my wandering eyes

topic posted Fri, April 20, 2007 - 8:05 AM by  Joe
I've made a point of not looking at other women. I am in not just a relationship, but THE relationship. I keep myself pretty damned close to absolute discipline, and I never have any thoughts of cheating or anything. That shit is just so far below me. But damn, it's hard to control your eyes and your thoughts sometimes. Any tips?
posted by:
Joe
offline Joe
Norway
  • Re: my wandering eyes

    Fri, April 20, 2007 - 9:31 AM
    Honestly, I think you're being way, Way, WAY too uptight about this. You are a MAN, and your body and mind are designed to notice and enjoy the sight of a beautiful woman. Noticing and appreciating feminine beauty is natural and nothing to be ashamed of. Yes, acting on lascivious thoughts about other women when you're in a committed monogamous relationship would be wrong, but just looking and admiring does no harm to anyone. Frankly, I think you're doing yourself more harm than good by agonizing over this issue.

    Obviously, when you're with your woman, you should give her your full attention and not blatantly be checking out other women. But if you're out by yourself, go ahead and enjoy the scenery. As long as you're not a pig or a jerk about it, there's NOTHING wrong with it!
    • Re: my wandering eyes

      Fri, April 20, 2007 - 9:59 AM
      I so agree with Russell. The only time I would ever have a problem with my SO looking at another woman is if he did a head whip, basically drooled and ignored that it was me holding his hand. Seriously, there's a big difference between looking and touching. In fact if my husband doesn't appreciate the female forms walking around now and again I might wonder if something is wrong with him. I look and I am in no way even bi...beauty is beauty and comes very much in the human form.
      Relax a bit and enjoy! if you are concerned about how your SO feels, maybe gauge reaction through communication. When my husband and I go out for coffee and do people watching, we'll both occasionally comment on a good looking person. When the commercial for the Pussycat Doll search came on, I smiled and guessed which one was my husband's type (and was right heheh). Looking can be playful, fun, and erotic between couples...and no harm, natural and very healthy
      • Re: my wandering eyes

        Fri, April 20, 2007 - 12:03 PM
        My eyes wander all the time. Like BratCat he minute I can't appreciate the beauty of another human being then get me ready for the grave. Not a damn thing wrong with looking... or browsing the asiles if it's okay with your partner.
        • Re: my wandering eyes

          Fri, April 20, 2007 - 12:59 PM
          Well, we're all somewhere on the scale, and it just doesn't seem right to me. I don't think there's anything wrong with training yourself to keep your eyes at head level. I'm not changing my opinion on this, I just wanted help to live up to it.
          • Re: my wandering eyes

            Fri, April 20, 2007 - 1:07 PM
            Now that I understand your scale, your initial question of "Any tips?" is no for me then. I personally can't fathom that kind of control of my world. But to each his own.
            I was giving you a female perspective tho...that sometimes women aren't bothered if "eyes wander". I know there are plenty who do however. i wasn't sure if your self-control was something imposed on yourself or something you felt you had to do for your SO.
            • Re: my wandering eyes

              Fri, April 20, 2007 - 1:14 PM
              no, completely self-imposed. And most of the time it's really not that hard. Sometimes it just gets to me. There's this huge sea of tight jeans and cleavage out there that is at times rather difficult to avoid. And once seen, thoughts will pop up of their own accord.
              • V
                V
                offline 13

                Re: my wandering eyes

                Sun, April 29, 2007 - 4:59 PM
                You sound committed to this stategy. Here are a few brainstorming results I came up with:
                1)Go research iridology. If you find out a whole bunch of info about how to read the iris then you'll be distracted by interpreting the ladies health and mentel state via her eyes(maybe).
                2)Always have a single friend that you are keeping your eye out for "the perfect woman" for so s/he can be as happy as you. Maybe some of those butts and cleavage will fall into a different catagory in your head then (maybe?).
                3)Get interested in fashion so that even if you get distracted by the jeans it will be the cut or fabric.
                4)Bite the bullet and work in a topless bar as a bouncer for a couple of weeks and maybe you will be so surronded by boobies and associate them with such a humdrum working environment that you won't care anymore. I have actually seen that work..

                Just a few thoughts. I am a woman though, I don't know how the male mind works.
              • Re: my wandering eyes

                Sun, April 29, 2007 - 10:30 PM
                Joe, the best/worst advice I can offer is to move to Afghanistan where the women are (still) required to wear burqahs so that men won't be tempted by their assets. It doesn't seem like women will be liberated there anytime soon. And you won't have to worry about "tight jeans and cleavage."

                Or, you could move to a monastery, where you'll be surrounded by men who wear clothing that strongly resembles a burqah, and who are sworn to resist temptation.

                Or maybe you could get a castration.

