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Do Men "need" Sex, If So, Why?

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SEX: I see high libido vs low libido. Compromise. Love. Intimacy. Gifts we give. Self pleasuring. Age factors. Expectations met or unmet. Duty (take one for the team) or (you have an obligation).
Yet for me personally, I can't shake the power and control aspect. Admittedly on both sides.

There is also body image and self esteem. A woman knows when her appearance is sliding. It could be depression. It could be the children factor and she is just too friggin tired.
My children's father, would mention, my lack of self care, yet he had no concept of how much time effort and money went into looking a certain way. Things the kids needed came first. That he made negative comments on how I gained weight did not inspire me to want to feel is touch. I went to bed feeling fat and ugly and those comments lay between us in the bedroom. That I should "compromise" to meet " his needs" made me feel like a urinal. He was still self pleasuring only he was using my body to do it.

Sex and intimacy are two very different things. Intimacy doesn't even have to involve sex of course and when it does and is an act of intimate love, both, one or neither can reach an orgasm and it is okay.

But sexual needs and desires for the intent of reaching a point of satisfaction for both parties unusually requires a degree of work. Work that expected more of a woman than a man. It's called a job because because it takes energy, some skill, concentration and putting one's self pleasure aside at that time. Maybe some chicks say they enjoy it, maybe it's a power trip. Maybe it's bullshit. Ha!

If a man orgasms before a woman or if she has a few more orgasms waiting and willing to be coaxed out, how many men once sated will get out the toys and put forth the effort to make sure a woman gets all she wants sexually from the interaction. Most men are too tired, they reached their goal and now they are ready to go o sleep and if a woman got out the toys herself to complete her level of sexual satisfaction would offend their partners ego. So they don't and they are left unsatisfied.
Women and men orgasm differently. Men get that one pow and maybe once they've rested are ready for another round. Women admittedly not all, but I'm willing to bet more are simply not aware that they orgasm. it a series of higher and higher intensities and can run out of energy before orgasms but that running out of energy can take a long time if a man is willing to put forth the effort and be encouraging. That kind of release for a woman can leave her feeling spent and jelly legged. Yet it is that level of intensity and release that makes her want to participate more often. Knowing you are going to be left hanging time and time again inspires "low libido" because expectations are low.
The sad part, is most women don't even realize this themselves.
 
I'm not sure men "have" to have sex. I think there is for many men a connection between sex and their self esteem and ego.

You are very intuitive and eloquent which is a great combination. It sounds like we have dated in the past. What you say about some men pretty much describes my feelings to the T. As I write this I see you have posted again and it is excellent as well and hits points I was going to make. To start there is a large correlation between self esteem and ego. As the high libido partner it is disheartening to want my wife sexually to be reciprocated by a lack of desire for
me sexually. That does hit the self esteem and ego. There is a lot of truth in Peter Frampton's "I want you to want me, I need you to need me". The feeling of manipulation I get as well although I don't think my wife is remotely manipulative. It goes back to how things were in the honeymoon phase of the relationship knowing that there was a time when we were on the same page. I was wrong in assuming that was something between me and her but instead more likely some form of evolutionary design mixed in with hormones with the end goal being procreation. When things changed for me was when communication between us started as well as my therapy. I started putting in the work. Woke up an hour and a half earlier to cook breakfast for her and the kids, laundry, dishes and got a maid bimonthly to lower stress. You are completely correct about foreplay as well. It is far more involved than I ever realized. If you wanted to have fun with a thread have one for men and one for women asking each to define intimacy. We both speak the english language but our understanding of it is totally different. The complications when a woman suffers sexual abuse hit home hard. For years I've felt like my wife's rapist has resided in our bedroom but I never said anything until 2 aprils ago. I don't feel cheated by thoughts of having a broken woman. I am fortunate to have a resilient woman. Maybe more so than me. I've got a whole thread on how poorly I handled the details of what happened to her. Any way I enjoyed your post and will hit your next one shortly.
 
