respect in relationships

Controlling Ambivalence

When we first start dating someone new it can be easy to fall into the familiar trap of being blinded to the things we do not want to hear. Maybe the person says they do not want a relationship, maybe they say they do not know what they want, maybe they have a fear of commitment, but whatever the case may be, you need to HEAR IT. Rather than choosing to ignore a statement, it is important to hear it, listen to it, and remain mindful of our actions moving forward. It may feel as if the other person is now taking control of the outcome of your love life, but really you are the empowered one. Remember, that if you stay true to yourself, state what you want, and accept nothing less, you are the one in control of your own destiny. Do not let another person’s fears bring you down or get in the way of you having what your heart desires because it is really up to you. You have the power and you need to remain self-empowered to walk away from a situation that does not serve your highest good.

Lets back track…. What really is the fear of commitment?

Is the fear of commitment fundamentally the same as the fear of abandonment? I think they are similar variations of a deep-rooted fear of intimacy and vulnerability, but a fear of commitment may involve a fear of sacrifice or loss of freedom of self, whereas a fear of abandonment may come after a commitment has been made. For those with a fear of abandonment, the whole idea of commitment falls on shaky ground. Commitment does not ever feel secure enough to fulfill the deep-rooted desire to be loved unconditionally and accepted for our authentic selves.

Ask yourself these questions to assess and explore how to control your own ambivalence:

  1. What are the ways you make inappropriate or unrealistic commitments?
  2. What is the point in a relationship at which you are most likely to panic and run?
  3. What ways do you scare yourself by moving ahead too quickly?
  4. What are some expectations you have that will ultimately make you want to bolt and run away?
  5. What are your commitment fantasies?
  6. How do you respond to someone else’s fantasies?
  7. What ways are your responses so immediate and so intense that they might make a potential mate feel trapped?
  8. In what ways might you distance partners by constructing boundaries?
  9. How do you fail to erect reasonable boundaries?
  10. What are the ways your ambivalence may be acted out in the non-romantic areas of your life?

Let me know how the fear of commitment shows up for you in your life!

Creating Boundaries: Part I

It is the most liberating and empowering feeling to be so aware of the types of mistakes you know you will no longer make. When you finally build up the courage to stand up for yourself and know when someone is crossing your boundary that it is not right and that it doesn’t sit well with you is how you know you are changing. Once you see the after effects of doing so, you will see how much greater value that action holds over allowing someone to take full advantage of you for instant and temporary satisfaction. It can feel safer and more “comfortable”- there is that term again- when you choose to go along with what someone else is ‘ok’ with.

However, it is only making things work for THEM and not you.

Since when are you not important too? When is it not enough for you to have your own voice and beliefs?

Once you establish what you know inside is how you will allow others to treat you, you can start having the utmost respect for yourself. There really is love all around. Love is always there lurking around and it is only when we can see clearly about who we are and what kind of life we want to lead that love can fully come welcomed through our door. The energy you create around you has an aura affect on others.

Knowing we deserve to feel Respected

respect-means
When we feel we are not being treated exactly the way we should be one of the first places we go is to blame ourselves. Why do we do this? Why is it our fault that someone else isn’t giving us what we deserve? That is the key word: deserve. A lot of the time we don’t even know what we deserve let alone think that we deserve to be respected. It is an enormous issue to be so wrapped up and focused on someone else’s behaviors, actions and reactions that we forget to worry about our own. Correction: it is not that we are really forgetting to think about ourselves, rather, we actively choose to ignore and avoid our own problems because it is much more difficult to look in the mirror and see a person whom we do not completely love. We cannot and will never be able to change another person’s behaviors, views or beliefs. Therefore, it is important to remember that trying to do so will only end in severe frustration. Instead, take a minute to really examine yourself and see your own soul through crystal clear lenses. Sometimes we focus on others to avoid what negative aspects we may be recognizing in them that we know we posses. After all, most of the time we date or connect most with others who reflect our own beliefs about ourselves whether good or bad. In this case, we need to be very cautious about getting too comfortable with this and go outside of our comfort zone to really know and establish our rigid boundaries. When we get used to being treated a certain way, we find comfort in it, which can be very dangerous if it is treatment that further reinforces a negative self-image. Why do we even allow ourselves to feel comfortable and familiarize ourselves with the unwanted feeling. The feeling that we are bothering someone else and being a burden on their happiness. Why do we see and struggle so much with our own characteristics being what others love and cherish? When we can’t look at ourselves and accept what we see we cannot feel fully happy or accepted by others. Before anyone can respect you, you need to respect yourself. Once you do that, it will be impossible for anyone around you to show you disrespect because in the end, you know you best. You also will then love you best. When you can be your own best friend and truly love who you know and believe you are, you will then resonate and attract positive and beautiful energy all around you.