                It seems like you're having a problem with self-control. And it seems to me that when you say you don't want to notice other women, what you're not telling us is that you want to pretend they don't exist so you wouldn't fear your own lack of self-control in noticing them.

                The truth is, that the advice other people here have offered you, that you reject, is the best advice. You need to set expectations of yourself that you can actually live up to. And if you fail to do this, you will be a failure because you have set yourself unrealistic expectations that neither you, nor any other heterosexual man (absent a vision impairment) can be expected to live up to.

                Jack Holland wrote a book entitled _Misogyny_, in which he explained that men suppress women because of a mind-body duality, in which mind is considered superior, and the desires of the body are considered a distraction from "higher" thinking. Women provoke lust, therefore women must be suppressed.

                I haven't read the article yet, but I saw a headline today that suggests that more recent research has determined that thinking is grounded in emotion. Plato's higher truth, then, cannot exist without the pleasures of the flesh that he sought so vehemently to deny.

                Yet here you are, seeking to deny the very thing that drew you in the first place to this woman whom you claim to love. It doesn't work that way. It can't work that way.
                • Re: my wandering eyes

                  Mon, April 30, 2007 - 8:38 AM
                  Damamal, I like that first idea. I'll check that out. Thanks!

                  And David, it's actually very easy for me not to look at other women, most of the time. It's only when spring rolls around, and the quiet streets of Oslo are once more flooded with a seething rabble of tits and ass, that I have to spend some time adjusting to circumstances. The simple fact of the matter is that, regardless of what I may or may not be ''denying'' myself, it feels very, very wrong for me to check out other women. I don't think I'm going against my nature as a heterosexual human being. Maybe I'm going against my nature as an animal, but I think we're supposed to put in some effort and transcend such base, selfish sides of us in order to become enlightened adults. It feels rewarding and pure to do things the way I'm doing them now, and I don't intend to stop. It's the furthest thing from torture and suppression that I can think of.

                  You got me on one point, though. I would, weak being that I am, prefer pretending that other women don't exist. It would make things easier. After all, I certainly can't say ''excuse me, could you please cover up?'' I'm not one to impose my values on the wandering public, so I've just been staying indoors this fine spring.

                  But I in no way consider myself a failiure on account of my shortcomings, and I never will. There's nothing wrong with shooting for the stars. That's been my modus operandi in all of life's matters.
                  Thanks for the words of wisdom, though!
                  • This is the maximum depth. Additional responses will not be threaded.

                    Re: my wandering eyes

                    Fri, May 18, 2007 - 9:27 AM
                    Joe,

                    Considering this is your second thread on this same issue you might want to examine the underlying motivations for why you feel looking at other women is wrong, especially given your near obsession with it.

                    How does it harm your partner? Not your perception but hers?

                    What do you feel you are denying yourself?

                    Any chance you have strong reactions to the possiblity SHE is checking other men out and that by making it a big deal for you, it gives you and excuse to control her behavior?

                    I am blessed with a partner who will point out women who either she finds attractive or thinks I might, I do the same with men although not nearly as often. My style of BDSM is deeply intertwined with my sexuality and so I rarely play outside of a relationship so in my case I am "only" looking but instead of it being a source of stress it is a source of joy in the same way pointing out a beautiful sunset or rose would be.
                    • Re: my wandering eyes

                      Sat, May 19, 2007 - 6:17 AM
                      I agree absolutely with that last part. There is a beauty to the human body that is not necessarily sexual. It causes me no grief. It's the attractions that I feel that bother me, the thoughts that pop up.

                      And maybe it's my second thread because I really really want to find someone that can actually see my point. Unfortunately, I don't think this is the place.

                      I have given your points a lot of thought, not just after reading them, but prior to this as well. I am not one to lie to myself, not about love. I've hurt myself too much already doing that. It certainly is a big deal if she checks other men out, I make no bones about it. She understands and accepts this. I don't have to 'play the morality card' or something. My morals are for myself, because they outline what feels like a true, devoted relationship for me. I just want help upholding them.
    • Unsu...
       

      Re: my wandering eyes

      Sun, May 27, 2007 - 8:43 PM
      My parents, who have been happily married in a traditional monogamy way for 40 years have this little saying "You can look but you can't touch." So, if that works for them, it might work for you. If you have chosen to be physically and emotionally monogamous, great. There is nothing wrong with appreciating feminine beauty. And there is nothing wrong with looking at other women and thinking, wow, she's hot, but lucky me, I've got my very own hot woman right here in my arms.
      • Re: my wandering eyes

        Mon, May 28, 2007 - 4:21 AM
        It might work for many people. I'm certainly not judging it. I just think it's better not to look at all, if you can help it. I just feel like a schmuck when I catch myself looking at someone else's cleavage or something. It just doesn't feel right to me.

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