“My Husband Has Been Pursuing Ads on Craigslist Casual Encounters”

My husband and I have been married for six years. This past September I found he had responded to casual encounter ads on Craiglist. The emails said he wanted to “watch” and he “hadn’t gotten up the nerve to cheat on his wife.” I confronted him with this and he said nothing happened and he was “just bored” and “he’s a grown ass man and can look at what he wants.”

In January of this year I found he had a secret email account where he had posted on Craiglist saying he “was looking to watch and touching was ok with him if it was ok with them.” I confronted him again and got the same answer as before. Last week I found history on his phone that he was looking at local Craiglist ads when he was out of town. Again, same answer: “Nothing happened and I’m a grown ass man and can look at what I want.” He also said no one ever actually goes through after emailing back and forth with those ads.

I don’t know what to believe. I want to trust him but I am very hurt. Should I believe nothing is happening? — A Fool to Believe

Um, no, you shouldn’t believe that “nothing happened” unless you consider your husband pursuing and responding to ads for casual sex, and emailing women telling them he’s “ok with touching,” nothing. Personally, I consider that very much something, especially when the intent is to do a whole lot more than simply email. And for all you know, there has been more. I know that’s the part you don’t want to believe, but what I’m saying is the part you already have confirmation happened — that your husband has been looking for casual sex — is bad enough. Why in the world would you be even remotely OK with that if you don’t have a pre-agreed upon open relationship? I repeat: your husband has been searching for casual sex at least since last September — quite possibly longer — and doesn’t seem the least bit remorseful or apologetic.

He’s so serious in his search that he created a private email address and pursues women when he’s out of town. Do you need it spelled out on a blimp flown over your back yard? The man is, at the very least, trying very intently to cheat on you, and has quite possibly already cheated on you. If he hasn’t already, it probably isn’t because he doesn’t want to or, as he says, hasn’t “gotten up the nerve”; it’s because, much to his chagrin, “no one ever goes through after emailing back and forth with those ads.” Even if all he’s after is the excitement of doing something he knows he shouldn’t — emailing random women about having casual sex together — without anything actually “happening,” he’s still way out of line and totally disrespecting you and your union. That you don’t seem entirely outraged that your husband has so much as looked at an ad with an interest in pursuing it suggests a history of your husband doing crappy things and you looking the other way.

And WTF is this business about your husband being a “grown ass man and can look at what he wants”? Being a grown-up doesn’t mean that rules, laws, and vows suddenly don’t apply. Being a grown-up doesn’t mean there aren’t consequences to your actions. Being a grown-up doesn’t mean you can cheat on your spouse or try to cheat on your spouse and not have to deal with the repercussions. If he wants to play that ridiculous game, I suggest you play it and beat him at it. Find a good divorce attorney and discuss what you would be entitled to if your marriage ended and what kind of information you’d need to prove that your husband has been breaking the vows of your marriage. After all, you’re a grown ass woman and maybe what you want — I hope what you want — is to not be with a man who has such little regard and respect for you.

*If you have a relationship/dating question I can help answer, send me your letters at wendy@dearwendy.com and be sure to follow me on Twitter and ‘like’ me on Facebook.

266 Comments

  1. kerrycontrary says:

    WWS! Something DID happen-Your husband pursued people on the INTERNET to have sex with. That’s not normal. That’s not OK. Why are you not more angry!?

    1. what does WWS stand for again?

      1. Avatar photo ScrambledMegss says:

        What Wendy Said!

      2. come on brad, keep up… Lol

      3. hush it you!

  2. Oh honey. Anyone this intent on cheating – already has. Go make an appointment with your doctor to get checked for everything under the sun and then go find a divorce attorney. The bad news is that you have to go through the process of a divorce; the good news is that you will then be rid of this jackass and can find yourself a REAL man and not settle for a weak-ass facsimile of one.

  3. LW, listen to Wendy! (…WWS :))

    Seriously, your question after all this is essentially “so do I put my head back in the sand?” Even if your husband wants to e-mail people from Craigslist just for the thrill (which, personally, those e-mails sound full of intent…not like somebody just trying to get off), that is unacceptable. Your husband is actively looking for sex outside of the marriage, & his justification is “I’m a grown-ass man & can look at what I want”?? Craigslist isn’t porn… people post ads to meet up for real, live sex. A monogamous person does not contact people from that site.

    He seems to be banking on your passivity & trust– so don’t give it to him.

  4. SweetPeaG says:

    Gross.

    I can’t be surprised anymore. How many of these types of things to we see? I don’t have any real advice because Wendy already gave the best advice possible for this situation.

    I just need to generally ask WHY??? Why do people continue to enter into monogamous marriages that they clearly don’t want to be in? This guy clearly has no respect for his wife. He clearly didn’t take his vows seriously. You can call it anything you like. He might have a “kink” for anonymous sex or for “watching”. You can argue (as some do) that human beings aren’t meant to be monogamous. That it isn’t natural. I don’t know if that is true. But, I continue to fight “nature” because it is worth it to me. To be in a committed bond with one person I can trust. I love monogamy. But, I digress. What I really want to say is if this is truly a “grown ass man”… why wasn’t he grown ass enough to give this woman the honest truth before he entered into this very serious commitment with her? He mislead her. He allowed her to waste precious time being with him. It’s not fair. Real men do not lie to and hurt someone they love. That’s what it comes down to.

    Sorry for the rant. I am just tired of seeing this kind of thing. People just need to stop it.

    LW- do what Wendy says. When a man shows no remorse for these kind of actions, he’s not going to change. So, you can live like this for years to come. Or you can go live another, much happier life without him.

    1. i feel the same way. i think though, it boils down to the fact that in our society, for basically all of civilized history, we have married each other. we have been monogomous, atleast in theory. so i dont think that people feel that they have a choice…

      its like we were talking about yesterday about having babies. i always just thought i was going to have babies, everyone did, thats just what you do. and then, now as i get older, i really do have a choice. i dont think that the vast majority of people feel that way with marriage… so i dont think this guy thought he had any other option then marriage, you know?

      its dumb.

      1. SweetPeaG says:

        I agree with what you’re saying. People feel like marriage is the step they are “supposed” to take. And I can certainly feel sorry for anyone who got married just because they felt societal pressure to do so.

        But, I still don’t see it as an excuse for lying and deceit.

      2. an excuse, no.

        a reason why? maybe… although i still dont even buy that. i guess the sad part is that, assuming what we think is true (he didnt actually want to be married), the lying and deceit started internally with him. he is living a lie. his whole life is a lie. thats sad…

    2. You know, I’ve heard that “men aren’t meant to be monogamous” bullshit from almost every guy I know and I still don’t believe it. If you want to go full caveman, men also weren’t meant to eat with forks and knives or wash their clothes or move any faster than they can walk. Technology and societal norms have evolved over the years that people have become civilized, and monogamy is one of the beautiful things that became of the evolution. Men who claim that are just making an excuse for being dickheaded assholes, and it’s a poor excuse at that.

      1. applescruff says:

        Don’t forget be dead by 35!

      2. One of the main natural impulses of men when it comes to mating is rape. Maybe we should legalize that so we can be true to our base nature. *rolls eyes* Just be glad those idiots advertised themselves as such so you didn’t waste any time on them.

      3. SweetPeaG says:

        Anna! LOL… don’t be creeped out, but I love you for this!

        My thoughts exactly. If people want me to run around naked and unshowered and use the bathroom wherever I please (because clothing and indoor plumbing aren’t really natural either), I can do that. Who would like to see us revert to that? Anyone?

        I know plenty of men who are quite okay with monogamy and don’t need a freaking harem to be happy. Civilization is great!

      4. Not creepy at all 🙂 And civilization is great! I’ve recently been talking to my cute coworker a lot more and it turns out he wanted to get married by the time he was 25 and is as disappointed as I am that it didn’t happen. Yes, wants to get married! And we are both single 🙂 So apparently they do exist.

      5. SweetPeaG says:

        Anna… any dates with this guy on the horizon?! 🙂

        Maybe I have been spoiled by the amazing guys in my life? My Dad (who has been married to my Mom quite happily for 35 years), my fiance (who I would trust with my life), and many guy friends (who are all totally loyal to the significant others in their lives… or are searching for a girl to settle down with). None of these guys seem to have an issue staying faithful. So, YES, they do absolutely exist. Keep the faith!

      6. Well, I don’t know if it counts as a date but he did invite me out to dinner at a fancy restaurant in Cleveland that I’ve always wanted to go to. It will be with a small group of friends from work but he said he would be my protector so I don’t have to walk the streets of downtown Cleveland alone. 🙂 It’s kind of a joke we have because one time when I was still with my ex I went to Cleveland for a mutual friend’s birthday party and he was there and I was scared shitless about walking through the city alone at night. So he walked me back to my car like a gentleman 🙂

      7. I love this too! In my life, among my friends and family, I have had lots of examples of real men who gladly live up to their vows . Unfortunately, there have been examples of dickhead assholes, too. This guy is one of those. Lose him.

      8. Agreed! As many women as there are in the world like me who expect monogamy, there are also plenty of loose women who don’t want it. I know someone who goes to the bar at least twice a week and comes home with a different guy almost every night. If a guy wants someone like that, he can find it in this society. I personally think it’s gross and she probably has every STD in the book because she “doesn’t like condoms” but hey to each her own right? Not my style!

      9. I don’t think you need to call women who don’t want monogamy ‘loose’ – once they aren’t lying or cheating or hurting anyone then they are free to live their lives how they want. It isn’t a lesser life – just different and not one you would choose.

      10. I wasn’t defining anyone who has sex outside of a monogamous relationship as loose; just people like the girl I know who have screwed almost every male in their small town and some of the females too. She’s my best friend’s sister, and my best friend is really worried that she’s going to get pregnant any day now and have no idea who the father is. For some reason, she also refuses to on the Pill. This girl is also continuously unemployed or underemployed and definitely could not support a child.

      11. “because she “doesn’t like condoms”” The thought alone of unknowingly sleeping with someone like this keeps me from being promiscious.

      12. Yeah, but that’s why it’s your responsibility to protect YOURSELF.

      13. Doesn’t matter. Condoms aren’t 100% effective and they don’t prevent you from oral sex (yes I’ve heard of dental dams but I’m not licking plastic–yuck). I’m just too paranoid for that sort of life style.

      14. Well, that’s how you’re protecting yourself then.

        Obviously abstinence is the only sure-fire way to avoid STDs, but it’s not a reasonable choice for everyone.

      15. Anyway, when I made that statement I didn’t really mean to direct it toward YOU(Brad), but mostly meant YOU(general). It takes 2 to tango, you know? I don’t really think her decision to have unprotected sex with multiple partners is a smart move, but she sure isn’t having any trouble finding dudes to fuck her without a condom is she? And then if they get something they wanna be like “She BURNED me!”……I hear it all the time. I’m like, who the hell put a gun up to your head and forced you to fuck her without a condom? So it’s just another one of my rants. Nothing against you, and sorry if it came across that way.

      16. It didn’t. I was just commenting my opinion on it.

      17. “If you want to go full caveman, men also weren’t meant to eat with forks and knives or wash their clothes or move any faster than they can walk”

        Brilliant Anna!

      18. Unfortunately, the ‘men aren’t meant to be monogamous’ ideology was perpetuated by a majority of the world’s religions. There’s a great meme about marriage in the Bible out there..and I know for a fact that Islam and Hinduism both allowed multiple wives. Not too sure about Judaism though. Until we can learn to discern traditional religious values, with the way society has evolved there will always be a contingent that can justify such ideas.

      19. Christianity and Judaism don’t allow multiple wives. If you said that somewhere else I didn’t see it.

      20. Not even the old testament?!

      21. Quoting old testament (OT) stuff get’s into some pretty complicated issues and that is too long to get into here. Suffice to say, looking a verses (especially OT ones) outside of the context of the whole chapter/book can be very misleading. A decent amount of that stuff is no longer applicable to Christians today. Some of it is just a historical account of what was going on. Some of it can be proven with archaeological evidence and some of it cannot. Knowing what’s applicable to us today vs what’s history is something that can’t really be explained briefly in a comment box like this. But to try and give a simple example: I forget where, but there are sections of the OT detailing how we are supposed to perform animal sacrifices, how do choose the animal being sacrificed, etc. Well all of that stuff is not relevant to today’s Christians because the whole purpose of animal sacrifices was to serve as an illusion to the coming of Christ and as a teaching instrument. Now that he’s come and gone, animal sacrifices aren’t needed anymore because Jesus’s death paid for all sin. Also, there are stories in the bible that detail God working with imperfect people. It doesn’t mean He condoned it, but sometimes I think God was focusing on the bigger picture rather than all of the individual’s faults. For example, I think King David had something like over 100 concubines or something ridiculous like that. He also committed adultery on some guy’s wife, a guy he had sent off to war on purpose so he could fuck her, and the guy ended up dying in battle. No one can argue that from the dawn of time God has hated adultery (it’s in the 10 commandments after all). Doesn’t mean I should take that as justification for me to go out and build a harem or sleep with married women.

