Redefining Sex So It’s Easier And Better for Both of You

On Tuesday, I said your wife’s needs are valid, even though they’re different.  What about her sexual needs?

Even if a woman is all about sex, it’s not as high on her list as is the case for most men. Usually, sex doesn’t make a woman feel loved. Rather, she wants sex because she feels loved. Beyond that, if you have the higher drive, she may rarely get to full desire. Perhaps she says yes out of love, or obligation, when she’s not feeling it. Or she says no initially, and then says yes as soon as she is close to wanting it.

This is very different from your reality. Can you imagine what it must be like for her? Can you see how it would affect her sexually? Something else, what if she feels she’s supposed to orgasm every time she has sex? What if you expect this of her and have made it clear it’s not good sex if you’re the only one who comes?

Wife reaching between husband's legs under the sheets.

The real problem is most of us have a small, skewed view of what constitutes sex. If we had a broader view, sex would be easier and better for both spouses.

Sex should be an activity done by a couple that includes contact of a sexual nature. It could last a minute, or an hour, or anywhere in-between. It should include as many orgasms as each spouse wants, with zero being a valid number. And each spouse should be free to decide at any point during sex if they do or don’t want an orgasm on that occasion.

If this was how your wife saw sex, and she knew you saw it the same way, it would be easier for her to say yes to sex. It would also be easier for her to initiate sex; even if she was just doing it for you.

Is how you define sex limiting or hurting your sex life?

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Different, Possibly Confusing, But Totally Valid

Today, I want to impress on you that while your wife’s needs are different from your needs, they are just as valid.

When I say needs, I mean what she needs from you to feel loved and cared for. You do want her to feel loved and cared for, don’t you?

A blue "NEED" and a pink "NEED" sit on opposite ends of a gray board balanced on a gray question mark.

We tend to dismiss our wife’s needs because they are different. We don’t understand why they’re important because we don’t understand what’s behind them. We may not consciously dismiss her needs, but odds are we don’t see her needs to be as valid as our needs. And that hurts her and damages our marriage.

Even if her needs are based on fear, trauma, or lack from her childhood years, they are valid. Failing to meet those needs won’t make them go away. She may stop asking, but that doesn’t mean she is less hurt by not having the needs met. 

On the other hand, if you meet needs that are based on her past, you put her in a better place to deal with what’s behind those needs. Over time, some of those needs will fade away. And new healthier needs may arise.

Either you meet her needs, or you do not. And why you do or don’t is irrelevant to her.

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FF: Decoding Her Desire: Stop Shooting Blind

Have you ever tried the “ask for sex every night” approach, figuring the more often you ask, the more often she will say yes? Or, maybe you have no idea why she says yes or no, so you figure you should ask all the time so you don’t miss an occasion when she might say yes. Basically fire blindly and hoping you hit the target occasionally!

Mostly missing the target.

I’ve been there, I’ve done that, and I found it didn’t work so well. If you think about it, why would it? If your wife, or your child, or anyone else, did the same to you over something, don’t you think you would come to resent it? Might you feel so nagged you would start to say no just out of annoyance? What’s more, if they asked when you were clearly busy, or over worked, or just so tired you couldn’t stand it, how would you feel about them for being so inconsiderate?

Why would your daily requests for sex be received any differently?

Yes, I know you’re not getting enough, and asking less when you want more seems counter-productive. However, if you think about what I said above, you should see why better targeting your asking could result in more sex and less aggravation for both of you.

The key here is to figure out when/why she says no. It may seem completely random, but it is not. The problem is there are a number of factors involved, so it is a difficult formula to decipher.

  • Time of month is huge if she is not pregnant, past menopause, or on hormonal contraceptives. She should be most receptive (if not chasing you) around ovulation, which is 14 days before her next period. The week before that, she is likely to be more receptive than at other times. After she ovulates, she is less receptive. Just before and during menstruation varies from women to woman.
  • Tiredness, from lack of sleep, is probably the next biggest factor.
  • Stress from a long day, and ongoing stress, are also big factors.
  • How well she has connected with you the last 24 to 36 hours is important. Remember, her love language determines how she feels loved and connected.

There are plenty of other factors, well beyond what I can list here. Start thinking about it; make notes about the 24 hours before when she says yes, and likewise when she says no. Record as much as possible and you should start to find patterns. Does she always say no on laundry day, or after taking the kids to some specific event? Is she likely to say yes when she gets some quiet time in the evening, or the day after a date with you? Keep playing detective, and you should find the clues needed to learn when asking is a waste of time (and a good way to aggravate her) and when your odds are better. I realise not asking doesn’t help you directly, but if it makes her feel less exhausted about sex, that’s good for both of you.

[This post first appeared Nov 24, 2012.]

