The Reality Method 2.0

How to succeed with women, actually, for real…and for free.
January 23rd, 2007

On The Variety of the Female Specimen

In general, I believe there are as many different types of women as there are women.

However, when looking for a girlfriend, friend with benefits, or relationship with a modern, Western woman, it is important to have a few basic categories in mind to inform your perception of any given woman.

I like to think of women as falling into rough categories based on where they fall on two simple axes running from HIGH to LOW. Those two axes are

  1. Sex drive
  2. and,

  3. Self-esteem

These two dimensions are extremely important to modern women; I think they play key roles in the foundation of a woman’s ability to function in the world and relationships.

Now, although I believe these axes are continuous rather than discrete, it’s useful for the sake of comparison to examine the “end states” — cases where women are concretely and unassailably HIGH sex drive, for example, and HIGH self-esteem (abbrev. HD HSE for this article and in the future).

Given the two axes and low and high points on each, we end up with four overall female “profiles”:

  1. The Queen
  2. The Prude
  3. The Victim
  4. The Virgin Validator

A picture might save me from typing a thousand words:

The Variety of the Female Specimen

Let’s go in reverse order and talk a little bit about the type of women you’re likely to encounter in each quadrant.

The Virgin Validator — Low Drive, Low Self Esteem

Ok, ok, “validator” isn’t actually a word, bear with me here.

There are two possible origins of a low sex drive (LD) for a woman: biological or behavioral.

Biologically, it’s all about hormone levels. Of course hormone levels fluctuate over the course of days, weeks, months and years for both genders, yielding different levels of “horniness” at any given point in time. A lot of birth control preparations can lower sex drive this way; also, anorexic or bulimic women typically have lowered sex drive because of the odd hormonal things that are going on in their bodies due to starvation or binging.

But over the long haul, an overall trend occurs. If that trend baseline is lower than the average woman, we call it LD.

Behaviorally, circumstances which lead to a “low” sex drive are just as common. An ex-girlfriend put it this way:

a low sex drive girl is a girl that has not really had a bad, traumatizing sexual experience, but rather uneventful, and unfulfilling [sexual experiences]

She’s exactly right. I happen to believe that ALL women, properly sexed up, are high-drive: only virgins (who don’t know what they’re missing) and women who’ve had really bad, boring, uneventful sex are “low drive”.

Behaviorally speaking, I think women become LD by either

A) having sex with men they are *not* attracted to (being “talked” into sex, and therefore deliberately emotionally distancing themselves from the experience from the outset)
or

B) not having sex at all.

I suppose some women could have traumatic experiences and be turned off to sex forever after, but typically the reverse is true.

The Virgin Validator (LD LSE) is also either

A) very resistant to relationships (ignores clear signals from interested guys because their affections don’t penetrate her “screen” of negative self-beliefs),
or,
B) gets into and out of relationships like most people change pants (trouble with secure attachment, labile and easy to manipulate because of LSE, etc).

Now, because a VV woman doesn’t desire sex very often, she often uses it to try to repair her chronically low self-esteem; seeking sexual validation, in effect, for her crippling lack of healthy self-worth. The experience of being in a man’s arms in that intimate setting makes her feel desired and valuable — but of course those feelings flee just as fast as the shadows in the room when the lights come back on.

Sometimes, a VV will go the opposite direction, and not have sex very often at all, only “giving it up” occasionally because there’s so little in it for her (no orgasm, no real enjoyment, etc). But that’s typically the exception that proves the rule.

VV’s can also be very beautiful (though they don’t believe it and don’t accept compliments well).

The Victim — High Drive, Low Self Esteem

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, this type of woman should be pretty familiar to you. There are “Victim”-style women scattered all over the dating landscape in America — much like in a minefield.

And, like mines, these women will blow sky-high if you mess with them.

A “Victim”-ized woman has low self-esteem, but high sex drive. This gets her into trouble with the “wrong” type of guys — the players, the deadbeats, the abusers, the alcoholics and addicts.

Most of these women are re-living trauma experienced in their past — commonly this is physical or sexual abuse. Because of their low self-worth, they are attracted to the same type of people that visited the abuses on them in the first place, and so the abuses continue unabated, until they wise up.