        So my point is that just because someone quotes a single verse (like in that meme) doesn’t mean that it’s part of the doctrine of the faith. Context is very important. Case in point: http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kvlb79iwFy1qzxzwwo1_500.jpg

      22. Its been a while since my world religions class, so I’ll leave it at your explanation that its NOT applicable to today’s Christians. And speaking of context..it reminded me of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfrO6LJyhII

      23. i always was confused by the paradox created from those two ideals: no adultery is in the big 10, but at the same time all these “godly” people did all these shitty sexual things. i never got that. very contradictory…

      24. Well if God waited around for a perfect human to use to further his plans we wouldn’t even have a bible! Nobody’s perfect. God works in mysterious ways as the cheesy line goes. Certain things we’ll never be able to fully identify made the people God chose the right choice to do what he wanted to do. I’ll admit it’s not an entirely satisfying answer but it’s the best I can give you really. I mean look at Saul/Paul. The guy swore up and down that Jesus was a fraud up until (and after) the day Jesus died. Then Jesus revealed himself to Paul after the resurrection and he became one of the founding members of Christianity. What sense does that make??? Maybe converting a doubter added credibility? Who knows?

        Yeah some of the stuff God commanded people to do in the OT was pretty harsh, but if you study the people it was ordered on it wasn’t so bad in comparison. The video Lili linked for example references the command to kill all the Amalekites, including babies. Sounds harsh to us today, but it’s not quite as bad when you look at the context. Those people were in the process of committing genocide against the Israelites. What would you have done in their situation? They weren’t willing to negotiate. It was a them or us situation. They were pretty wicked in God’s eyes, so God gave Israel permission to wipe them out. They used to place babies in the arms of the statues of their gods that had been cooked red hot by fire for rituals (the babies would die obviously). Those people often killed the handicap and rape was a regular occurrence, especially on foreigners (both men and women). So it’s not like they were virtuous and innocent. People back then were pretty wicked is all I can really tell you, lol. Hell even the “civilized” Romans had people butchered for entertainment! Regardless of whether or not you’re looking at antiquity with a religious frame or not, ancient people were fucked up in the head!!!

        And I think the reason there’s an illusion that the NT God is nicer than the OT one is because of Jesus. During the OT the savior had not come yet, so God was occasionally sending out judgments on the wicked. I think that’s stopped now that Jesus came and went. It’s my understanding that there won’t be anymore judgement from now on until the last one. Same reason why I think there’s no really big special effect miracles happening (like parting the Red Sea), nothing new needs to be preached. We’ve got all we need now–just waiting for the climax.

      25. So then the total irony is that Christians today try to emulate the old testament characters… Wow.

      26. @Katie: I don’t think Christians are trying to emulate the old testament characters. Some of them do have good qualities sure, but overall I don’t think we’re trying to be like them. If anyone, Christians are supposed to emulate Christ. Christ challenged his followers to strive for perfection and to seek holiness, but it’s not fully achievable until death.

        Nowadays, the OT is there mostly as a historical account and proof that Jesus is who he says he is. The OT for example is where you’ll find all of the prophecies that predicted the coming of Christ and the ways of knowing who he is (His flesh will be pierced but no bones broken, he will be born in Bethlehem, etc.). Daniel chapter 9 contains the prophecy that gives the date of when Christ would appear (roughly 480 years after the book of Daniel was written).

        @Lili, You’re welcome. Having to defend Christ is pretty standard these days in 2012 lol, so I’m mostly used to it. Truth be told it actually often helps further my understanding. I’m a loyal person by nature so I have a natural impulse to rise to the defense, but since I’m not biblical scholar/expert, I have to look a good bit of it up. I hope I’ll have/make time somewhere down the road to give it a more serious study, but for now the core essentials are enough. Which to me are that that God’s mercy can be found both in the OT and the NT. Christ was planned from the very beginning and everything in the OT is to set the stage for the entrance of Christ. Some of the harsh things that can be found in the OT were done to ensure that all the pieces were in place for Christ because Christ is the essential piece. He’s the loophole as I like to think of it (all have to be judged and the price of sin is death, but Christ is the loophole because he will spare his own from judgement). And his core message was one of love and forgiveness and it was intended for every and all types of sinners. Everyone that wants salvation from God’s judgement can have it–they just have to ask for it. And Jesus made the promise that if your heart genuinely seeks him–you will find him. There’s all sorts of distractions from that out there but that’s really the core of it in my opinion.

        I think just about all of the problems Christianity has in an image department stem from pride issues and the different ways it works to try and prevent others and itself from sinning. I think it’s noble to work on trying not to sin out of love and obedience/respect for God, but it’s not something to get obsessed over, and going too far can be damaging (like the whole gay issue). All I can really tell people is to pay attention to the message of Christ himself, and not on what Christians are doing/saying in his name.

      27. I’m glad there are Christians out there that actually THINK about their religion. Thanks, Brad, for sharing your point of view. It’s so refreshing when people actually put some thought into these things instead of just yelling out bible verses.

      28. Thanks for the kind words Rachel. It’s always been my opinion that you’ll win over more souls primarily appealing to people’s hearts and appealing to their sense of logic rather than beating them over the head with a bible. Love was the strategy most* used by Christ. If you look past the sensationalism and misconceptions perpetuated from all sorts of different sources, you’ll find that the bible isn’t nearly as inconsistent or crazy as it’s made out to be. It sadly just isn’t easy to understand or piece together and you have to evaluate each part on the basis of whether it’s applicable to you or history. Not if you want the WHOLE story anyway.

      29. brad, i completely agree with everything you say, and i do appreciate your approach and your thoughts related to christianity.. but i disagree that people nowadays dont try to emulate the OT. that is where all the laws that I like to call crazy- the seemingly hundreds related to women, homosexuality, polygamy, ect, come from… when you ask christians about those, they take “law” directly from the OT and cite those verses as a explaination as to why it is the “right” way or whatever… deutoronomy actually means “the law”, or so i have been told when i was young. anyway, thats how i grew up- according to OT “law”… so while i agree with you that it is just supposed to be a historical account, your supposed to concentrate more on jesus, ect… in practice, that hasnt ever happened, in my experience, with out there crazy biblical people like my dad, and with the regular, secular biblical people i have just met in everyday life. afterall, that is where the anti homosexual bible verses come from…

      30. Katie, the subject of the law, or more specifically, which parts (if any) are still in effect day is extremely complicated. Unfortunately this is one area that I do not know well enough to speak from any position of believed mastery/authority. There are some Christians out there that believe none of it is applicable today, and there are some that believe that we are still bound by it. I’ve heard good arguments for both sides. I lean a little toward none of it applying anymore but again I don’t know if that’s correct or not. All I can do/say is to encourage you to do your own research on the topic.

      31. Wow, thanks for all the info Brad. Seriously, I appreciate your perspective since its not one I hear often in my circle. I seriously hope I’m not coming across as disrespecting Christianity, I respect it (well Jesus anyway) a LOT. I just don’t have any tolerance for hypocrisy and turning the meaning of the religion away from the love an acceptance Jesus preached to emulate.

      32. SweetPeaG says:

        Hey Brad!
        I wanted to thank you for a lot of this in depth explanation!

        I was raised in a VERY Christian home, so I have always professed it as my belief system (although often with many doubts). I decided a couple months ago to really try to read the Bible all the way through. I am currently struggling through the OT. Some rough stuff!!!! Some people have told me to skip right to the NT. But, I need to do it systematically if I’m going to do it.

        Some of your thoughts are really going to help me to keep in mind while reading the OT.

        Thanks 🙂

      33. I think every rational Christian has doubts. You’d have to be insane not to recognize that the possibility exists that most of what’s in the bible is fiction carefully crafted by leaders to keep people in line. But I think that there’s enough archaeological evidence out there to suggest that this isn’t the case. Good luck finishing it all. It’s something I’d like to do myself someday.

      34. Eagle Eye says:

        Huh, that’s really interesting, especially because as a Jew who was sent to YEARS of Hebrew School, I understand how the Jews read the Torah (the OT) but its really fascinating to hear how Christians interpret the same stories.

        For example, i/r/t animal sacrifices, the official doctrine that i always got was the with the destruction of the Temple by the Romans, no more sacrifices. (Although the sacrifice of the scape-goat and some bulls are still apart of the High Holidays liturgy).

        Additionally, the people from the Old Testament are supposed to be imperfect, because humans are imperfect. G-d of course is perfect, but we, as humans, can never quite live up to those standards. The view is to look at these holy individuals and understand that despite their human foibles they were able to do G-d’s bidding.

        Anyway, very interesting…

      35. Heh, fascinating huh? Is it my imagination or can I hear you thinking “You’re doing it wrong!” 😛

        Kidding aside, that’s pretty consistent with what I’ve learned though. The biggest difference between how Jews and Christians read the Torah is that Christians see the prophecies/law as being fulfilled, and Jews do not. Since the Jewish perspective doesn’t consider Jesus the Messiah, Jews are still waiting for the Savior—meaning that the sins of men have not been paid for yet. So the Jews “should” still be performing the ritual to my understanding as an illusion to the ultimate sacrifice of the ‘coming’ Christ. God is willing to accept an imperfect sacrifice as payment for sin (death being the price for sin as required under the law) until he’s ready to send the Messiah. However, the rules/rituals surrounding that practice are extremely specific so it’s currently physically impossible to do it since there’s a Mosque where the temple is supposed to be. If memory serves, there’s 144 specific items required to be in the temple and perform all those rituals according to the Torah. I think it’s interesting that the high Rabbis (sorry I forget the proper term) in Jerusalem have all 144 of them and just need permission to rebuild the temple. Heh, I think if Israel tried that it would start WWIII considering they’d have to tear down one of the most important holy sites in Islam. If you think terrorism is bad now…

        As a Christian, we see the destruction of the temple in 70AD by the Romans as serving two big purposes (there might be others). The first being that it simply was not required anymore. Christians believe that Jesus was the promised savior as was foretold in the OT by prophets like Daniel, so now that the savior was sacrificed there’s no need to perform any more animal sacrifices since the sacrifice of the Christ paid for all sins (past, present, and future) in full. So it served to end the continued existence of the temple and the Jews’ continued practice of animal sacrificing. *I* think God considered it an insult that his people were still trying to pay for their sins after he already did that for them, so he put an end to it. I mean if you had taken your friends out to lunch and paid for the meal as a gift to them; wouldn’t you be a little annoyed if one of them kept rejecting your gift and kept trying to pay for their portion of the check? It’s not a perfect example I know but I hope it at least makes it clearer the idea I’m trying to get at. PErhaps putting it in another way, say a wife is getting annoyed with her husband for watching TV in bed when she’s trying to sleep (or get laid), so one easy fix to that problem is to take the TV out of the room. Can’t very well watch TV in bed without the TV!

        I believe the second purpose was to fulfill prophecy (one Jesus gave himself if I’m not mistaken). I think that prophecy was supposed to help convince the Jews that Jesus wasn’t a fraud like they’d seen so many times before, but was the real deal.

      36. Eagle Eye says:

        Heh, hey, as long as no one messes with me, I don’t mess with anyone else!

        Yeah, with regards to the Temple, I’ve actually heard some conflicting view points, to the degree that with the destruction of the Temple, Jews started turning to the Rabbis (as opposed to the High Priests) and while we do mourn the destruction of the Temple (its some fast day, I’m not a good enough of a Jew to know which one), its allowed for everyone to be encouraged to study and partake in the religion instead of the High Priests. (I’m pretty sure, Hebrew school was many years ago, and we weren’t THAT good at paying attention…)

        Anyways, sorry, I guess this really isn’t the time/ place for a theological discussion! Mostly my Christian friends and I just bitch about trying to find someone who either believes in the same thing you do, or at least is cool with you believing…

        It always comes back to dating/ relationships doesn’t it?