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Nurturing Your Marriage: The Power of Attention & Respect

When I sit back and watch people, what I see is a lot of folks dying for attention and respect. And I see some doing crazy things to get those things.

If you have kids, you’ve seen them do this since before they could talk. Adults are a bit more subtle, but if you look for it, you see it everywhere. And as Lori and I work with couples, we see it in the vast majority of marriages.

Wife yelling hysterically at husband. Drama queen trying to get attention.

Odds are, your wife would like more of your attention, and more respect from you. Her hunger for those things may be far greater than you imagine, and it may be the reason for much of what she does. Anger and withdrawal can be motivated by a need for respect. Nagging, manipulating, and controlling behaviour can be a cry for attention. And sexual limits or refusal can be fuelled by either of these needs.

Rather than trying to determine if this is a dynamic in your marriage, assume it is. And rather than dealing with is as wrong, why not see it as a wrong reaction to needs you’re not meeting. 

Give your wife the attention and respect she deserves because it’s the right thing to do. Meeting those needs should result in good changes, which you can see as a bonus.

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Barriers to Sex: Time, Energy, and Solo Solutions

I read a study that was intended to discover why some couples have more sex than others. But none of what the researchers expected to make a difference did! That included how in love and romantic couples felt. Apparently, it’s complicated.

The suggestion of the authors was that it’s a complex interaction of two people. I’d agree with that, but I think they missed the obvious.

A woman hidding a vibrator under pillow in bedroom.

Good sex takes a connection, time, and energy. And that connection bit also takes time and energy. Neither romantic nor sexual desire will result in sex if you’re both busy or tired.

There is a growing trend of both husband and wife engaging in solo masturbation because while they both want sex together, it’s rare for them both to have the time and energy at the same time.

Some of these couple are unaware they’re both taking the do-it-yourself approach. Others suspect or know, but have a silent agreement to not discuss it. Many start doing this thinking it’s stop gap for a season. Others do it off and on for years before it becomes the norm.

If you think there is even a remote chance this is happening in your marriage, please talk about it. If you ignore it, it will get worse!

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Self-Differentiation and Needing to be Being Right

Why do we feel the need to be right so strongly that we’re willing to make a mess of our marriage to prove ourselves?

I ask this as a guy who has made the wrong choice on this many, many times. I’m getting better, but even after forty years it’s still a fight at times. And honestly, I find it more tempting with my wife than with others.

A husband and wife arm wrestling.

I’m sure pride is involved, but I think it’s more about self identity. I’m very close to Lori, and I love that. But I think I feel a need to differentiate myself from her. Psychology talks about self-differentiation, which is distinguishing your thoughts, feelings, and behaviours from others in your family system. We all did this with our family of origin when we were growing up. If mom and/or dad made that difficult, we may be more prone to get agitated about it with our wife.

It’s good to be your own person. It’s good for your wife to be her own person. The trick is embracing the differences between you and your wife in a loving and grace-filled way. Making a choice to do this is a great starting place.

Along these lines, a reminder to myself. Even if you’re right, being a jerk makes you wrong!

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Understanding Your Wife’s Reality and Why Validation Matters

It’s easy to invalidate your wife’s reality. You can do it without meaning to do so, and without having a clue you’ve done it.

Close up portrait of shocked woman with the word invalid stamped over her face.

Her perception may or may not be accurate, but it’s still what she sees and how she feels. Dismissing that makes her feel disrespected, and it’s not good for your marriage.

You can accept her experience and still disagree with her conclusions about what her experience means. What’s more, she’s far more likely to listen to you and consider your reality when you challenge her in this way.

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Dude, SHE DOESN’T LIKE IT!

Last week, Lori and I were at a thrift store. We’d found several things we wanted, and I sat down in the furniture area with the cart while Lori browsed a bit more.

A young couple with a baby and a toddler was looking at the offerings near me. From their discussion, I learned he was the primary pastor of a church.

An ugly mustard coloured couch

Then I heard this exchange.

HIM: What about this?

HER: I don’t like it.

HIM: What if we put it in the basement?

Her: I don’t like it.

HIM: But it’s only $20!

Her: I don’t like it.

At this point I was fighting the urge to say “Dude, she doesn’t like it!”

And then he said, “How about we leave it, and if it’s still here next week, we can reconsider?”

And then I had to fight the urge to give him my card and suggest he needs a bit of marriage coaching.

I never turned around to see what the woman didn’t like. But it didn’t matter what it was. She had given her opinion, and nothing he said was going to change that. I suspect she felt he didn’t care about how she felt. I mean, I felt that way.

If your wife says “I don’t like it” to you, does that carry as much weight as it should? I’m not saying she has the right to veto anything regardless of how you feel. But ignoring her preferences should be rare, and for good reason.

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