The phone is on its fourth ring. It could be your mother, or your best friend. Or it could be him – the man who boxed you into conversation at that party on Friday night. Was he sweet? Certainly. Were you attracted to him? No. So explain this – after you suppressed another yawn, he said, “I’d love to see you again. Can I take your number?” Every bone in your body whimpered, “Me? You? No, no!” but you said, “Oh, er, Ok. My number is…” So here you sit, glaring at the phone, a prisoner of your own social life.
For so many women, rebuffing that nice man with th sex appeal of a warthog is the social equivalent of sticking pins under your fingernails. Why agree to see a man you don’t like? “I don’t want to hurt his feelings,” a role statement. So is it cowardice or compassion that makes saying no so hard?
That said, faced with rejection, many men prefer a neatly wrapped white lie to blunt reality. But isn’t that decepton? Who benefits when you tell a man you don’t find him attractive? You don’t want to say it and he certainly doesn’t want to hear it.
So...