    3. Avatar photo dandywarhol says:

      I feel the same. Not everyone is cut out for monogamy. If more people could understand that, and realize that, there would *hopefully* be a lot less heartbreak like the LW.
      If you can’t be in a relationship with only one person, then don’t!!

      1. Yeah, but the hard thing about this is the underlying distaste and name calling associated with people who prefer to be non monogamous (I mean, frankly I hate to say it but look around the comments to today’s letter, people calling more sexually liberated people all sorts of names…) I just don’t think society is ready for it yet. And, I also firmly believe that acceptance of gays is linked to society accepting non traditional sexual drives. I HOPE that people are more accepting of poly and kinky people now that we have started accepting gays more, but its STILL a long uphill battle.

        /end rant

      2. I totally agree, LIli. I mean I´m pretty much as vanilla as they come, but I believe everybody should be able to do as they please (within reason- pedophilia, zoophilia, necrophilia and rape of course are off bounds).
        The only caveat is that there be open communication in every couple (and before marriage/commitment) about the kinks, not just expect your SO to be ok with itonce it´s “too late”.

      3. Thanks JK! Ha, with my rants and soapboxes people must think I’m some sort of ‘kinky slutty whore’ but the truth is, I too am pretty vanilla and am looking for a long term commitment and firmly believe in monogamy for myself. but I am as Live and let live as they come. I don’t have to be a part of something to want it to be accepted,(case in point–gay marriage and acceptance, I am taking part in the gay pride parade here next weekend) because i truly think a accepting society is a happier one.

  5. artsygirl says:

    I would respond with “Yes you are a grown ass man, and I am a grown ass woman and this is me kicking your grown ass to the curb”

  6. i have said this before, so maybe this counts as a DW-ism, but just because looking at craigslist adds and emailing those people isnt “crossing a line” to some people, doesnt mean that you have to just sit and deal with it. if emailing strange women about having sex with them is crossing a line, you need to let your husband know that!! you get to make up your own lines, thats whats nice about the life we can build for ourselves.

    and just like yesterday, can we please talk about why all these men are emailing sketchy people on craigslist for sex? guys, where you at? can you explain this? i think its just the thrill of getting the emails.. i dont think a lot of guys would go through with it… but i definitely do think it is still crossing a freaking line.

    1. GatorGirl says:

      You have an excellent point here. Just because the LW’s husband appears to have no problem with his CraigsList trollling, doesn’t mean the LW has to be okay with it. Everyone gets to decide what they are comfortable with and where their line is drawn. That line needs to be clearly communicated within every relationship, but LW- this guy doesn’t care. Three times, THREE, you have caught him doing something that you have established is crossing your line. Three times you have communicated to him this is unacceptable to you, and three times he has dismissed your feelings. It is time for you to be a grown ass woman and kick this looser to the curb.

    2. I guess it’s easy– I mean, you can post/search for the exact, specific thing you’re into & find someone in your area willing to meet up. Personally, I would never– but I understand why someone who is SINGLE or in an OPEN relationship would (if they can’t find a better site, that is…) I don’t understand why all these “committed” people seem to be into it, though.

      An andecdote: one time I was hanging out with an ex, like a week or two after I broke his heart (not a good idea, guys!!) & I looked through his open e-mail while he was in the bathroom (ALSO not a good idea…) and I saw he’d replied to a shitton of Craigslist ads (and these were hooker ones, not just random people looking for casual sex) I don’t think he’d met up with any– but he did e-mail back and forth with a couple, some of them mentioning me (“My ex taught me to fuck pretty good!) so it was pretty disturbing. When I confronted him (which, obviously, I had no right to do) he said he was conducting a social experiment.

      Anyway! There was no real point to that except Craiglist seems to be something people use as a last resort? Maybe?

      1. Which is not to excuse this guy, at ALL. I’m sort of just rambling/speculating/trying to answer why people might use Craigslist.

      2. ele4phant says:

        I get that its easy, but aren’t there like legitimate sites that facilitate that? I live in Seattle, and they support the LustLab. And even sites like okcupid allow you to signify you’re just looking to hookup.

      3. ele4phant says:

        Excuse, the Stranger supports the LustLab, not the city of Seattle! We’re not THAT liberal.

      4. Um…Why haven’t we met up YET?!!!

      5. ele4phant says:

        Oh, somehow I thought I was the only Seattlite.

      6. We should!! I’ll set up a seattle meetup in the forum 🙂

    3. It is funny you say that. after reading this site about the girl whose SO was doing the interactive web thing…remember? Anyway, I told my husband at dinner that I thought that was cheating. He was like, that is crazy, I wouldn’t do that. I told him I didn’t think he had but I just wanted him to know that it is where I draw the line. It is a good thing to do in your relationship.

    4. Don’t look at me just because I’m a guy, lol. I don’t know why they think it’s OK. I think it’s crossing a line too and I wouldn’t do it. And I do think most would want to do more than just talk. I think it’s more of an ego/numbers kinda thing. And it’s an easier way to have more exciting sex (different people rather than trying new stuff with the same person).

  7. “I’m a grown ass man and can look at what I want” roflcopter…

    That is the worst line I’ve ever heard….and totally not even appropriate in the context. You should just tell him he’s a grown ass man that will be looking for an apartment since this grown ass man has stupidly left a blatent e-paper trail of his extra-marital transgressions….grown ass dumb ass is probably more appropriate….before you do any of that obtain copies of everything you’ve found.

    1. “roflcopter” that made me laugh out loud at my desk in the middle of a quiet office. Thanks for that, as if they didn’t think I was strange enough! 🙂

      1. What is rotflcopter?

      2. rofl – copter. A helicopter that shoots lolbombs.

    2. Sunshine Brite says:

      I know, right? I could barely make it through the letter. I have friends who joke that they do what they want, but I’m pretty sure their partners would say otherwise. They’d say that they’re caring and take their views into account… or they’d be exes. You know, like this guy should have been after he’d been caught a couple times ago.

  8. ReginaRey says:

    I think it’s a pretty good rule of thumb that when someone has to repeatedly declare that they’re a grown up and can do what they want…that they are in fact childish and immature and are NOT very “grown up.” No mature adult needs to spout off about how much of a “grown ass man” they are. Please.

    Your husband has approximately 0 respect for you and your marriage. He’s immature. He’s irresponsible. He’s creepy. Yes, creepy. It’s fucking creepy to pursue people on the Craigslist casual encounters section. Have you ever read any entries there? It’s enough to make any sane person shudder.

    I don’t know how old you two are, or how long you’ve been married. But his creep factor, his skeeziness, his lack of respect and maturity…none of these things just *poof!* “appeared” after you got married. I’m guessing he possessed these qualities in spades before you ever got married. Given what you’ve written in your letter, and like Wendy said, it seems like you’ve overlooked quite a lot. I’m guessing it has something to do with a lack of self-worth, self-respect, confidence, etc on your part. Maybe you didn’t have the best example of a healthy relationship growing up. Maybe you married him because you didn’t know any better at the time.

    Well, this isn’t healthy. And you no longer have an excuse not to know better…he doesn’t respect you and he’s trying to cheat on you. Buck up, LW. Buck up and leave your husband to pursue as many casual encounters as his heart desires. You’ve got better things to do, and better people to be with in the future. I promise.

    1. caitie_didn't says:

      I totally agree that saying ‘I’m a grown-up and I can do what I want!” is an big, neon sign that this person is actually not a grown up. Much the same way that “well it’s a free country and I can do what I want!” is never used to defend something that is not indefensibly, hilariously stupid.

    2. kerrycontrary says:

      I don’t think it’s really “creppy” or skeezy for someone to use casual encounters if they are single and are into that sort of thing. I think it’s completely dangerous, but perhaps no less dangerous than going home with a guy you met at the bar that night. Different strokes for different folks.

      The problem with the letters that wendy has been getting pertaining craigslist have all been from people in relationships. Which is nuts.

      1. ReginaRey says:

        I respect your ability to be non-judgy about the casual encounters section. I truly do. I just…can’t. I actually just browsed through the DC section, and it’s just…creepy. People wanting to come blow you during lunch. Girls wanting to f**k you for $90 so they can have enough cash to buy a MacBook Pro. It’s…so skeezy. I mean, I agree that people can do it if they want to. But what kind of intelligent, stable individual thinks it’s a good idea to meet up with someone you’ve never seen or spoken to before for sex?? Like you said, it’s freaking dangerous!

      2. ReginaRey says:

        Oh, and the buy who wants to blow another dude while he takes a huge dump. No lie.

      3. Do you guys call this a “blumpie” or a “blumpkins”? I’ve heard it both ways.

      4. a_different_Wendy says:

        I consider myself fairly sane, stable, and intelligent. I could be wrong about myself of course, but my life is pretty good. And I have posted on Casual Encounters when I was single and a little younger. I was pretty choosy about who I met up with, and was pretty careful about it. The fact is, I’d just gotten out of a long relationship and I didn’t want to date anyone, I didn’t even want the tiniest risk of any emotion developing. I just wanted to sleep with some random strangers. I’m not gonna say some of the ads aren’t really gross, but for some people it’s just exactly what they need.

      5. Really!? EWWWWW. *shudder* No wonder I don’t go on there.

      6. RR, people use ALL kinds of sites to look for casual sex encounters. You might think it’s creepy/weird/dangerous, but it’s not uncommon at all. It’s not even just internet sites anymore, but location-based apps. WAY more people do it than you might imagine. Even intelligent and stable ones.

      7. ah yea i heard about one of those apps- you connect with people who are in like a 1 block radius from you and meet up… some guys in chicago were using it to rape teenage girls…

        great stuff…

      8. I think most of them are geared toward men who have sex with men (Grindr, Growlr, Scruff). I think the ones geared toward straight people are supposed to be more like “friend finders” or something less obvious.

      9. Yea thats true… But that probably didn’t matter to the girls who got raped, you know?

      10. Yeah, but what I’m saying is that the girls may not have been looking for casual sex. And even if they were, it’s not their fault or technology’s fault that they were raped. It’s the rapist’s fault. Technology is just another way for predators to find prey; but predators are going to exist regardless of the technology, and if they want to rape someone, they’ll find a way.

      11. oh yea, i just hate how “meet-up” sites or apps like that make it so easy. like the rapist has to put in almost no effort to actually find his victims. i just wish it was harder to rape people.

      12. Yeah, me too. 🙁

      13. Avatar photo dandywarhol says:

        One guy in Wisconsin (the town I went to college in, incindentally) met up with a younger boy, maybe like 13, and raped/harassed him. Hooray for technology!

      14. SweetPeaG says:

        And I totally respect your honesty RR. Because I feel the same way. I *try* so hard to not be judgy. But, I am. Those sorts of ads kinda scare me as well. Give me the willies, if you will.

        Blumpkins… yes. I will judge the heck out of people that are into blumpkins. I really just will.

      15. but do you (and RR) judge the people who would go home with a guy they just met at a bar? i see no difference, personally, in the safety risk and in the gross factor with those two things. i just think that the internet gives people an easier way to be really out there and secific with what they want to do sexually.

      16. SweetPeaG says:

        I see what you’re saying- I do! You have a great point. Which is why I *try* to not be judgmental.

        Creeped out is just my gut reaction to Craigs list ads. Sometimes our gut reaction is something we can’t change.

      17. My gut reaction is the same, but I get that same reaction from people going home with others they just met in a bar… I guess I’m just for all inclusive creepiness about having random sex with strangers.

      18. SweetPeaG says:

        Well, I agree. Don’t get me wrong. Going home with a guy from a bar doesn’t seem safe either! I guess the whole “Craig’s List Killer” thing may have given it a bad name. Although, I know there are countless “Random Bar Killers” as well 🙂

      19. I try very hard not to be judgy, too. But I will judge someone who’s into blumpkins (never heard that one, the things I learn on DW) and, I’m afraid I will judge someone who goes home with a random stranger from a bar. It’s just not a smart thing to do.

      20. ReginaRey says:

        Honestly, yes, I will judge people who go home from bars with strangers. It’s a great way to get raped.

      21. I mean, if blumpkins are your thing (New word of the day!), more power to you. I will respect your right to be into them, and I will respect your right to experience them whenever you can. But, I will still they’re gross and just how it is.

      22. *think* they’re gross.

      23. and *that’s* just how it is. Fat fingers, today. Good thing I’m not at work.

