, I'd definitely need a drink w/ that news. OH the things I tell my Gay Boyfriends...
Boffo, Dan.
18
15
This week's column is solid, each advice straight (or gay) to the point, nothing important to add. Just a bitching coment for MIP: Ma'am, you are just trying to act as a control freak with your lover. Go on, keep doing it and destroy your affaire AND your marriage at the same time. Deep down, perhaps that's what you are attempting to do.
I feel bad for MIP. There's no point hitting her over the head with a stick in regards to the immorality of cheating with a monogamous married man. She already knows all that, and pointing it out to her won't change her mind.
But somebody needs to be a bit harsh and tell her to wake up! He is willing to cheat on the person he is married to and shares his life with. I'm not going to speculate on the emotional or sexual bond between him and his wife, but you cannot deny that there is a bond, nor can you underestimate it. His wife is his next of kin. She is the one who gets to decide what happens to him in the case of incapacitating illness. She is the one who is responsible for his debts, and whose debts he is responsible for. Even if he's not in romantic love with his wife, he at least trusts her and likes her enough to keep her in this position in his life. And he's willing to cheat on her. Why wouldn't he be willing to cheat on any other woman he sleeps with?
If you are going to keep sleeping with him, accept him for what he is. Don't be another in a long line of women who lie to themselves about their man, despite the truth staring them in the face.
11
and BTW. If I had any faith in humanity, I'd have lost it after reading your letter, MIP.
Take me, I'm a sub male (and a part-time cross dresser). I'm not that much into pain, which means I'll probably scream pretty loud once you really hurt me.
6
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.ph…
Page 1 of 56,000 results:
http://www.google.ca/search?q=whatever+l…
I'd say you did it already. (And did I mention how cute Terry is...??)
While lifting my luggage has probably helped me to come over that period of time, it's certainly lifted my desire to elevate my partners' liking for what I can do for her to greater heights.
Whatever it takes!!




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