Obviously, these women lead lives of high drama, and for that reason most stable, secure men try to avoid them. They are the proverbial “Drama Mammas” of the world.

High sex drive that is derived from (childhood) abuse or molestation is interesting, to say the least. These are some of the kinkiest women you will ever meet — women that want you to choke them and hit them, and I mean REALLY choke them and hit them, during sex.

I’ve met a woman who needed to receive a (small but non-trivial) electric shock to get off; women who liked being tied up, to bleed, to be rendered unconscious during sex. There is no question that these are some seriously unwell individuals. Of course it’s not all that extreme; some milder forms of kink are prevalent in women who received milder abuse or psychological trauma.

The take-away lesson is that while these women are great fun in bed (and often get the most worked up about sex), the drama that comes along with it is simply not worth it.

The other drawback is that most of these women NEED to be treated like trash in order to be sexually attracted to a guy. I’ve met plenty of girls who were otherwise so sweet, innocent and loving that I couldn’t bring myself to treat them they way they needed to be treated in order to trigger their attraction for me.

The Prude - Low Drive, High Self Esteem

This is the girl we all hated in high school: beautiful, accomplished, but utterly pure.

They’re able to stay pure because they are chronically low drive: and this is the type of LD that is associated with biological causes (hormone levels), not behavioral or circumstantial ones (as with the Virgin Validator).

This is the type of girl many men “fall in love” with at an early age, only to discover, even if they are able to flip the attraction switches and generate a little bit of desire in the woman, it is not enough to float the encounter up over the barrier of her low drive and into the realm of relationship and more.

These women can also use sex in relationships to control the men; but more typically they are too happy and productive to stoop to that manipulative low.

Because their healthy self-esteem typically allows them to be high achievers, happy, and well-liked by all, these girls can get a “Holier-than-thou” attitude. Of course, their success and achievement only adds to their allure, and the attraction they suck up from guys only feeds into that and snowballs in a self-sustaining cycle. These are some of the happiest women that you will ever meet: it takes a LOT to bring them down — and this makes them extremely obnoxious to many other women and even some guys.

Having said all that, if the right guy manages to snare one of these women, she makes a wonderful wife and mother: supportive, reliable, organized, productive, and social.

If I were a woman, this is the type of woman I would aspire to be: despite having the volume turned down in sexual areas, their lives are otherwise happy and bright.


The Queen

Obviously this is the “pedestal” position in my little model: a woman who is both high-sex drive and high self-esteem.

A HD, HSE woman is likely to be just as happy as a LD, HSE woman (The Prude) but end up with a more varied relationship history because of her thirst for adventure and variety. This is the “healthy” end of the kinky spectrum, women who enjoy sex and exploring sex not because of trauma in their past, but because of joy and intimacy in their present.

Features of the HD/HSE relationship are secure attachment, normal or low levels of jealousy, trust, and almost complete lack of drama. These are the women you can on amazing sexual and spiritual journeys, women you can travel with both physically, intellectually and emotionally over the course of a relationship or a lifetime.

I say these women are ideal for threesomes or polyamory because of the trust and attachment issues (lack thereof); at the same time, these women typically have some much to offer, it’s almost being selfish to ask for more. Also, be aware: even though these women are typically secure and not prone to jealousy or drama, it is still true that there can be only one Queen. Despite other pretty young things that may flit in and out of the relationship bed, her exclusive place by your side must be clearly understood: she is an Alpha Female.

I realize this all sounds a bit Pollyannish, but I assure you I do not exaggerate. These women DO exist (though they are rare) and they ARE more or less the best combination of traits a man could want.

The only drawback I’ve ever heard or experienced with the HD HSE Queen may be more prone to infidelity than other types, but only if she is not being satisfied sexually in her primary relationship.

===

And there you have it: a handy beginning guide to wrapping your mind around the Variety of the Female Sex. For more on this topic, see The Hot Babe Scale.

Read and enjoy, and please share with your friends if you find it at all useful, entertaining, or humorous.