      24. Right! Well, as Dan Savage preaches, don’t partake in a kink if you don’t want to, but NEVER make a partner feel bad or shameful for having it. Its just that, a kink.

      25. Woah! RR not sure if you re-read this comment, but to me it came across as victim shaming. I think its the rapists fault, even if a girl went home with a guy she met at the bar. Plus I mean, most rapes are done by partners.

      26. yeah I’ve heard the number thrown around that roughly 75% of the time the woman had some degree of a relationship with the rapist.

      27. Chiming in to agree, here– it was pretty poor phrasing, & implies culpability on the part of the victim. I understand the larger point RR was trying to make– that there’s always danger involved when in an intimate situation with a stranger (whether that person is from Craigslist, or from a bar)– but saying people “get raped” is a not-great way to express that.

      28. I don’t think it’s victim shaming. No woman deserves to be raped. While it is true that the rapist is the one who makes the decision to be a rapist, I do not think it is smart to deliberately, consciously put yourself in a potentially dangerous situation without taking appropriate precautions. If you play with fire, you must consider the possibility that you will get burned. To do otherwise is foolish. You cannot control the actions of others, but you can do your best to protect yourself and not be a victim.

      29. See, the underlying assumption in your comment is that the victim can prevent rape if they follow ‘certain societal rules’ that is simply not true. Rapists are the only ones who can prevent rape. Can we PLEASE start focusing on better training men in our society to NOT think its ok to force a woman to have sex EVER. Yes, I know its less scary to think that so and so was raped because she did this. I (insert Italics) would n ever be so dumb. Therefore I am safe. Its a false security.

      30. Maybe I’m just a pessimist, but I’m not sure what more you could do in terms of male training. I think 99% of men out there know it’s wrong by the time they have a sex drive–they just don’t care. Not really sure how you can get a person to care about something they don’t.

      31. @Brad–by making the consequences harsh and obvious. Rapists who rape family members know the chances of being reported are minuscule. And men who rape drunk women know society will put equal blame on her and are less likely to follow up. If we can all collectively somehow say We’re NOT OK WITH RAPE. I think thats the first step to a better world.

      32. @Brad – maybe actually hold them accountable and punish them for it. If we weren’t constantly telling women it’s THEIR fault (because they dressed too “slutty” or drank “too much” or shouldn’t have gone home with that man from the bar), and making the reporting and prosecuting process such hell, then MORE women would report and feel less ashamed about the fact that it happened. Instead the woman gets scrutinized for her appearance and her past behavior, which shouldn’t come into play at all. There is no “perfect victim.” Rapists continue to rape because they know they’ll get away with it (among other reasons).

      33. @Lili – jinx! 🙂

      34. I haven’t seen anything here that says that women who pick up men in bars deserve to be raped. I think we are all in agreement that rape is not okay. I do know that victim-blaming does exist and it does need to change. Until it does, be as safe as you can.

      35. I agree the consequences should be stiffer, but you have to be very careful when lowering the burden of proof. The example you raise about shaming a woman and calling her a liar because she had too much to drink is a good one. Unfortunately, that’s not as easy of a call as we want it to be. It’s just as easy to sit there and assume she felt ashamed in the morning and changed her mind as it is to believe some jerk took advantage of a drunken woman. It’s a he said she said situation. There has to be some other form of proof before I think it’s OK to send a guy to rot in prison for YEARS and be permanently registered as a sex offender. You don’t want to make it too easy to convict men by rape because there are plenty of cases out there where the rape charge was made up or they caught the wrong guy and convicted purely on circumstantial evidence. That hurts legitimate rape victims just as much as slut shaming. I’d like to see the penalty for false rape accusations be the same penalty as actual rape to help lower the rate of that happening (and it’s only fair she rot for as long as she was going to let him rot for). Thankfully it’s getting better now to prove that a real rape did occur thanks to things like DNA evidence getting more accurate and that testing is more standard practice.

      36. bluesunday says:

        I don’t think its at all unfair to ask women to be aware of the dangers that certain situations pose. At the end of the day, there are bad men out there that will take advantage of women. And they don’t care about the consequences. And as women its up to us to protect ourselves from shady situations. And that doesn’t mean they are at fault for any unwanted situation, but it does mean that said unwanted situation could have been avoided altogether with a bit of caution.

      37. Brad, you’re right about the he said/she said thing. As a young legal secretary, my first job was dealing with sexual discrimination/harassment cases. About 75% of them were not about rape. They turned out to be about someone being dissatified with the way a relationship ended and wanting revenge. This really trivializes real rape cases.

      38. pray tell why is it now offensive to acknowledge that someone had gotten raped?

        Honestly you guys are the ones imputing blame, not Regina. If someone exposes themselves to a risk, and comes to harm as the result, that doesn’t mean that they deserved to be harmed. And warning people of risks, isn’t a form of blame.

        It’s absurd that we’ve now reached a point where political correctness mandates that we can’t acknowledge rape victims or the circumstances under which rapes often occur. Because that’s not to benefit women, it’s to defend an ideological position at women’s expense.

      39. but didn’t you know that smacking down PC means you are a bigot and ignorant?

      40. I get what you’re saying– but women tend to be warned of the risks so often, that a good portion of people DO feel that a victim is to blame for putting herself in a potentially shady situation. I don’t think it’s necessarily a “PC” issue to try to shift the thought process away from “she should know better.”

      41. kerrycontrary says:

        Agree it’s victim-shaming. Do you also blame the college girl who is watching a movie with a male-friend of hers who gets raped? Or goes back to a guy’s apartment after the 10th date and gets raped? Or the girl who is babysat by her pedophile uncle Because that’s a lot more probable than a grown woman who goes home with a guy from a bar(implying consensual sex) getting raped. As women we should take every precaution to protect ourselves, but women should be able to say “NO” and have someone listen no matter who they are with.

      42. No I don’t. You are right that we should be able to say No have people listen, but the fact is, some people don’t. The men in the situations you describe CHOOSE to rape the women. In these cases, they have carefully cultivated ther relationships with the women so that the women feel safe. In the case of the pedophile uncle or the male friend, this process has been going on for a while. Are the women still victims? Yes. Is it their fault? No. They are the victims of someone else’s decision to rape. All I am saying is that women should do their best to keep themselves safe and, in my opinion, this includes not picking up men in bars.

      43. Yeah, but it’s attitudes like this that perpetuate the problem – because the women are blamed equally for their actions, they’re less likely to report the crime and rapists are less likely to be prosecuted.

      44. GatorGirl says:

        @CatsMeow I don’t think she’s saying the victim is partially to blame by being in a risky situation, just that it’s smart to minimize the risk when possible. My little sister is going off to college this fall and I made sure to tell her about things like using the buddy system, not going home with strange men, drinking a glass of water with every liquor drink. Not because I’ll blame her if something, God forbid, happend…but because I want her to do everything to minimize her potential risk.

      45. Yeah I think lots of guys missed that memo that informed us that No doesn’t always secretly mean yes.

      46. You are correct. And until that memo goes out, I will not be picking up any men in bars. No guarantee I’ll never get raped, but it’s the best I can do.

      47. A great way to get raped is to be near a rapist-thats actually pretty much the only way to get raped.

      48. THANK YOU!!! I agree-it’s just not safe!!!

      49. Rapists come in all stripes and are good at camouflage. Are you willing to risk your life on your ability to spot one?

      50. wow guys- i think you took RR’s comment WAY out of contex, and way too far.

        she obviously was not talking about victim shaming a woman who gets raped.. she was talking about the inherant dangers of going off alone with strangers. replace “raped” with… murdered, robbed, your cat getting killed, being beaten, eating rotted “homemade” food, spending the night in a roach infested bed, getting an STD, getting kidnapped and brought to mexico where your killed and your brains are used in a voodoo ritual meant to keep their drugs safe as the cross the border… i mean, literally anything can happen to you if you go off alone with a stranger- man or woman stranger, big or small stranger, rich or poor stranger…

        that was the point. going somewhere with someone you know is dangerous. you could get yourself in a huge bit of trouble. you could lose your life. its dangerous. does it really matter the example of danger we use? come on.

      51. …But how do you KNOW someone who is a stranger is dangerous? Also, if we want to use your logic to be applied to another situation, that is also blaming a woman who stays with a partner who has hit her. He’s demonstrated himself as dangerous. But she’s not preventing the situation by leaving. I don’t mean to be argumentative, I’m just trying to illustrate how underlying beliefs permeate through and lead to a lot of harmful to the victim type judgments.

      52. you dont. its a risk… i mean, thats a moot point. you have no idea of course. there is a difference between understanding the difference between a seemingly safe situation that turns badly (like being a battered wife), and a situation that is dangerous from anyone’s perspective. i think that the vast majority of people would say that going somewhere alone with a stranger is dangerous.

        my point was that it is definitely not victim blaming to acknowledge that something is dangerous. and it is also not victim blaming to acknowledge that you can get raped if you go off somewhere with someone you dont know. i mean, i know as a woman, whenever a guy even follows me for more then two turns in my car, the first two things that come to mind are omg im going to get raped and murdered.

        that is just not victim blaming. its just not.

      53. i mean really, i am very much against victim blaming as it relates to rape, but to go so far as to say that its victim blaming to tell women that its dangerous (ie they may get raped, among about 2000 other terrible things) to be in dangerous situations is insane. lets bring a little bit of common sense back… dangerous situations are dangerous situations and we should understand what those situations are and try to avoid them, educate people about them, and perhaps find ways to make them a little more safe. i absolutely think that going home with a strange man you meet in a bar is dangerous… but i am sure that there are ways to make that situation more safe- can we focus on that?

        no one will ever be 100% protected from everything. life is a gamble everyday, and especially if we leave our house at any time.. but there are ways to make yourself more safe… and if thats victim blaming, then im all for it.

      54. RR openly said she would JUDGE people who go home with a stranger because god forbid, they COULD get raped. That is victim blaming. I’m not saying going home with a stranger is safe (because it’s true, it’s not the safest thing to do–but neither is walking to your car by yourself at night in the city, and I’ve never gone home with a stranger so I don’t have any personal reason for or against it), but it’s foolish to think that doing that leads to rape, and equally foolish to judge someone for it.

      55. actually, if you read the whole thing, we were talking about how creepy looking-for-sex sites are, and we were saying how we would judge people who put themselves in such dangerous situations…

        a direct quote- “I’m afraid I will judge someone who goes home with a random stranger from a bar. It’s just not a smart thing to do.”

        the “she openly JUDGEs people who go home with a stranger because god forbid, they COULD get raped” is something you all kind of assumed or maybe just completely made up… we were talking about how random sex with strangers was weird *in some of our opinions*, and there was a very unanimous decision that it is a dangerous thing to do. rape was an example. she could have just as easily said murdered, robbed, ect…

      56. But Katie, who decides that arbitrarily going home with a stranger is dangerous for a particular woman? What if she’s a trained martial arts expert, not that drunk and just really in need of a good fuck? The victim blaming and shaming come in when someone views someone as having ‘put themselves in the situation’ vs solely looking at the aggressor who committed the crime.

        Also, can we please agree that the majority of crimes (including rape and murder) are committed by someone the victim knew, so classifying going home with strangers as more dangerous is just false. Because most people are raped by people NOT their hookup. I can start citing studies if that proves my point better.

      57. lili, if you want to live in a world where educating people about the dangers of society at large is “victim blaming”, go for it.

        i dont want to live in that world. i want to openly be able to talk about situations that will happen, to women and men, and talk about them honestly, and let them know about the potential outcomes of those situations.

        you are holding on so hard to the fact that a women is sexually liberated and we can do whatever we want to do– and that is all true. but that DOESNT mean that we should just turn a blind eye to basic personal safety! are you serious? if i tell my daughter, niece, or younger sister that you probably shouldnt put yourself in dangerous situations -of which there are many, going home with a stranger is not the only one-, i am victim blaming her? no. im sorry, but no. i am telling her ways that she might be able to better protect herself then if she just runs around willy-nilly without a care in world.

        and for a trained martial arts expert, obviously then the experience of “society at large” is a completely different one. that was honestly a dumb example. we are talking generally.

        would it make you feel better if we took the sexuality out of it? i think the real problem is that you (you with this general opinion, not you personally) cant make sense of the fact that you can be a sexually liberated woman and also take measures to be safe. those two can, and do, happen simultaneously. and, even when all measures are taken, if something bad does happen, it doesnt mean you did anything wrong. you did what you could (what you felt was right at that moment, what you always did back in your hometown, what your martial arts teacher taught you, whatever) to keep yourself safe and it failed. that doesnt mean you somehow “brought it on yourself”. all those thoughts can exist together- they dont cancel one another out.

        can we talk about ways to not get yourself robbed? would that make you feel better? ok, those things are locking up your things as best you can- that includes your car and your house (when you are there or not). keep your windows locked. another thing you can do is to carry a very small purse.. or, make sure your larger purse is always zipped up when you are in public. keep your credit card companies number in your cell phone, so if your wallet is stolen you can call them quickly to put a freeze on the accounts. always make sure you keep some money on your person that is not in your wallet, in case that is stolen you will have cab/bus/phone/whatever fair.

        is that victim blaming robbery victims?