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The " Honeymoon Phase"

Why do we as women don't start having intrusive thoughts and feeling in the beginning of the relationship but after a certain time in the relationship they start?
This is something that has come up in different relationships. Seen as an excuse more than something to help you work through.
I think in the honeymoon phase the flow and intensity of various hormones is stronger but as the hormone wanes and it always does even to come back to visit now and then. When that energy lessens the memory of avoided feelings strengthens and the flashbacks start.
There's a different woman in the bed. The vibe is of one being put upon and the once enjoyably determined now gags.

You were probably warned. When someone tells you, "I'm f*cked up" as stating a fact and not an "at this moment kind",

Believe them

Then love them, love sharing the journey. It's your journey too.
 
I think you are right it's hormonal. I can't obviously speak for the experience from the woman's perspective but I can from the man's perception of what happens. To a large degree I think we misperceive what is actually happening when our libido's seem to match as the beginning. Given the choice of "she's clearly that into me" or "there are larger forces at play far greater than you" we (or most of us) go with the first explanation. I've only been in 4 relationships that lasted longer than 2 years and there was the same pattern in all. My wife was the last one and at the point she decided disclosures needed to be made she simply told me she was date raped minus the details. At the time the wound was still somewhat fresh at 8 years. It took it's toll but even then I knew it was hardly uncommon. Sadly the odds are more in favor of 1 of the 3 of my other 2 plus year relationships having the same history than not but I never asked and don't see the point in asking now since it is none of my business. Regardless it was the best unheeded warning I ever made. I would not do anything differently. You have caught me out of town wanting to ask my wife if the compromise is eliciting her gag reflex but I don't think so. We are in a much better place than 2 years ago when I was biting my tongue on my "needs". Back to the original question of the thread being "Do men need sex, if so, why? I can tell you I do and as for why on top of many of your assumptions which I find 100% correct is the emotional bond. I feel much closer, happier, content and looking forward to the next day when the frequency is higher. If the determination of the need for sex is it will not kill you it fails the need test. On the flip side if I want to truly feel alive there is definitely a need for sex with the person I cherish most.
 
Oh wait I have one more point!

If a guy's "love language" truly was physical affection then why...
That's pretty much what I was going to come into the thread to say. But you said it, so now I don't have to.

I want to make the point too that physical affection and sex are not the same thing. I say this because it is a problem that has come up in my life before. Previous marriage. All I wanted was to cuddle on the couch while watching TV. He was tired. When I positioned myself inside his arms, he got irritated with me and asked me why I "always" wanted sex. It became clear that what he meant was, I am a naturally affectionate person. He was operating under the assumption that hugs and kisses are always meant to be a prelude to sex, and I must know he's tired right now, so why am I coming to him with what must be a sexual invitation? I'm just saying, it isn't true. Sometimes, even if physical touch is a person's love language, that doesn't necessarily mean sex. Sometimes, we just want the hugs and kisses.
 
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I don't really think this topic is that different from any other in which what one "believes" becomes real to that person.

If someone believes that he "needs" sex to be happy and healthy, then that is true for him and what I think doesn't change that. When you are in a close and intimate relationship it doesn't matter what we here think. It only matters what you and what your loved one thinks.

If you do not want sex and he does then you have a problem that nothing in the world can solve by asking us the question you asked. That is tangential and unhelpful to your situation which would require couples therapy or a sex therapist or just you two working out what to do.

It seems like you are wrestling with guilt over denying a male his "needs" vs. wants. But in a relationship, I don't think the line between the two is that vital. I give my man what he needs and wants when I can and want to, and sometimes I give him things that he doesn't want at first and later realizes that he needed or wants.

I may not have enviable boundaries. I don't. I'm not normal. I just do my best to make him as happy as he makes me. Nobody is perfect. Love means you try.
 
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