My DH likes is very fast. I can't keep up with all that. |
Oh lord, somebody has watched too many Disney movies. |
"Not right now" isn't the same as "never." Any guy who doesn't know that is a screamingly insecure baby, who deserves the divorce that is coming his way. |
Sex less than 1 time a week plus "career related absences" for over 10 years is hardly "not right now". It likely feels to this DH like never. Thus his ultimatum. |
I can tell you've never been the higher drive partner. Asking repeatedly and getting rejected most of the time feels like rejection. Having sex every month or so does not erase that sting. |
If the sex drives are that mismatched, and she won't compromise and he can't stop taking it personally and whining about it, it's time to divorce. If a mismatched marriage is going to work, the lower drive partner has to give it up more and the higher drive partner has to quit acting like a whiny baby. |
| It's a marriage...and like all things in life there is a series of compromises along the way. He will not get it every day, she needs to step up and provide either maintenance sex or more regular oral. We're talking 10-15 minutes every couple of days. Make time. |
It's still rejection. |
You should complain, but you should realize that if you complain constantly (nag, whine, whatever) then you are not increasing your chances of getting what you want. No one wants to come home to a wife who whines about your work habits. No one wants to have sex with someone who constantly criticizes their sex habits. As I've said multiple times on this thread, one spouse needs compromise and the other spouse needs to stop whining. |
Nah, it's not. If you can't see it any other way, though, well... have fun with that divorce. |
| So, how do we distinguish "communicating about inadequate sex frequency" from "whining"? The tone of the earlier posts about "whining" suggests that pretty much all communication on the issue will be regarded as "whining" (and, in fact, I got the impression that the PP didn't regard sex as a need in any real sense.) But, tone can be kind of tricky online, so maybe I'm misreading. |
You're misreading. I've said "compromise" a bunch of times. If you want a compromise, you have to put what you want out there. Part of the problem with asking for more sex is how it's asked. People who ask for more sex don't say "I want more sex." They say "You never want to have sex with me." and then follow it up with contempt and criticism -- you're rejecting me, you don't love me, you are cold, you hate sex.. They turn the lack of sex into something more fundamental than just lack of sex. They ascribe it to the other partner not loving them or hating sex. None of those things may be true. It's also when it's asked. They also tend to ask about it or bring it up in the heat of the moment - one partner approaches, the other partner declines, and the first partner starts bitching about it. Now it's a fight, instead of sex. Breakfast or over a meal is a better time to talk about it. Stick to "I" statements. "I want more sex." "I miss when we had sex every day." "I miss that thing we used to do." "I would like to find a way to have more sex with you." If the low drive person says they can't possibly, you need to listen to their objections and try to help find ways around those objections. Make sure they tell you why they can't and listen, if you're going to negotiate a compromise. |
| You're still overlooking the fact that repeatedly declining sex is hurtful. It really sucks to do all the above and still not be wanted by the person you love. It completely sucks, and sugar-coating it is bulllshit. Yes, compromise is still needed, but let's not pretend like rejection feels great or isn't harmful to your relationship. |
You choose to be hurt by it. You choose to take it personally. You are making a choice to interpret it that way. You can choose to look at it differently. Maybe therapy is an option. |
I think the frequent use of the pejorative "whining" distracted me from the "compromise" element of your post. In any case, you make valid points, but there are reasons for a lot of the bad timing and poor framing of the desire for more sex. One reason for the "you hate me, you don't love me," etc. is that what the deprived spouse is often missing is the feeling of being loved, having his/her spouse being attracted or something deeper than just the physical act of sex. Often the lower drive spouse doesn't really get this -- thinks it's just a superficial desire to have orgasms using the low drive spouse's body as a masturbatory aid. And, so, the lower drive spouse doesn't really understand the frustration -- why not just masturbate? |