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12 Responses to “On The Variety of the Female Specimen”

  1. Excellent article. Right on target.

    But the graphic got resized by your blogging software, and looks pixelated (distorted). I’m a full-time Web designer, and thought I could help you out.

    Could you replace the version you have now with this resized one?
    http://www.dontmakehermad.com/images/quadvariety1.gif

    If you do, it won’t look pixelated any more.

    John Dias

  2. Thanks my friend. I used your graphic and it does indeed look better.

    Feel free to drop a link to your web-design business or portfolio if you like :)

  3. I do take offence to being called a prude as I think that is a horrible name, although that is the box I fit into. I have always been admired and complimented and people believe in me which has made me the way I am as well as being very capable. I also am a terrific mother and have been a terrific wife. But I 100% believe a male would see the door before he got into a threesome with me. And that is only because, sorry to say, but there is always another man. Other than that I am OK with all types of sex between one male and one female. I feel it extremely important to get your partner ‘off’ and I pride myself never ot lose a man. The one thing you forget to mention is that we are not selfish and nasty and that’s why we are so liked.

    What you are donig here is very good. I think it great that you teach these sorts of things to other males. We could do with more teaching for females IMO. I would love to put it on my site but I think it might offend some females. But it would cetainly create conversation.

    But I will ask? Can a female be in between these stages throughout her life? Women do change in time as men and we are different at 20 than say at 40 because of life experiences. I will come back to see if you allowed my comment and for an answer.

  4. Hi Julie,

    Thanks for reading and commenting. You are right, low, drive, high self-esteem (LDHSE) women are typically also sweet and kind as can be, and therefore make good (if occasionally aggravating!) friends. I have several very good LD, HSE friends, and I enjoy spending time with them, as long as they do not get too full of themselves.

    It’s important to keep in mind that this is a continuum model, and therefore not everyone is going to fall smack in the middle of one of these categories. Some women may be slightly lower on the SE line than others, while being slightly to the left or right on the sex drive line. That gives us a whole lot of potential “points” for women to fall on…..again, it’s a spectrum.

    I do believe women can change over the course of their lifetime — certainly women change after menopause (if only hormonally). I do believe women happen to “trend” towards one end or another gradually…..there are not typically massive shifts that happen overnight. Women gradually have more self-esteem and build on that, or they may lose their sex drive or it may grow over time because of new sexual experiences, etc.

  5. Thanx thirtyplus for your comment back. Now I have a special question for you.

    Why do the men in the MRA hate women. That doesn’t make sense to me. If you teach these things then aren’t you teaching men to get the better of women?

    Does that not empower the men?

    I know the Courts and the other unequalities are against men and I can only hope to be a part of change in this yet I won’t be remembered as ..say..the feminists. No. I will stay a nobody but I will know what I did and others around me will know what I did and my children will know what I did. That’s good enough for me.

    But with what you write and other men write, you are taking advantage of women. Why are you upset with this?

  6. Julie, I’m glad you asked that question….it is a very important question (and I’m sure one I will hear a lot more).

    I am not teaching men to take advantage of, or “get the better of” women. I am teaching the psychology and social dynamics that provide the preferred outcome for BOTH men and women.

    I believe that women would actually prefer to be seduced — especially by a cool, attractive, socially-aware guys. I believe women PREFER good sex over mediocre or bad, awkward sex.

    Women don’t actually want to do all the “work” of hooking up or getting into relationships, they want to be swept off their feet. Some may protest that they want “equality”, but the facts of the world don’t support those assertions.

    As for the MRA movement, I can’t speak for it or any of the men involved. I do think that a lot of the men you see writing so vituperatively have been *hurt*, and badly, by women throughout their lives. They carry a lot of scars, just like the women who have been hurt badly by men. It’s going to take a lot of talking and sharing to heal all those hurts, which is another reason I started this site.

    I do believe in Men’s Rights and have a beef with feminism (inasmuch as I believe it has gotten completely out of hand). I personally LOVE women. Yes, they can be aggravating at times, but overall why would I dedicate all this time and energy to writing about how to make them happy if I hated them?

    If I truly hated women and was trying to advocate “taking advantage of” or “manipulating” them I would be telling guys about where to buy rophynol to slip in their drinks.