      58. I just wanted to take the judgment out of DW. Thats all.

      59. then why would you judge someone for looking out for their personal safety?

        that was what we were talking about. we were saying that *in our opinion* going somewhere with a stranger is dangerous. i mean, no one even said anything about being drunk.. the whole victim blaming a girl who was raped by someone while drunk was just pulled out of thin air here… i just dont understand where all the freaking out came in, and how now if we try to “be safe” we are victim blaming on another. read the thread again… thats where it went.

      60. I’m not judging people for making ANY decisions relating to themselves. The victim blaming came from that one comment, and of course like any online discussion it grew legs with additional comments added on by other people. So it DID take on a whole new trajectory from what you and RR were discussing. I think we’re getting worked up over seeing two different sides in the same thread. So lets just leave it at that.

      61. I don’t think anyone is saying to completely disregard personal safety. But when the topic is avoiding rape, the onus is ALWAYS on women to prevent themselves from getting raped. And never on the men who rape. Would a man be judged as severely for going home with a strange woman he met at a bar? Would a gay man be judged as severely for going home with a strange man he just met?

        Usually when people tell women ways to avoid getting raped, it comes down to “Don’t be slutty.” It’s like a form of slut-shaming in disguise. And society as a whole condones and tolerates it. When the 14-year-old girl in Texas was gang-raped – and it was recorded, so there was proof that it happened – reports talked about how she dressed, and how she hung out with older boys, and by god WHERE WAS HER MOTHER. I think there were interviews where people said they felt SORRY for the rapists because now their lives were “ruined”! I mean, how could they know that a 14-year-old can’t consent, right? It ALL went back on her.

        And if I went home with a guy and he raped me, and someone said, “Well if you hadn’t done x, y, or z then you wouldn’t have been raped” then yes that is putting the blame back onto me. RR said don’t go home with men from bars, or else you might get raped. What else might someone say? Don’t dress a certain way? (Yeah, people say that all the time). Don’t flirt? Don’t go on blind dates? Don’t ever be alone with a man ever??? Basically it boils down to “Don’t be overtly sexual” because then you might be “asking for it.” Right?

      62. YES! Great Article. @ Kristina, you’re making the point I’m trying to make way way better than I am. I’m heading off to the gym folks.

        Peace!

      63. kristina, thats a good article.

        like i said before, i am all for the stopping of victim blaming. that article really did show how people focus on “risky behaviors” instead of the actual rape:
        “But you can’t prevent rape by not drinking, just like you can’t prevent rape by not wearing a short skirt”
        i actually think that too much is given to the circumstances *after* the fact, and that is greatest insult. that can be applied to any crime- if only you had locked your doors, if only you had used a money belt instead of a purse, if only you had done X, Y wouldnt have happened to you. that is wrong, and that is what victim blaming is at its core. however, i do not think that is the same as saying, hey, these situations can sometimes be dangerous. it is good to educate yourself on them, how to avoid them completely, or how to navigate them in the safest way possible. and as i said above, just because you do take measures to keep yourself safe does not mean that if something happens you failed. those ideas can exist together- you can plan all you want to be safe, and it fails, something bad happens– that doesnt make it your fault. isnt that the whole anti-victim blaming ideal? that no matter what you do, the crime committed against you isnt your fault? that the drunk girl in a miniskirt is no more to blame for her rape then the librarian walking home one day?

        the only point i am trying to make is this: the few of us talking up there said that we felt it was dangerous to pursue someone from craigslist, and then i asked if they felt the same way about taking someone home from a bar. and some agreed -kerrycontrary didnt agree, actually-, and thats fine. but we were talking about what we are comfortable with given our own boundaries and thoughts about personal safety. we werent actually talking about how you should avoid sexual assault, we were talking about personal danger in general. RR threw out “thats a great way to get raped” just as casually as she could have used “murdered” or “robbed”, as i have said many times. people freaked out because she used the word rape, apparently, and now we are sitting talking about this. i would have loved to see people jump on the victim blaming train if she had said murdered or robbed.. because i really dont think it would have happened. and i dont want to live in a society where the mention of rape and ways to prevent it ends in a victim blaming debate.

        blaming the victim because of a crime and giving people the power to protect themselves are two different things, and if we start to meld them, that is not going to be good.

        and for the record, the drinking that article talked so much about could be applied to pretty much any alcohol induced problem- getting sick (if only you hadn’t drank so much…), their cat running away (if only you werent so drunk you left your door cracked open…), missing work (if only you werent in an alcohol-induced slumber…), basically anything. so blaming binge drinking for rape is stupid.

      64. @cats-

        Would a man be judged as severely for going home with a strange woman he met at a bar? Would a gay man be judged as severely for going home with a strange man he just met?

        YES

        we were talking about personal safety, not debating how effective “rape prevention” is or is not.

      65. Avatar photo LadyinPurpleNotRed says:

        @katie in an ideal world maybe. In the real world men get applauded for taking strange women home from a bar and from what my gay friends tell me… They do too.

      66. yea, a good and unfortunate point.

        i guess i should have said that “YES” was just from me personally. i think its unsafe. you have no idea who that person is you go home with and first, what kind of stuff they are willing to do (steal, rape, kidnap, whatever that may be), and second, where and how they live (ew- can you imagine??). those two things would worry me about anyone going home with a stranger.. male, female, whoever.

      67. ok, here is my point:

        if i ask someone about good ways to protect myself during my sexual escapades, and that someone tells me that i dont have to take any measures to protect myself, because if i do, thats victim blaming, im going to call them an idiot.

        those are two very different things.

      68. There’s a reason many of the best Russian spies were female… Men can be stupid when their dick is involved. Hot chicks loosen lips (in more ways than one…)

      69. Just thought I’d add this list of sexual assault prevention tips to the debate:

      70. ok, here is another example why jumping all over someone for mentioning rape is stupid:

        remember that forum topic a young teenager posted about her boyfriend she was planning on flying to meet, alone, in texas? she lived in ohio. she wasnt even 18 yet. and she was having some gut feelings that situation might not be so safe. WE ALL TOLD HER SHE WAS RIGHT AND SHE SHOULD LISTEN TO HER GUT AND THAT THE SITUATION WAS PROBABLY SKETCHY!!! why wasn’t that victim blaming? where were all of you when we told her that she should probably think of her personal safety and if not completely cancel her trip, she should take some measures to make sure she keeps herself safe? why wasnt that victim blaming? why didnt you guys tell her to live her life the way she wants to, and if something bad happens, oh well- it wasnt her fault, and thats all that matters, right?

        rape was mentioned there. so was sexual assault, so was being kidnapped and taken over the border, so was being murdered. why is talking about that situation any different then some people saying, you know what, going home with a stranger might end up in me being raped. id rather not put myself in thats spot. this girl came to us for advice, we gave her good advice, and no one yelled at us for victim blaming her. but now, someone mentions that rape is a possible outcome of a situation, and were all victim blaming?

        can someone make sense of this for me? because all i see is people jumping all over one statement (that is actually true) and taking it somewhere where it was not meant to go. this is just like when i talked about a military guy who did some bad stuff- i was totally flamed for being “disrespectful to americas heros”.. i see this as no different.

      71. Wow. When I saw this comment earlier, I thought it was completely asinine. And as someone who has been raped and sexually abused many times, it blows my mind to see some of the reactions on here and that people think that some level of victim-shaming is okay. In fact, nearly 9 times out of 10, the rapist is NOT a stranger. I get RR’s original point, but she inadvertently made a ridiculous accusation about rape victims, when strangers really aren’t even a majority of rapists in the first place.

      72. The ads on Craigslist casual encounters are definitely creepy and pathetic. It’s one thing to want casual sex, but Craigslist is specifically for skeezy sex and prostitution.

  9. melikeycheesecake says:

    Unbelievable! Great Advice, Wendy!

    Love this… After all, you’re a grown ass woman and maybe what you want — I hope what you want — is to not be with a man who has such little regard and respect for you.”

  10. bluesunday says:

    Can this letter be on the tshirts?

  11. Whether or not he cheated saying “Nothing happened and I’m a grown ass man and can look at what I want.” isn’t enough reason to leave?

    1. I think his rationalization for his behavior might actually piss me off more than the behavior itself. He has no remorse. None whatsoever. Plus, he’s an idiot.

  12. The sad fact is that you love and trust your husband SO much that you are buying the load of crap he is trying to feed you. You need to, as Wendy says, realize that this man isn’t worthy of your trust and what’s worse is that he is playing on the fact that you trust him and using it against you!

    You’ve caught him not once, not twice, but three times now…. it’s time to wake up and smell the cheater. He’s cheating on you, and if he isn’t, his intention to do so is palpable.

    Divorce is an ugly thing, and I loath to recommend it, but Wendy is right. Print out those emails, take them to a lawyer and take his sorry ass to the cleaners. Because he’s right–he’s a grown ass man and he can look at what he wants–but you are a grown ass woman and you are entitled to HALF!

  13. “Nothing happened and I’m a grown ass man and can look at what I want.” He’s exactly right. He can look at whatever he wants. He can also have sex with whomever he wants. But if he want’s to stay married then perhaps he ought to take his wife’s feelings/objections into consideration because she doesn’t have to stay married to someone that ignores her feelings/is an asshole.

    LW, It’s not a good sign he’s flirting with cheating and being so callous with your feelings, especially considering what you’re having a problem with is completely reasonable and your reaction to what he is doing is completely normal and justified. If he’s bored with his sex life he should be working with you to resolve this and not working up the nerve to cheat. His reaction to your confrontation is manipulation pure and simple. He got caught doing what he shouldn’t be as a married man, and so he’s trying to make you feel guilty/unreasonable in order to make himself feel better (dick move). Your husband needs a serious attitude adjustment in order for this marriage to survive. Perhaps looking into couples counceling is in order if he isn’t willing to openly discuss with you what his issues are. But for your own well being, don’t stay in an emotionally abusive relationship simply out of a sense duty. If he isn’t willing to stop doing something that you (and most people) consider to be out of line, then you have to protect yourself. Hope it works out.

    1. This is great advice! I don’t want to immediately jump on the “Divorce the asshole immediately!” bandwagon because the LW and this guy have been married for six years. LW, before calling it quits, I would at least try couple’s counseling. If your husband is unwilling to go, then I would begin preparing for divorce.

      Has your husband always been so disrespectful towards you, or is this a more recent development? If he has always treated you poorly, I would recommend that you get some private counseling to figure out why you allow yourself to be treated this way. Where is your self respect?

      1. SweetPeaG says:

        I think the only thing that made me immediately jump on the “divorce bandwagon” is the fact that he was caught THREE times and each time, he showed no remorse. I fully believe that a marriage where cheating (or borderline cheating) has occurred can be saved. It is hard, of course, but I like to believe in forgiveness and healing. I like to believe that love can overcome. But, where one partner refuses to admit wrongdoing (when it is plain as day!), I wonder if he’d agree to counseling? She should try it- you both are right. I just doubt that this guy wants to make changes or even cares to put in effort for his marriage. All signs point to hopeless.

      2. Avatar photo dandywarhol says:

        Yeah, the fact he never felt bad about what he did is a big fat red flag. He was more pissed he was caught than actually upsetting his wife (at least it sounds that way). Even if it’s been 6 years, (which, in all reality, isn’t too long) there doesn’t seem to be much respect to stick around for.

    2. Yes! That “I can do whatever I want” thing is totally manipulation. There are clearly problems with their communication and respect. Counseling is a necessity if she wants to save this marriage.

  14. painted_lady says:

    “I’m a grown-ass man and can look at whatever I want” sounds like my kids. Not my high school kids, my middle school kids. The immature ones. The ones who throw tantrums and steal my candy. That’s totally creepy.

