{"id":9420,"date":"2019-04-10T10:03:12","date_gmt":"2019-04-10T08:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.desertsun.co.uk\/blog\/?p=9420"},"modified":"2019-04-10T10:04:24","modified_gmt":"2019-04-10T08:04:24","slug":"no-sex-attached-strings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.desertsun.co.uk\/blog\/9420\/","title":{"rendered":"No sex-attached strings"},"content":{"rendered":"

From Slate<\/a>:<\/p>\n

I am a single woman in her early 30s. I\u2019m attractive and have never had issues attracting a partner.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

When you were in your twenties, you mean?<\/p>\n

But after a series of disappointing relationships, each around a year, I\u2019m just not in a mood to engage emotionally with men right now.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So at the age when those in a relationship need to grow up and take it seriously, you found one or both of you weren’t up to it.<\/p>\n

The thing is, I have a high sex drive, and I can\u2019t fully satisfy myself on my own\u2014though believe me, I try. The clich\u00e9 is that this should be an easy problem to fix: Plenty of men want to have sex with a woman with no strings, right?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Yes and no. If you’re under 30 then yes, pretty much. If you’re over 30 the number of men into that sort of thing drops off a cliff and you’re left with, well, those who will always<\/em> be into that sort of thing.<\/p>\n

Here are my limitations: In the past, when I\u2019ve had hookup buddies,<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So far this woman has spent her twenties having “no issues attracting a partner”, her late twenties\/early thirties having “a series of disappointing relationships”, and now there are multiple hookup buddies thrown into the mix. Like many women who write these pieces, she appears unable to build lasting relationships and thinks bed-hopping is a substitute.<\/p>\n

I like them, but it never really is\u00a0just<\/em>\u00a0sex\u2014we inevitably get to know each other better and then I end up getting entangled with him, whether I want to or not.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Unless you’re a sociopath this is true for just about anyone. Women really ought to watch less TV.<\/p>\n

\n

I also am not really into sex parties or the poly scene; for better or worse, I like the intimacy of one-on-one connections, even if all I want is sex right now.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

For the sake of my blogging that’s a shame, but it’s refreshing to find someone who admits the poly scene is more about sex than intimacy.<\/p>\n

\n

So I\u2019m not really sure how to proceed. I\u2019ve identified a few bars in my town that are \u2026 good for this sort of thing, but that is hit or miss for finding an attractive guy.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

What’s this, the 1990s?<\/p>\n

\n

Tinder and similar apps for straight people are full of creeps who have no game, and I\u2019m afraid if I\u2019m upfront about what I want, I\u2019ll attract even more of that type.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Eh? You only want sex with no strings attached, but the man must have game? Why? And yeah, Tinder is full of creeps. What did you expect from a hookup app, a roomful of Rhodes scholars? And yes, announcing to a bunch of strangers online that you just want a shag is going to attract all sorts of weirdos while men with options back away slowly. Most will probably take a few antibiotics afterwards just to be sure.<\/p>\n

Here’s the advice she’s given:<\/p>\n

\n

It\u2019s true\u2014even when both parties are completely uninterested in anything serious or romantic, you can still eventually end up in the bath-products aisle together debating whether your connection means anything and having moments of odd, sticky feelings toward each other.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Well, yes. This is why polyamorists who watch their lovers go into the bedroom with another person on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are either sociopaths or an emotional wreck inside.<\/p>\n

\n

In your case, it sounds like at least some of the entanglement is coming from your end. So put reminders in your phone: Make the guys have names like \u201cChris Nothing Serious Johnson\u201d or \u201cJoe This Is Just Sex Beatty.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Yes, this is perfectly normal.<\/p>\n

\n

Whatever will underscore the boundaries you\u2019ve set and need to respect for yourself, in addition to expecting the guy to adhere to.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This no-strings sex is looking a little stringy.<\/p>\n

\n

Hopefully that\u2019ll make it easier to keep a good casual connection going (once you\u2019ve found an acceptable partner) without tipping into what you don\u2019t want.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Yes, your innate biological desire to pair-bond can be outwitted by putting reminders in your phone next to men’s names.<\/p>\n

\n

As far as apps go, I\u2019m wondering if you\u2019ve specifically tried Bumble.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Bumble is middle class Tinder, where people pretend they’re looking for friends to hang out with in cool capital cities while actually just looking to date. Instead of making duck faces, women put their grad school on.<\/p>\n

\n

I\u2019m also wondering if it\u2019s possible to go back to former flings for another round or two.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I’m guessing self-respect isn’t a consideration here?<\/p>\n

\n

Having a few partners you see somewhat less frequently might make it easier to prevent the entanglements that can result from too much close proximity.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I suspect her real problem is the hookup partners aren’t there any more and she’ll be doing well to find one who isn’t a complete weirdo. Everything was so much easier when she was 25, wasn’t it?<\/p>\n

\n

Still, unfortunately, you\u2019re going to have to get out there and wade through at least some potential creeps.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Let’s switch the sexes around for a second: still, unfortunately, you’re going to have to get out there and wade through at least some potential sluts.<\/p>\n

\n

They might all turn out to be mostly benign, but some might not.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

They might all turn out to not want payment, but some might.<\/p>\n

\n

Meet in public places that are likely to have people around, be careful with the location of your home, and remember you can always leave if you get uncomfortable or feel a weird vibe.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

It beggars belief that this needs to be said to a woman in her thirties. And that turns out to be the end of the advice. Not very helpful, was it? Then again, what can you do? My advice to her would be to engage in serious thought about why her previous relationships failed, perhaps with the assistance of a trained psychologist, and look at what she can do to improve her chances of success. But that’s not the modern way, is it?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From Slate: I am a single woman in her early 30s. I\u2019m attractive and have never had issues attracting a partner. When you were in your twenties, you mean? But after a series of disappointing relationships, each around a year, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[87],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.desertsun.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9420"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.desertsun.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.desertsun.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.desertsun.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.desertsun.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9420"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.desertsun.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9420\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9423,"href":"http:\/\/www.desertsun.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9420\/revisions\/9423"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.desertsun.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.desertsun.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.desertsun.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}