Men! Ugh

Men are such odd creatures.... I know they say women are hard to understand, but I think they're just as difficult!  Or maybe they aren't ... and we want them to be.

I have to get this said, otherwise I'll never  be able to get some sleep.   Why is it that a woman who takes selfies in the nude automatically gets tagged as "easy" ??  Yes.  I take self nude photos, not because I am trying to be a playboy bunny type.  Nor do I take them to gain a man's attention.  Not that I mind attention - but there's not an underhanded purpose to deceive a man in order to "catch" one by using my photographs.

So why is it that a man who peruses these photos can't get past the sexuality part and take a little bit of time to get to know the lady behind the lens?   Am I confusing you yet?  haha, I figured so.  I started to have some dialog with a man who emailed me, we've gone back and forth now about twice a week for about five months.  Sometimes it was just sharing ideals about the world, sometimes sharing other things, finding our way to see if there are common interests between us.  No where in these conversations have I said that I was interested in meeting this person based on the convos we shared.   Yet for some reason, the fact that we're still conversing after five months, a gentleman assumed that meant I was taking more than a slight interest, and asked if we could exchange phone numbers and that he was looking forward to visiting me after the Holidays.

I gently let him down, the bottom line being that I wasn't interested in starting a relationship, based on my own history and my age.  The fact of the matter is he's young, 38, and his last relationship was an 'open'' relationship.  And when it ended, he moved back to Tx with family.  He didn't take my explanations and reasons very well, and said I should have been honest in the beginning and said I wasn't interested in a relationship.  When one begins an email exchange, is that part of the equation?

When it comes to men, I think women have a "checklist" of things that are important.  This list changes as we get older, and I'm not interested in a dating/sexual type relationship any longer.  Give me companionship and about a half dozen interests we share, and life could be good!   Open relationships aren't for me, I'm too old fashioned, I could never stand for it. 

After some awkward email exchanges, and some harsh words exchanged, this man still wants to go forward.... "this time being honest" ....  so there's the question.... would YOU keep trying?