  7. Hi thrityplus, you said

    “It’s going to take a lot of talking and sharing to heal all those hurts, which is another reason I started this site.”

    You are not wrong here.

    I have enjoyed this and thanx for comments back. But I think the sharing is going to be the big one. Neither side seems to want to listen to the other side. From outside looking in, I’d say that both sides have a good argument to present. If they could work together we would have balance but as it stands we will never have balance.

    Keep up the good work. I will put this site as a favorite.

  8. Hi Thirtyplus,

    I’ve read a few of your posts with interest and amusement, and I must say, as far as dating guides written from a male perspective go, they are pretty damn insightful. They teach me a few concepts of dating and the male mind, and help me define a few hunches that I had.
    So far they’ve been a great read.

    I’m reacting to this one because I wonder in which group I fall. And whether my understanding of myself and women like me (or on the opposite side of the axis) would call for a third (Z) axis in the diagram.

    What I’m missing in your two-axis system is the difference between self-esteem and confidence. I myself am a high drive, high self esteem kind of woman, but that does not make me a Queen. In fact, some of the Victim characteristics - kinkiness most of all - are very recognizable to me.

    What I lack is social confidence. Although I have high self esteem, in that I am confident in my abilities and opinions to the point of being arrogant, and know that I could make a very good girlfriend to a guy who appreciates me, I am not at all confident that these excellent qualities will be recognized or valued by guys I meet. They might not be able to see further than my rather dumpy and not very exciting physical appearance. Which makes me very, very shy.

    Coupled with a high sex drive, the high self esteem/low confidence combination translates into … well … a roleplayer in bed, basically.
    I do not get taken advantage of, and will never be hurt in a way I don’t like, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like to get hurt a little. My biggest fantasy is to play at being raped.
    Any friends I told this, and all but the last boyfriend I had, seemed to think this is very sick, which makes me think I fit in the Victim category, but I’ve never been traumatized or abused, unless you count the verbal “you’re ugly” abuse that many girls get in high school.
    I chose Actress because I like to act as if I’m being abused, and I often act confident in social situations as well, because I know I should be confident, but am not.

    Do you think there should be a third axis? Or is the Actress just a high drive - medium esteem type?

  9. The distinction you draw between generalized self esteem and social confidence is an interesting one.

    In my model, general self-esteem OUGHT to translate directly into social confidence. If someone is not socially confident but has healthy self-esteem, they OUGHT to be able to adapt themselves to social situations easily enough just by having more social interaction (i.e. getting out more). Their self-esteem will allow them to learn how to be more confident in social situations pretty quickly.

    Whereas, a guy (or girl) who has low self-esteem will have a heck of a time battling through the storm of social interaction in high-pressure environment (bars and clubs), which is why for those people I would work on overall esteem issues first.

    The rape fantasy is a near-universal female fantasy; I don’t think it precludes you from being in the Queen category. Queens can be kinky too — but it’s a different type of kinky. I would say, without knowing you at all, that you probably fall somewhere in the right-hand quadrant of the model (HSD) somewhere between Victim and Queen. Remember its a continuous, not discrete, model — and it IS only a model; it’s not perfect.

    Finally, we as humans are not perfect either, and often it can be very hard for us to be honest about ourselves or have truly unbiased perceptions of our qualities.

  10. Much as I like to laugh off some of your comments as being too obviously male in perspective, I have to bow to your wisdom here. The not being honest about (or to) ourselves is a big problem for both men and women when trying to analyze their own behavior. The more I think about it, the more I think my type of kinky is a way for a woman who is aware of her own worth to gauge whether a man “can handle her”. I don’t mind being slapped around or cum at in the face - in fact I enjoy it - I don’t need confirmation that I get respect. I want to know that the guy has the guts to do it, and deserves MY respect.

    Thanks for the insight.

  11. […] you enjoyed this article, take a look at On The Variety of the Female Specimen, in which I compare women on the axes of self-esteem versus sex […]

  12. Hi, the pic is missing
    http://realitymethod.files.wordpress.com/2007/02/quadvariety1.gif
    maybe lost when you moved the website to the new domain.

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