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Franchesca Warren

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How Women Use Sex as a Weapon

Posted: 07/09/2012 10:46 am

The round of your behind, the curve of your breast, the middle of your spine, the sexy way you walk --these are all things that can get men into a frenzy about their wives. It can be something as small as the way you walk, talk, sometimes even breathe that make your mate go crazy and want to engage in sexual activity. Sex is a normal activity between two married people. Sex is used to procreate along with making us feel good but what happens when sex is used for something more sinister?


SLIDESHOW: 7 Things People Will Choose Over Sex

Think of this scenario that happens in bedrooms all across the world: As you climb into bed, your mate whispers to you, "Honey, let's have sex." Still angry about the argument you had earlier, you roll over and reply, "I'm not in the mood" and go to sleep. Defeated, your mate rolls back over and goes to sleep. Sex has just been used a weapon to punish your spouse for an argument you've had earlier in the day.

This scene happens more times than we think. Legitimately, sometimes we as women are tired from a long day at work or from dealing with the kids. However, more times than likely it's because we don't feel like our spouse deserves sex -- we are using it as a weapon, reward or both.

A couple of nights ago my husband and I were hanging out with some married friends of ours when we got on the subject of sex. One of our friends remarked that because her husband had been "good" all week she'd have sex with him that night. We all laughed and chalked it up to "the old married life" but it got me thinking: when did sex become a tool to get what you want out of your spouse? Did this happen all the time?

If I wasn't "in the mood" was I inadvertently punishing my husband? Needless to say as the conversation continued, I was confused. Some of the wives at the table reasoned that sex had to earned by their husbands. Ultimately, if their husbands were "well behaved" they would be rewarded with sex.

The husbands chimed in and despite them hating this power play, they went along with it to get their wives to "put out." As we continued the discussion, I realized quickly that sex is used as a weapon and reward in relationships. It gives the person with the decision (usually the wife) the power and can be used to leverage men into doing what us women want them to do.

As my husband and I drove home we laughed at how crazy some of our friends sounded. Who uses sex as a reward and a punishment? When did that start? Apparently this goes on in more households then we thought. This conversation made me examine how the process of deciding to have sex occurs in my household. When I am angry with my husband do I refuse to have sex with him? If I need for him to lay tile in the kitchen do I promise sex as a reward? No, but I have been guilty instead of using sex as a means to show my love for my husband. I've used it as a weapon and reward to get what I want.

Despite us ending our conversation that night, I began to casually question both my male and female married friends about their thoughts on this phenomenon. Shockingly, a lot of my friends echoed the same thoughts of the first couples we were with. Many of my male friends said they didn't care if their wives were mad at them, they still wanted sex. However, women responded that they will use sex as weapon to get what they want or to reiterate when they're angry.

I've came to the conclusion that I'm not perfect, especially in something that is so personal and private as my sex life. But now I'm determined to use sex as a pronouncement of love -- not as a weapon or reward.

This post originally appeared on the website blackandmarriedwithkids.com.

7 Things People Will Choose Over Sex


Loading Slideshow...
  • A "Better" Body

    A <em>SHAPE</em> and FitSugar survey from May found that 68 percent of women would give up sex for at least a month in exchange for a "perfect bikini body." Let's hope we never have to choose between body confidence and orgasms.

  • Their iPhone

    A survey released on June 18th, the iPhone's fifth birthday, showed just how addictive these gadgets are. Fifteen percent of participants said that they would rather <a href="http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2012/06/18/survey-15-would-rather-give-up-sex-than-their-iphone/" target="_hplink">give up sex than spend a weekend iPhone-free</a>.

  • A Good Night's Sleep

    Sometimes you just need to seriously snooze. A May survey from The Better Sleep Council found that <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/17/good-night-sleep_n_1525803.html" target="_hplink">12 percent of Americans polled</a> would give up sex for better sleep.

  • Facebook

    Apparently women really are that into social media. A survey <em>Cosmopolitan</em> conducted in October 2011 found that 20 percent of <a href="http://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/20-percent-of-women-would-give-up-sex-for-facebook/" target="_hplink">women would rather give up sex for a week</a> than give up looking at their friends' recently posted photos.

  • Internet Access

    Twenty-one percent of people would <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/20/internet-economy-infographic_n_1363592.html" target="_hplink">give up sex rather than give up Internet access</a> for a year, according to a March report from Boston Consulting Group.