 

 

 

 

Discrepancies within the Hook Up Culture on College Campuses

For my most recent Sociology class on Gender identities, interactions and relationships, I was required to read the article, “Hooking up on College Campuses,” by: Paula England, Emily Fitzgibbons, and Alison C.K. Forgarty. These three students studying at Stanford University conducted a study through qualitative interviews asking students questions about their behaviors and attitudes about today’s hook up culture. This study includes the colleges of University of Arizona, Indiana University, University of California at Santa Barbara, Stanford University and University of New York at Stony Brook.

Background:

Throughout the years, sexual activity between genders has undergone a revolution where levels of equality have somewhat shifted. As more women attend college and move into male-based professions, there are different behaviors and expectations among them as they are choosing to delay marriage.  Men, on the other hand, are engaging in casual relationships with women excluding commitment, and sometimes even monogamy.

There were four main topics this research study touched on:

Gender within hookups, the sexual double standard, the exclusive relationship, and the casual partner.

Quote from article: Page 4

 Gendered Initiation

“In the ‘old days,’ men asked women on dates and initiated most sexual behavior. One might have thought that the gender revolution would de-gender scripts of initiation on dates or in sexual behavior. But this transformation hasn’t happened; initiation is nowhere near equal.”

Today, men are still initiating contact more than the women they are pursuing, whether casually or exclusively. Generally, while women do have the choice to make these first moves, they still expect men to take initiatives and typically look down on them when they don’t. This further shows how even in a generation today where men and women’s sexual behaviors are converging, there are still traditional values that we struggle to let go of. This may be a sign that traditional dating and love still exists and is being hidden underneath the idea of women submitting to casual standards.

Sexual Double Standard

“in focus groups, students said that men would sometimes decide that a woman was relationship material because she wouldn’t hook up with them the first time they were together”

“This presents women who want relationships with a real dilemma: the main path into relationships today is through hook ups, but through hooking up they also risk men’s thinking they aren’t relationship material.”

When is the right time for a woman to hook up with a man? It is unfair to impose this standard because there then is no way for women to successfully have a dating partner. No matter what way a woman chooses to go she is viewed in a certain way, which puts her at a disadvantage when going after what she wants. This is also demonstrated by the example of the stereotype that makes it acceptable and appropriate for men to engage in risqué sexual behavior but not for a woman. There is never a time when a double standard is acceptable. Many men, on college campuses, treat their “hook-up partner” as if they are merely a body to enjoy during their own convenience. Many men have the mentality of “to have your cake and eat it too,” while attempting to get with other women and simultaneously becoming possessive and jealous when their partner does the same thing. This is a sexual double standard that is held a lot in casual relationships in college. This typically occurs when men wish to hold power over their partner. Unfortunately where there is power there cannot be closeness, and when one struggles to control the other the two lose that intimacy that made them interested in one another in the first place. Today’s college men and women must choose between having an intimate partner where there is mutual respect or to refrain from having one at all.

Exclusive relationship

“Thus, at least in the cases where a relationship ensued, it was typically not the woman initiating the talk. Of course, this is not inconsistent with the possibility that women initiate more talks overall, but get shut down by men who don’t want relationships.”

Women tend to feel anxious to bring up a DTR (define the relationship) conversation and are often willing to risk losing the intimacy in exchange for a possibly respectful, monogamous relationship. Men, on the other hand, tend to not directly bring up this talk, which perpetuates the stereotype of women being more expressive with their emotions. Women are more expressive and should be encouraged to use it to their advantage. If women express to their partner exactly what they need and desire they will be strong and demanding boosting their self-respect along with their partner respecting them more in return.

“Friends with Benefits” or “Steady Hook-up Partner”

“If the higher rates of orgasm in a relationship come mainly from communication and ‘practice’ with this particular partner, then we might expect this advantage to be present in ‘friends with benefits’ or regular hook up’ situations as well, even where there is not a professed romantic relationship.”

The intensity of orgasm more often than not comes from the security of a healthy and loving monogamous relationship. Today, men and women may choose casual encounters to satisfy their sexual needs, but some research has found that the more consistent, emotionally close and secure a couple is, the more intense an orgasm may be. This is especially true for women, who unfortunately report having fewer orgasms than men. This further proves that while a casual partner may be satisfying for a moment, it severely lacks the substance and fulfillment of both physical and emotional pleasure that comes from a real relationship.

Have opinions about this topic? You may review the article and share and post your thoughts below.

England, Paula. Emily Fitzgibbons Shafer and Alison C. K. Fogarty. 2007. “Hooking Up and Forming Romantic Relationships on Today’s College Campuses.” Pp. 531-47 in The Gendered Society Reader, edited by Michael S. Kimmel. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.