    Also, get tested for everything. His grown ass is probably so damn grown he doesn’t think he needs condoms.

  15. Dear Letter Writer,

    Are you married to Anthony Weiner?

    1. bluesunday says:

      Hahahah I know this is terrible but I love him.

  16. He is not a man. Perpetual adolescent, man-child, cheat, sneak, coward and liar, yes. Man, no.

  17. I work at a local college and sometimes I have to confront a student who is behaving irresponsibly/unethically/selfishly, etc. Often, they respond, “I’m an adult,” as though that’s a justification for their crappy behavior. Okey dokey, Mr./Ms. Adult. I’d like you to meet your new best friend, Dr. Consequences. They’re always surprised.

    It does sound like the LW is married to a sociopath. Here’s a website with some specific details regarding the behavior. http://www.mcafee.cc/Bin/sb.html

    1. Love the example in your first paragraph– seriously, part of being an adult means adhering to behavior standards, appropriate for the situation you’re in. And understanding that there are consequences– or at least drawbacks– if you do not.

    2. Avatar photo dandywarhol says:

      Yes, I agree on the sociopath idea. Most people assume sociopath=john wayne gacy or something, but really, it could be anyone. I dated one. They have no remorse or true emotions.

  18. theattack says:

    Looking to cheat is cheating. In his posts, he made the distinction between “watching” and “cheating,” meaning that he doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with a married man watching other people. He said he hadn’t done anything yet, but does that mean he hasn’t cheated by his definitions? Or does that mean he hasn’t even done any watching? You should really consider whether or not it even matters, because he clearly has no respect for your monogamous relationship.

  19. I’m not trying to knock you LW, but you need to accept that he has already crossed the line, and most likely physically cheated on you. You don’t even have anything positive to say about your husband in your letter, yet you still say you want to trust him. If you stay with him, it makes you both idiots. It doesn’t sound like there are any children, so get out of this marriage. You seem almost oblivious to the situation, as if you should actually believe that nothing is happening–but he already crossed the line and showed an utter lack of respect for you. I don’t believe in advocating divorce much, but based on your letter, your husband will not change, and doesn’t seem to care what you think if all he has for an excuse is that he is “a grown ass man”. Accept what has happened, and make a decision based on what you want and expect from a relationship, instead of trying to tell yourself that you should just believe your husband.

  20. Avatar photo dandywarhol says:

    LW, please listen to Wendy. This man sounds like a real ass. It’s not just the fact that he is actively trying to cheat on you, it’s also that he shows no regrets about it. This really should be a no-brainer, even 6 years in. Dump his lying ass.

  21. Grilledcheesecalliope says:

    Your husband is a grown ass douche, kick him out!, then tell everyone why. If he is such a grown ass man he won’t mind everyone he knows knowing all about the things he does. Just kidding butreally, kick him out!

  22. Leave that grown ass man before he gives you a grown ass venereal disease, or before he brings home some other grown ass person(s) to do who knows what with/to you or behind your back, or he takes his grown ass out the door with everything you’ve worked hard for during your time together.

    Why would you want to stay with a grown ass douche who doesn’t respect you as a grown up?

    Get yourself a grown ass lawyer. Leave. Now.

  23. Avatar photo bittergaymark says:

    Clearly somebody has a very boring sex life… One so boring she doesn’t even bother so much as to mention it in the letter — which is quite telling… Oh, and kudos to her expert snooping ability.

    1. I was waiting for you to come blame the woman! So she’s boring in bed, which drives her husband to cheat. Nice. I wondered how you’d spin this one.

      1. Avatar photo bittergaymark says:

        He’s no prince to be sure… Far from it, I imagine. That said, NONE of my sexually satisfied friends have ever resorted to Craigslist… The sexually frustrated and disappointed ones? Yep, you betcha. Although all of them have complained that the actual hook up rate there is like nine times out of a 100, tops… And looking through the ads there are people who really do just want to watch…

      2. So Mark, maybe i’m naive but why don’t the sexually frustrated people speak up BEFORE resorting to this? I feel like if people take more ownership of their wants and desires early on, and then cultivate relationships where they are free to talk about their wants and needs this will be less of an issue. I mean, thats Dan Savage’s whole agenda isn’t it–Sexual openness and acceptance. One I firmly support!

      3. I’ve been on the flip side of this and typically the other party is so uninterested in sex it doesn’t matter. I don’t condone what this guy is doing by any means…but communication doesn’t make a difference. If the libido isn’t there it isn’t there.

        If it has to do with sexual openness then yes I think the LW might be able to work on that given enough time / security / if she cares about making him happy…which in this case he doesn’t really deserve it…so it’s good she didn’t let him have it if that is the issue.

        People everywhere….if you aren’t getting enough sex in the dating period it is O-freaking-K to break up over that. That is a huge incompatibility and for people to just stuff that inside thinking they can deal with it usually ends up in worse situations than the other parties friends finding you shallow for dumping their friend over a lack of sex….it isn’t shallow….it is an inconsistency that should not be over looked. Libidos (under normal circumstances) should be a match on average over the life time of the relationship.

      4. I agree that matching libidos is a huge issue. I’d say it’s in the list of top 3 most important things.

      5. YES! Agree 100%. Its ok to break up over sexual differences. It absolutely is a MOA situation. Even if the cause is not the person’s fault—like medication, maybe bring it up so the person is aware, but if enough progress is not made. BREAK UP, sure its mean to them, but SO MUCH KINDER than cheating on them later.

      6. haha – ugh…I still can’t get over how judgy people were of me. Sorry I like sex more than once every two weeks? And that once every two weeks was a chore for her…

      7. Thats really unfortunate Budj. NO one should be shamed for having needs.

      8. Yeah, totally a legit reason to break up. That sort of libido mismatch is going to doom any relationship.

      9. Perfectly sound reason to break up. Neither party wants that, really. I wouldn’t want to feel like I was constantly getting shot down or like advances were met with a sigh and “i guess so”, and I imagine no one wants to feel like they’re being hassled or like they’re disappointing their partner by not being interested more often.

      10. Only once every 2 weeks???? omg

      11. My thoughts exactly…Next!

      12. That’s a legit reason to break up IMO. And I know I’m apparently gaining a reputation of being a prude or whatever because of my views on monogamy…totally not the case. When I was in a relationship, I wouldn’t deal with having sex less than 3 times a week. Having needs does not make you needy 🙂

      13. #1 Well kinky desires are fairly embarrassing to admit to someone. And the more out there it is the harder it is to tell someone that you really want to respect you about it, and the greater the potential it could have a negative impact on your overall life. Say for example a guy secretly wanted his wife to do him with a strap-on (one of the kinkest things I could think of at the moment). Wouldn’t be an easy thing for a guy to admit to his wife I’d imagine. Odds are he’d be the first one ever asking her to do that so gauging her reaction might not be easy (she might wonder if he was secretly gay for example). There’s also the fear of her telling this to her GFs, etc.

        #2 You’re making the assumption that they haven’t already. As I’m sure you know, it takes a willingness from both people to make it work. What if they’ve been trying and the spouse isn’t interested? Without any more information it’s impossible to make assumptions about whether they’ve tried or not in my opinion.

        Not saying cheating is OK if your sex life sucks but it’s at least understandable in the situation where it does suck and their attemps to make it better are failing.

      14. But Brad, if thats his kink he should be with someone who is open to it. Its only embarrassing if she reacts really negatively, but that means he should MOA. Lemme dig up the savage love podcast where Dan goes OFF on the callers judgey gf….

        If the spouse is NOT interested in fulfilling the kink, the couple needs to talk about what avenues are ok to explore. If the strap on kink is his fantasy, i’m sure they as a couple can set boundaries and find someone to do maybe JUST that kink for him. Personally, if I was in love and married to a man, who was totally open an honest with me about that kink, well one-i’d agree to try it out. I’m serious, I’d prolly find a sex positive therapist to help me, but I’d try to remain open to it. If it wasn’t someone thing I could do, then the therapist would help us find a way to get his needs met While still married to me, and in a way I’m comfortable with the situation. Its a part of being open and in love with a person. Accepting all parts of them. At least, thats how I view love and a life long relationship.

      15. “should be with someone who is open to it” ah there’s my “favorite” word should. (I actually hate this word encase the sarcasm isn’t clear)

        How’s he supposed to know that though unless he’s brave enough to mention it really early on? That’s really risky to admit to something like that with someone you don’t have much trust established with yet. He might never find someone open to it if he did or risky getting a reputation getting back to his job for example. Just look at those poor teachers, for example, that have gotten fired just because someone (with a grudge?) shared photos of them on facebook with alcohol to the school board.

        Using a different example, a friend of mine broke up with a woman almost 2 years ago now and he was with for a LONG time (8 years?) and one of the things he told me was that towards the end of their relationship she asked him to pee on her. That’s pretty out there as far as fetishes go. Not exactly something I think would be fair to expect a person to divulge early on. Some fetishes are in my opinion in a catch 22 category. They’re out there enough that it’s hard to admit to them before there’s a layer or trust established, but once it is established there’s a fear of losing it if they react negatively (like in my friend’s case. It was one of the main reasons they broke up). I guess my point is simply that I understand and have sympathy for both people in those situations because it isn’t always easy or black/white.

      16. Well, citing Dan Savage again, the best way to roll out your kinks is early and also positively. You don’t do it like “uh, well, I have something freaky to tell you, and you won’t like it, and ugh, I’m sorry” until they think you have leukemia. Rather, you do it super confidently and in a fun way, like “hey! I like this, and if you sleep with me, it’ll be a fun and sexy adventure!” (Easier said than done, I know.)

        This may be TMI, but if a guy I really liked asked me to pee on him (or wanted to do that to me), I would at least be willing to talk and think about it, and I definitely wouldn’t shut him down.

      17. I agree, although I’d ask about the hot tea first! I mean he was open and honest with me about something he enjoys sexually, its my job as his partner to consider without any judgment doing something that pleases him. Seriously though, do you all NOT listen to savage love podcast? It should be mandatory for ALL sexually active adults.

      18. No I don’t listen to it.

      19. It’ll prolly freak you out the first couple times Brad, but hopefully with more exposure, you’ll begin to see how there is no shame in liking what one likes in the sack and being free to ask for it. And the confidence to move on from partners who shame you for it.

      20. I’ve actually been exposed to a lot of the types of stuff Dan talks about (from what I hear) from other sources. I know I’ve seen an article or 2 by him before. When it comes to sex/kinks/fetishes, there’s very little that would shock me anymore. I was just trying to raise the point that not everyone is comfortable discussing their darkest fantasies with people that are relatively new in their lives. There is a certain comfort level that has to be reached, and that level is different for everyone. Education might help some, but there are a whole plethora of other factors that could hold someone back. A job being an easy example.

      21. Yeah, I wouldn’t be excited about the idea of it, but piss is relatively harmless, fetish-wise.

      22. Not to say that your friend was in the wrong for it being a deal-breaker, Brad. I guess, reading Savage Love I’ve learned of many other things that would creep me out way more.

      23. Well it’s funny you say that because he was pretty broken up about the break up. Just basically just disappeared on him. He assumes that was one of the reasons but he doesn’t know for sure. He says going back that maybe he should have done it to her heh.

      24. Right? I thought that was a pretty mild example.

      25. No, its not easy. You’re right. And boy am I feeling more disillusioned about relationships now because I want complete an utter honesty and openness with my partner from the get go. If I can’t trust him enough to talk to me about all his needs, how can I ever fully know whats going on with us.

        Oh and SATC had a pee fetish episode (actually it featured roger from mad men) her question for him in trying to meet it was–can i pour tea on your leg..but she couldn’t do the actual urination, so they broke up. And thats ok. Um, also, didn’t the original KK sex tape have a golden shower. So see, its made its way through pop culture. it must be prevalent enough for her to find SOMEONE willing to do something like it..

      26. Avatar photo bittergaymark says:

        KK would have literally eaten shit to be famous, I think. Which is ironic as all of america, if not the world, now eats up all the shit she puts out…

      27. Yeah, you really DO need to bring out your kinks early on. Maybe not on a first date, but if you have a kink– and an inkling that it may not be well-received– mention it. Even in a vague “I’m into something kinda weird!” way. Someone with kinks of their own might respond with “Oh yeah? I bet it’s not THAT weird…;)” whereas someone fairly vanilla will prrrobably just shut you down? It’s a difficult arena for discussion, but it’s not impossible.