  • Studying Textbook-Free

    In an August 2011 survey, 25 percent of college students said they'd <a href="http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/43912964/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/#.T9-soytYvqo" target="_hplink">give up sex for a year in order to stop lugging heavy books</a> around. Fortunately more text books than ever are digitized.

  • Their Favorite Food

    Eating trumps sex. A February 2012 survey by <em>Bon Appetit</em> found that <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/12/survey-finds-75-would-giv_n_166406.html?1340058758" target="_hplink">75 percent of people would give up sex</a> for their favorite food.

 
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RTIII
Poster of over 0.0135% of all HufPost comments
09:00 PM on 07/11/2012
Pretty lame survey, but the article was both serious and spot-on.

Many women do use sex as a weapon and manipulation tool.

I won't tolerate it; you won't put out because you're upset? I'm getting dressed to find a woman to replace you. Seriously.

Men, we have to stop letting them manipulate us like this - it's PROFOUNDLY uncool. If you can't divorce, tell them point blank; manipulate me like this, and I'm going to cheat. PERIOD. I don't want to, but you can't treat me this way, SORRY.
01:27 PM on 07/12/2012
"I won't tolerate it; you won't put out because your upset?"

Dude, look up the definition of "marital rape"!
A husband or wife doesn't HAVE to have sex with their spouse on demand. Forcing someone, even your spouse, to have sex with you when they don't want to is rape.

Anger lowers a woman's libido: if she's upset, she may well not be able to get in the mood until she calms down. And if she's not in the mood, sex can hurt!
This isn't about her punishing him!
If the man is forcing her to have (painful) sex when she's not in the mood THAT'S using sex as a weapon.
RTIII
Poster of over 0.0135% of all HufPost comments
01:32 AM on 07/14/2012
I replied previously, but it didnt' take for some reason.

Simply, this isnt' about maritalrape - I don't know WHERE you got THAT from.

It's about RESPECT. Any person who plays games and tries to manipulate their partner deserves what they get.
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01:58 AM on 07/11/2012
Most women, once married, experience a plummet in their libidos, which is more pronounced in perimenopause and then menopause.

Given the asymmetry of family court, she holds all the cards. Most married men lead sad, sexless lives of quiet desperation, and their wives will quite eagerly steal their house, children and bank accounts once the marriage as progressed a few years and her leverage increases with the arrival of young children.

This is especially pronounced in America where American ladies, no matter how educated will constantly proclaim their victimhood while rifling the pockets of their exes, held down by the legal system with boot firmly on their necks to help the poor dears rape the men's families and bank accounts.

If you are a divorced man and still young, play the field - your married friends will be jealous and wish they could be free of the slavery they have unwittingly got into through marriage.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Lloyd Lloyd
Heave Steve 2015..!
09:17 AM on 07/12/2012
Thank you Salem, I agree 100%

The trick is NEVER marry an American or Western woman.

Thankfully as the world becomes a smaller place, we won't have to marry these women.

Thank goodness the internet has opened the world up to men to find better wives...
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01:36 AM on 07/11/2012
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/25/fashion/25love.html?pagewanted=all

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2008/02/09/how-to-train-a-husband.html

How to Train a Husband
Want an obedient spouse? A new book says you should coach them like animals.

A married man is like a dog. Actually, in terms of priority, he usually comes after the kids and the dog.
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11:29 PM on 07/10/2012
I had more sex the first year after my divorce than in the last 7 years of my 9 year marriage.
No man should be married in North America - it's financial and legal slavery, and aside from children (who can be whisked away in a divorce), for men there are no benefits to being married.
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Lloyd Lloyd
Heave Steve 2015..!
09:19 AM on 07/12/2012
Agree again 100%

Thankfully my two adult sons do not want to marry.