      28. Avatar photo bittergaymark says:

        Who’s to say he didn’t? Her letter isn’t exactly brimming with much detail. For all we know he hasn’t been brutally honest with her and its fallen on deaf ears…

      29. Avatar photo bittergaymark says:

        Has been! Not hasn’t been…

      30. ele4phant says:

        If he was so sexually frustrated, why didn’t he say something (and yes I KNOW THAT POSSIBLY HE DID BUT ITS NOT IN THE LETTER. However, we really have no way of knowing so let’s not go down that rabbit hole).

        Or why didn’t he take the first opportunity she caught him (or the second or third) to say “I’ve been doing this because I’m not satisfied” instead of saying “I’m a grown-ass man. I do what I want”. I mean, how is that supposed to improve their sex life for the better? He’s just as much of a problem of their boring sex life as hers, IMO, if he’s not willing to work on it.

        I do agree that individuals have a responsibility to satisfy their partners. BUT! One wrong does not justify the wrong of another.

      31. Lets go to the gay pride parade together ele4phant! Too bad Dan Savage isn’t grand marshal-sigh NYC gets him–but it should be a fun time!!

      32. ele4phant says:

        Haha. I was trying to talk the BF into it. He was so-so on the idea.

        I was SO SAD I didn’t get it together to go the live taping of the lovecast at the Neptune. I heard it was great.

        I’ll have to check my schedule on the parade, though. I’m technically still in school and bopping between here and bham all summer whenever my adviser is available (ah, thesis writing).

      33. Avatar photo bittergaymark says:

        We have no way of knowing that he DIDN’T speak up about it at length. For all we know this has come up hundreds of times in their relationship… Hey, if I was penning a letter to DW where I wanted everybody to take my side (and boy, did you!) I would be damn well sure NOT to mention that my husband and I had a lousy sex life.

        Sure, I’m making a pretty big assumption here. But my oh my, if that letter wasn’t ever so vague about their sex life. Yes, curiously, in a letter where the main problem is extramarital sex, we coincidentally know nothing about their sexlife… Instead, all we know is that he is responding to Craigslist ads, and that he is doing precious little to hide that fact — which is of course a bold message in and of itself. He wants her to know exactly what he’s doing. Even then, she still appears to be too dense to comprehend his meaning…

      34. ele4phant says:

        I’m not taking her side. But I’m also not going to project in information that wasn’t included (could be true for all I know – but I’m not going to spend all day speculating on what could or could not be true).

        And it drives me NUTS that the bad behavior of one person can somehow justify the bad behavior of another. No people are responsible for their actions, and yours decisions don’t get washed away by someone elses.

        And frankly, he’s been handed THREE opportunities to air his grievances due to “his boldness”. But instead of saying “I told you I was unhappy, I need an outlet. You’ve refused to listen to me” he’s repeatably just dismissed it, as he’s “a grown-ass man.” She may be dense, but he’s not exactly making himself clear in no unequivocal terms that his sex life needs to improve, or he’s out.

        If someone is grown-ass and unhappy with their sex life, the grown-ass thing to do is talk to your partner about it, and if they don’t get it together, then LEAVE.

        And if its maybe not about cheating or being unsatisfied, but if this is a kink of his, well the same protocol applies. Tell your partner what’s going on and what you need, and if they don’t deliver, LEAVE.

      35. “But I’m also not going to project in information that wasn’t included” <–this.

      36. Avatar photo bittergaymark says:

        But she IS doing precisely that. She is saying that HE NEVER TALKED TO HER ABOUT THIS… I’m saying that that there IS the big assumption…

      37. Mark is right about this.

      38. I would say with the way he reacts to her asking him about the craigslist thing, and him hiding everything that he hasn’t talked to her about this ever. People who talk about things openly, don’t hide everything else they do, and don’t tell people they are a grown ass man, and can do what they want. generally those two types of people aren’t on in the same. I think it is a big assumption to say he actually did talk to her about this.

      39. My comment meant he was right about both sides of the argument projecting, not his overall opinion. Just for clarification.

      40. ele4phant says:

        Okay fair enough. It is just as much as assumption to assume their was no conversation as it is to assume their was.

        But either way, I don’t see his behavior being okay

        If they didn’t have it – well he’s obviously being a jerk and refusing help her help him by giving her any tangible suggestions about what he does need.

        If they DID have it – well clearly that’s on her for not stepping up to improve their sex lives. However, if this was a chronic issue that she refused to address, he would be justified in LEAVING, not going behind her back.

        The bad behavior of one doesn’t justify the bad behavior of another.

      41. he would be justified in LEAVING, not going behind her back.

        YES!

      42. True– honestly, I was skimming so didn’t catch that. I just think “not projecting in information” is a good rule for any of the letters. Speculation is natural, but when advice follows the speculation…then it gets tricky.

      43. ele4phant says:

        I agree, and I AM NOT trying to give this lady advice.

        And if she and her husband have unmatched expectations for their sex lives, and he’s bringing it to her attention, its on her to do something about it. If she didn’t well shame on her.

        But in the general scheme of things, it drives me nuts when people let person B off the hook just because person A did something bad, or person A wasn’t being a good partner. I mean, person A still deserves to be in the shit, but if person B reciprocated, well so do they.

      44. OK, fine. Let’s say he talked to her about it and she still didn’t do anything to help him get his needs met. Assume they talked a thousand times! One thing they obviously did NOT talk about was whether or not it was oK for him to seek casual encounters on Craigslist. When she found out, she was surprised. And she doesn’t SEEM to be ok with it.

        Now, if she decides she IS ok with it, then they can negotiate the terms and the rules. I don’t care what they do as long as both parties are aware and they agree on what’s “allowed.” What’s NOT ok is for the “grown ass man” of a husband to go behind his wife’s back and then to flat out dismiss her concerns when she brings it up to him.

      45. ele4phant says:

        Also, even if he is unhappy with his sex life, if letting her know he’s trolling CL is sufficent to let her know their sex life is lacking, what’s she supposed to do with that? How’s that supposed to help?

        Its not as though he’s telling her “I need sex more often” or “I need more variety” or even “I don’t think I can be happy in a monogamous relationship.” If the message is just “I’m not happy”, with no concrete suggestions, there’s really know way for her to try to improve things.

        Yes, MAYBE there was a conversation in which he really laid out what he needed that the LW has neglected to tell us about.

        But based on all the information we DO have, it appears he’s not really giving her any direction about what he wants or needs to be happy.

      46. I see your point about how the letter was phrased and worded. We don’t know a lot. BUT all I can really comment on it is he breached her trust and his marital vows by going on CL with that intention. That is not right, he violated her trust and their commitment vows. Then he was dismissive of her it seems, so if she wants support in leaving him, she has it. Now, he should call DS and ask him how to be more forthcoming about his kinks. Then hopefully they’ll both find partners who fit them well 🙂

      47. I actually don’t know anyone who has openly said they used craigslist to hook-up, but I don’t know plenty of people who were sexually satisfied, but still cheated, just because that is who they are.

      48. Ugh I mean I do know plenty of people!

  24. Avatar photo bittergaymark says:

    Look, it astounds me that in the day of Dan Savage, people still ALWAYS stigmatize the person who actually wants to have sex. (See Budj’s comments. He wanted sex. He dumped his girlfriend and HE was the Bad Guy! He was the horrible beast that actually wanted sex. He should have been more sensitive to her and her meager rejection-laden needs…)

    At any rate, I would argue — and Savage would totally BACK ME UP — that the LW already broke her own precious fucking vows by freezing him out sexually. NEWSFLASH! Doing that means you are violating the LOVE AND CHERISH part of your vows… Hey, when you marry somebody, it kind of goes with the territory that you are actually going to have to sleep with one another ALOT! If you don’t feel up to that, don’t fucking get married. Moreover, don’t come crying to me when your woefully neglected spouse acts out by going on Craigslist constantly in the most obvious way so he throws it back in your face…

    End. Of. Rant,

    1. You have no proof that she froze him out sexually. I have no idea where you’re getting that, but suddenly it’s a fact in your head.

      Dan Savage would say this guy is a Cheating Piece of Shit (CPOS) who needs to be honest with his wife about what he needs. And, going by the letter–WHICH IS ALL WE CAN GO BY–he hasn’t done that. If he wants an open relationship, or a sexual adventure, or whatever, he isn’t going about any of it the right way.

      1. Avatar photo bittergaymark says:

        But there’s NO proof that she DIDN’T either…

        Which is why Dan Savage would say that he needs more information and he would probably mutter that this letter was perhaps on of the most deliberately misleading that he has received in a long, long time… To write in with a sexual problem as loaded as infidelity and not provide ANY of the pertinent details is in and of itself very telling….

      2. ele4phant says:

        Okay, there’s no proof she’s not completely frigid.

        But it appears that rather than engage with her (at least in regards to this craigslist instances – I’m not going to engage on any theoritical conversation they may or may not have) his response has been to shut her out and give her a dismissive remark.

        I don’t think anyone is in the wrong if they want to leave a relationship where they aren’t getting what they need and their partner refuses work with them to improve their sex lives. And whatever the issue is, it appears to be chronic. So, he would completely be justified in leaving.

        However, her bad behavior (if real which it totally could be) does not justify his.

      3. Avatar photo bittergaymark says:

        Whatever. I still say that letter is the most selfserving one yet. And you all just ate it up… Which is exactly what the LW intended… Bravo, LW. Bravo. Now go dump your husband and set him free…

      4. Yeah, her catching him was the PERFECT opportunity for him to have a discussion about his needs, and instead he dismissed her and gave one of the douchiest excuses I’ve ever heard (“I do what I want! I’m a grown ass man!”) Fuck that. That response right there tells us we’re dealing with a CPOS, regardless of whatever details she chose to leave out.

      5. Lol. I like you BGM, and I appreciate your different perspective. I’m all for people being sexually giving with their spouses, and I like that you make women accountable in a lot of your comments. But comments like this make you lose all semblance of credibility in my mind. There’s no proof or any indication that the LW froze out her husband sexually, and your retort is that there’s no proof that she didn’t and therefore she did? Forget woman-hating, what you’re saying is just purely illogical.

      6. Avatar photo bittergaymark says:

        There’s also NO PROOF whatsoever he DIDN’T discuss any of this with the LW, but many of you are all ready to hang him for that… That’s my point. I’m merely going against logic with my point in the exact same manner so many of the other posters have with theirs.

        Funny though, people only seem to notice the lapse in logic in my post… although that could be because I take a more radical point of view with this letter.

        But I still very much doubt that somebody who is just thrilled with his sexlife is acting out on craigslist. I just don’t.

      7. I completely agree: he’s obviously frustrated.

        But the clincher is the lack of remorse and basically telling her to mind her own business.

      8. YES to CPOS! I sorta agree with BGM that a lackluster sex life is NOT what anyone signs up for with marriage, but is it too much to ask that people be open about what they can and can’t handle BEFORE the marriage. And that includes being VERY SPECIFIC about how much and how exactly they want sex. IF each person can get over their OWN hangups an shame then they’ll be better suited at finding and keeping partners, but blaming the lw for not reading his mind about his sex needs (which again is what the letter implies) is not going to really solve the problem.

        Side Note–even if i’m disagreeing with you BGM, I still wish you lived close enough to go to Gay Pride with me next weekend. Its SUCH A BLAST here 🙂

      9. Avatar photo bittergaymark says:

        I think Pride must be better in other cities… Here in LA, it’s shallow and depressing.

      10. Come and find out! You’re a man who lives for spontaneity. I mean its not til Sunday. Thats plenty of time to get up north:)

      11. ele4phant says:

        Ah, its Sunday? No, I cannot go. Somehow I thought it was very down the line. Have fun though!

      12. Sad 🙁 Oh well, lets discuss other cool options in the forum! I love summer here. Its so full of activities and sunshine 🙂

      13. Avatar photo bittergaymark says:

        Lili: most people’s sexlives go to hell only AFTER they get married. Before they get married everything is usually just great… and they (foolishly) assume it will stay that way. For some reason, MANY women lose interest in sex. Of course, I’ll catch hell for that statement, but it appears to be a very REAL problem as there are letters about that in advice columns everywhere week after week… This is why men were so excited about that sleazy Grey book being such a smashing success… 😉

      14. Some women lose interest in sex for physical reasons: hormones, menopause, it hurts, etc. But, sometimes it’s just because it ain’t worth our while. Men gotta do their part too.