I am encouraging them, paying expenses, for them to move to another country...for that exact reason, so they have a chance at a normal life with a normal woman...
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Act out
Make love not war.
10:07 AM on 07/12/2012
With your self?
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10:48 AM on 07/12/2012
No, with feminine ladies from Holland and Japan.  Be empowered.
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Cameron Hoppe
Where's your evidence?
11:02 PM on 07/10/2012
LoL. Non-sex is only a weapon if both partners choose to see it as such. I just make it abundantly clear that if my partner loses interest in a physical relationship with me, I will lose interest in listening to anything she could possibly have to say.
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Domino8515
06:55 PM on 07/10/2012
NOT WANTING SEX WHEN YOU'RE ANGRY IS NOT USING "SEX AS A WEAPON!". That's like saying you're using being angry as a weapon when you're angry, or withholding not being angry!
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jf12
When I saw her I marveled greatly.
11:17 AM on 07/11/2012
Yes, that's what we mean. Using being angry as a weapon, a tool, to make refusing sex seem morereasonable.
RTIII
Poster of over 0.0135% of all HufPost comments
09:16 PM on 07/11/2012
Carrying a grudge for months is too far.

Ask men; that's not even rare.
05:26 PM on 07/10/2012
Men Have used weapons against women since the dawn of time and continue to do so.....what's a little sex to withhold...calling it a weapon is an overstatement and shame on you as a woman for doing so
RTIII
Poster of over 0.0135% of all HufPost comments
09:17 PM on 07/11/2012
Give up on men completely, darling, your misandry is showing.
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03:37 PM on 07/10/2012
Is there anything weaker than a man who has to ask for sex? ( no I'm not advocating non-consent).
If a man takes the time to truly satisfy a woman ... he'll never be subjected to this kind fo behaviour again.
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05:49 PM on 07/10/2012
We usually don't ask , we grab that meat a little tighter when she attempts to feign resistance. The truth is
_ I have headache
- Not feeling well 2nite and whatever myriads of reasons women come up with to withhold sex when they are unhappy about something but refuse to broach the subject. Heard it all before.
This pure blackmail but it makes me laugh sometimes . Y'all are not even creative.
I'm used to get what I want , so I am not having that tantalising mess especially if the girls lays deliciously on my bed.
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Domino8515
06:34 PM on 07/10/2012
It's very odd that you would say that, given that when a woman asks for sex, it makes the man feel "emasculated". Asking for sex is the biggest source of pride for a man. Have a strong sex drive is what makes men proud to be men. It's not a weakness, it's a known strength. It makes women weak, as they keep complaining about being "objectified" and "degraded". After all, if men's sex drives were empowering to women, then prostitution would be the ultimate prestige
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10:16 AM on 07/11/2012
I'm struggling to understand how a woman asking for (or being the initiator of) sex would emasculate a man. Perhaps this is your experience, and it may be the experience of a majority of men. My point was simply this; if the sex isn't satisfying for a woman , she will find a reason to avoid it and if that means using excuses based on her partner's "behaviour" outside the bedroom ( which is far easier than risking damage to his ego with the truth) well that seems a logical choice..
What makes a woman feel objectified and degraded is when men use them as if they were receptacles for their own pleasure.
When a man is completely present during sex, when he is able to read his partner's body and let her know she is safe to surrender ... some pretty amazing things will happen!
If you've ever been witness a glimpse of that kind fo passion ,you would understand that the LAST thing a woman wants is to push away from that kind of experience.
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Timothy Hedden
03:17 PM on 07/10/2012
when my wife uses sex as a weapon I sleep with her sister and bring home evidence of the affair for her to find. I find this form of punishment has done wonders for my marriage.
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tan2123
+ sec 2 123°
10:13 AM on 07/10/2012
author is simplifying the complex workings of relationships. Firstly, never try to make "rules" out of antidotes! There are as many couples having great makeup sessions as there are not standing the sight of each other after a huge blow-out.
09:39 AM on 07/10/2012
Men: Bring your wife a glass of water and two Tylenol. When she says that she doesn't have a headache, say, "Great! Let's have sex!"
08:53 AM on 07/10/2012
This is news? Fortunately for me my wife is pretty horny. That being said I know it has happened a time or two when I have misbehaved.
07:29 AM on 07/10/2012
Another reason not to get married. Or at least not to marry a woman who doesn't really care about sex.
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MonkeyDaddy
Agent of Evolution
06:50 AM on 07/10/2012
And some people are worried about the debasement of sex outside of marriage. I am so very blessed that my wife treats sex as the sacrament of our marriage and not some sordid and immature medium of negotiation.
06:49 AM on 07/10/2012
My Ex used to do that. I'm much happier and life is much more fulfilling now that she is my Ex.