      15. I hope with better sex education and communication it won’t be for me at least. I mean, sure I expect lulls after a kid is born. BUT I expect it. So hopefully me and the husband can plan an be aware so we do openly communicate on the issue after our kid is born and I won’t be a DW LW 🙂

      16. Yeah, but that’s why there has to be regular communication and continuous negotiation.

      17. SweetsAndBeats says:

        I still don’t understand why people let it fall by the wayside; orgasms are the best natural high out there. I don’t know what I’d do if I couldn’t get them on a regular basis, and I’m a female! From what I understand about men, their “re-gen” time frame is much shorter than womens’. I can’t imagine what it would be like to only have one available sex partner, and have that partner be a no-sex partner. Insanely frustrating, probably.

        I have a higher sex drive than most, so I know I’m not speaking for all women, but what works for me in my relationship with a man with a very large appetite is that the very SECOND I get an inkling of desire for any sort of sexual behavior, I make him aware of it. If I’m feeling particularly beautiful one day, I’ll snap a pic with my shirt off and send it to him. I’ll invite him into the shower for some making out after I finish shaving and doing my hair. I’ll go down on him if the TV show we’re watching gets horrifically boring and there’s nothing better to watch. If he’s supposed to be sleeping at his place and we weren’t planning on seeing each other that night, but I find the mood striking me, I ask him to stop by my house after work for a quick sesh.

        Even if I feel like shit BEFORE the sex starts, I enjoy his attention, his affection, and his skilled knowledge of my body. And I end up feeling WAY better afterward. So even when I don’t think I want it, I give it a shot if he’s initiating. I have yet to feel worse off, or regretful, afterward. I’m almost always thinking to myself, “I didn’t even know I needed to cum, but damn it, I did. Yay!”

        I understand that some women have more complex problems, but I just can’t imagine that the MAJORITY of women do. If that’s the case, there must be something in the water. For many women it just seems to be a lack of perspective.

      18. See, I think this all sounds WONDERFUL. And It gives me hope. Honestly. Cuz In my last relationship, when I did a majority of those things (the initiating I mean), my ex made ME feel bad for having a high sex drive. So you can bet I’ve been VERY self conscious of coming across as too eager when I meet and date new men. Still not in a relationship though, so yet to be seen how its effected me in the long run.

      19. SweetsAndBeats says:

        Oh, no. The second a guy makes you feel bad for wanting to be intimate with him, he never deserves to see your tits again. (Sorry for being so blunt!) It’s one thing for a man to turn down sex because he’s exhausted… it’s another to shame you for wanting him. That is ALL on him, not you. You shouldn’t be self conscious… a high libido is a blessing for a woman, and the guy who’s right for you will be thrilled to have a sex life with your particular rhythm.

      20. SpyGlassez says:

        Gotta say though, it isn’t always the woman losing interest….at the moment, the Ginger is the champion of “I’m just not in the mood.”

      21. SweetsAndBeats says:

        Actually, I think that if she _was_ putting forth effort in their sex life, she would have mentioned something about it. If I were doing my best to fulfill my husband’s needs, but the bastard was still trying to get more strange from other people, and then I wrote in to DW, I would definitely include a little bit about my indignation for his insatiable nature.

      22. Avatar photo bittergaymark says:

        My point EXACTLY!

      23. When presented with opportunities to discuss the situation, he responded immaturely with “he’s a grown-ass man that can do what he wants”.

        Even if we give credence to your unsubstantiated assumption that she isn’t fulfilling his sexual needs, that passive-aggressive behaviour on his part isn’t likely to get him laid.

        There is more evidence in the letter to suggest that, when it comes to discussing intimate matters in their marriage, he speaks to his wife in a boorish and condescending manner.

        I find it intriguing that commenters attempt to justify the husband’s douche-baggery behaviour. To each his/her own. He sounds like a great catch. You can have him.

      24. SweetsAndBeats says:

        It’s been my experience via observation, as well as personal experience, that men do not start out condescending or boorish, or immature in response to a needed discussion. Otherwise, why on EARTH did the LW marry him? I have observed that men acting like this man grow more and more childish over time, as the relationship deteriorates. And that’s both partners’ faults. I don’t know a single man on this planet who has managed to convince a woman to marry him who engages in passive aggressive behavior to the detriment of his sex life. A man like that would not get a woman to the altar (of her own free will, at least). Therefore, I think it is a fair supposition that his horrible reaction to her concerns is from a building up of tension in the relationship, not a fluke. That is much more understandable, and plausible, than that he suddenly did a 180* from decent husband to douchebag.

        I do not condone cheating in a relationship between two people who committed to monogamy. But nothing is black and white, and it will help the LW to see her part in the problem so that she can learn, grow, and hopefully have a better results next time.

      25. Very good points.

      26. goddessoftheclassroom says:

        I know of at least one instance where the 180 was the result of the husband’s own issues with getting older.

    2. SweetPeaG says:

      So, I had an ex-boyfriend that NEVER wanted sex due to meds and mental problems. It wasn’t due to my lack of trying. I didn’t “let myself go”. I take pretty good care of myself. Was willing to try new things and whatnot. He just didn’t want it.

      I didn’t go on Craigs List and look for anonymous sex. I didn’t cheat.

      So, even if your scenario is a possibility, it’s not an excuse.

      It is possible to be a good person who doesn’t lie, cheat, and deceive someone they love. Wanting sex isn’t an excuse to be an asshole.

  25. LW, I’m going to use an analogy with something I’m a bit more familiar with. Do you know what they tell physical abuse victims? They say to get out of the relationship the first time there’s physical violence. Because it will happen again. And again. And it will escalate. Do you notice the pattern here? Your husband is trying to cheat on you. It happened three times already (that you know of). And it will escalate. He will cheat on you (if what he says that it hasn’t happened is true).

    Can you put yourself in his shoes for a second? How much respect would you have for the person you’re married to, who you’re trying to cheat on? That’s how much respect he has for you. He probably already checked out of your marriage.

    He learned how to cover his tracks. He used his phone last time, but he probably won’t do that anymore. See if he opens a library account – there’s no way you could catch him there.

    As hard as it is now, it will get harder. And there will come a time when you’ll say enough is enough. That you’ll be better off alone than in a miserable marriage. And then you’ll wonder why you haven’t done it sooner.

    My heart goes out to you. Take care.

  26. Leave, leave, leave.
    What Wendy said is right.
    And you know the clincher is the lack of remorse. if he was a puddle of tears at your feet being pathetic and begging for fogiveness, you might roll your eyes and say, “okay get up you big sook, I forgive you.”
    But he’s not. He’s an asshole. He has contempt for you, and for the concept of marriage. But I’m not telling you anything new. You know that already, since you’re married to him.
    One other thing; if you ignore Wendy’s advice, (and everyone else’s including mine) and stay, your marriage, and your quality of life, will slowly get worse. It’s downhill from here. Twenty years you’ll be miserable, married to this man.

  27. natasiarose says:

    AHHH I’m kind of surprised this wasn’t on shortcuts. MOA. NOW.

  28. You know, reading bittergaymark’s comments above, he may have a point. Maybe the husband is sexually frustrated. I can relate – I’ve been there.

    Even so, his response when busted was snide and jerky, indicating a lack of concern for his wife or the marriage. He’s a “grown ass man?” Like complaining about his cheating behaviour is treating him like a child? FFS.

  29. One of the problems with the virtual world of the internet is that people don’t believe what is done on the net is real or serious. Probably in his mind what he’s doing is no different than playing a complex, sexual video game with these women. Probably thinks it’s his avatar getting laid and not him.

  30. there’s more to this story than you even imagine. Check Craigslist again – 50% or more of the ads are married men, or living with a woman, and wanting some action on the side – extremely discreet, etc. But the ads are in the men to men section….think about it.

  31. SAAM (speaking as a man – first to coin?), let me observe the letter writer already knows what she *should* do, and the fact she has written a letter reinforces she has no intent to actually do it. Stop with the phony courage of sending the letter, and get on with the business of real courage and reclaim your dignity and your right to be treated as an equal in your relationship, and divorce this enormous turd of a man. Or TOAM. Coined that too…

  32. NowForTheTruth says:

    Once again, we have an email from a wife with a cheating husband…. And no one bothers to ask the wife how much sex they’re having. Bottom line: if he isn’t getting it at home, he’ll start looking for it elsewhere. Likewise, if he is satisfied at home, he doesn’t need to look elsewhere. Clearly, you guys are either not having nearly enouh sex to satisfy him, or else the sex is boring and uncreative. I know people hate it when you blame the woman for the man’s cheating… But it is an ugly truth. He is trying to get his needs met, and you aren’t meeting them. If you rocked his socks off in the bedroom and attacked him sexually with any frequency, he wouldn’t need to be looking for it elsewhere. Period.

    1. So, when passion dies in a relationship it is all the woman’s fault and the husband is just the poor helpless victim? Maybe you are right and he isn’t getting his rocks off enough but instead of putting energy into the relationship so that she WANTS to get his rocks off he is going to look for a replacement? Passion is two sided. Based off his reply, he has no respect for her and tells it to her face. You seriously expect her be sexually available when he can’t even be civil to her? Really?

      1. NowForTheTruth says:

        If she wants him to not cheat, she needs to be sexually available. It’s just that simple. I’m also not assigning blame, but stating the facts. If the passion is gone, his actions should not be a surprise. What is a surprise is that the passion is gone and she expects him monogamy. It’s simply unrealistic.

      2. You know this is a really good point, and I think I’m going to change my position on cheating scenarios from now on. It’s too simple to just go “He’s a cheater! MOA!” And frankly a lot of marriages survive an affair.

  33. Before we rush to say he’s cheating, he might just have a kink where he really does want to watch. Maybe he’s embarrassed to ask his wife if she will go solo while he watches or maybe he doesn’t want her to be with another man but like watching others…

  34. This might be happening to me ??

  35. Mine is even More twisted than this. I am so unhappy in my marriage. I want to email Wendy to detail my situation but I am afraid he will read my email. I have been in it for 23 years and am 44 years old. He controls everything, money, sex everything. I have never heard him commend me for anything. I am so sex starved and he turns me down anytime I make a move. He new that I can’t cheat because of our culture. I am so fed up but I stay because of the kids that are involved. Now my issue is that one of his friends who knows our story loves me so much that all I have to do is say a word and it is done. But he is in Africa while I am in North America. But he call me every day like I have fallen for him. But then I too him and his wife as my friend. I feel I will betray his wife who is very dear to me. But the man’s support turns me on eventhough the wife doesn’t know most of the things he is doing for me. It is from this man that I heard all the good word or names that I haven’t heard from my husband since we are married. This man is making me realize my worth because all this while, I lost confidence self worth. Each time I speak with this guy I feel to happy and myself esteem improved. I am enjoying the moment with this guy but we both agreed to protect both out partners while we chat on line and send some pics to keep it going. How can I manage this situation. I love the relationship so far eventhough we are far apart from each other. I just don’t know what will happen when we meet but talking to him calms me down. My situation is twisted. On one note, I come from a culture where if u have an external affairs you go crazy. But we are exploring other ways we can satisfy each other with causing damage to our both families. He gives me any kind of money I want, talk and call me all the good names that will turn any woman’s heard. Like I can’t describe the feelings I experience since this started few weeks ago. I feel like a sixteen years old in love again. To see that someone out there loves and care for is incredible because I thought I am worthless.
    I have work email but I don’t think it is a good idea to send you a message with. That’s​ why I am writing this in this comment section.
    I will come back here to see if there is any advice on how I can continue with the discussion and how I can manage my new found love and my home for the sake of the kids. Thank you Wendy.

  36. I never believed in love spells until I met this spell caster when i went to see my friend in Canada last month on business summit. I met a man who’s name is Dr Mack of, he is really powerful and could help cast spells to restore one’s relationship. I’m now happy & a living testimony cos My boyfriend who wants to marry me left me a week before our wedding and my life was full of sorrow cos our relationship has been on for 3years. I really loved him, but his mother was against us and he had no good paying job. So when i met this spell caster, i told him what happened and explained the situation of things to him. At first i was undecided, skeptical and doubtful, but i just gave it a try. And 4 days when i returned to Poland, my boyfriend (now husband) called me by himself and came to me apologize that he is ready to marry me, I was excited and happy and we immediately get married. I didn’t believe it cos the spell caster only asked for my name and my boyfriends name and all i wanted him to do. Well we are happily married now. His Email.dr.mack201@gmail. com if you need any assistance in life.

Leave a Reply to FireStar Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *