Last month we talked about Celebrating Masculinity and the impact that male relationships have had in
our lives and how we understand sexuality. This month we are going to dig a bit deeper. So many of us
want the type of romantic relationships we saw growing up as kids in fairy tales. The relationship where
we are swept off our feet, fall madly in love, and live happily ever after. Or as an adult, we crave the
deep intimacy we see on the Hallmark channel or in romantic movies where we feel the hot passion and
intense desire with the “man of our dreams.”

The truth is we desire connection and intimacy at our core. We have this hunger to be cherished,
treasured, loved and desired by a man. However, we don’t realize how embracing our sexuality, or not
embracing our sexuality, has a direct impact on whether we can achieve this deep intimate experience
we so desperately crave.

Do you want to know the #1 biggest thing that gets in the way of the intimacy we so crave? Control.
Our society has traditionally labeled character traits for boys and girls, and encouraged us as parents to
teach our kids what it means to be a “good girl” or “good boy.” However, the feminist movement has
inspired many women to change that mentality; stepping up to be strong, independent successful
women. We have been told we can do anything a boy can do, and at the same time, we have become
“too controlling” in our ways. With the desire to be strong, independent and confident, many women
have subconsciously put up blocks creating a false, inauthentic version of themselves without realizing
it.

I am not suggesting that women should not be strong and independent, they absolutely should.
However, I believe we have swayed too much to one side. It is not always about WHAT WE DO OR SAY,
it’s about HOW WE SHOW UP. In our efforts to DO MORE or overcome oppression in some ways, we
have lost a piece of ourselves.

When we are young and first in love, we show up different. We feel alive, passionate and on fire. There
is attraction, polarity and connection, which is a natural part of being a woman. As time goes on, this
attraction and connection can fade. With day to day life responsibilities, couples can tend to take each
other for granted and the spark that was once there seems to have diminished. Women are so busy
doing life that we just go through the motions at times. We become numb. There is no time for sex or
pleasure. It is more important to take care of our family, house, church, business or community. Women
are working themselves too hard striving to be successful, trying to keep it together and focusing on
serving and pleasing others rather than surrendering into the truest expression of themselves.
Women show up with an energy of having to DO IT ALL. We take it upon ourselves to be in control and
have forgotten how to surrender and let go. The truth is, in trying to maintain that control we end up
emasculating men more often than we realize. This need for control kills the connection with that
partner and “desire” in our relationships (as well as our orgasm). As a result, so many women live with
this feeling that SOMETHING IS MISSING, yet can’t put their finger on it. We don’t realize what is
underneath this hunger we so desperately crave. We are so busy focusing on our responsibilities that we
forget this deep hunger inside. We ignore it and show up in a way that emasculates rather than creates
connection with our partner.

When a woman learns to give up control and surrenders to the divine nature within her soul, she is filled
with more love and passion than she could have ever imagined. It is no longer about control,
responsibility or getting things done. She tunes into the essence of herself and feels with her body,
instead of thinks with her mind. When she learns how to respond versus react, and shows up with honor
and respect for her partner, she creates the connection and intimacy she so desperately desires.

In continuing with our theme of celebrating masculinity, I wanted to highlight something important that I think as women we tend to forget. We laugh and joke around about books like “Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus” or “Men are like Waffles and Women are like Spaghetti” and countless others. The truth is men and women ARE different. We can’t expect the men in our lives to behave and act like the women in our lives. They have had different programming, different experiences, and relate to their relationships in their own unique ways. It is unrealistic and gets us into trouble to expect them to be “like” us in these relationships.

When we learn to appreciate and understand masculinity and what makes a man tick, it brings a whole different dynamic to the relationship. In relationships, men and women need and want different things. They each have different needs and priorities. While men may put sex as higher importance on their relationship priority list than women may, I am NOT talking about sex being “the thing” of what makes a man tick. I am talking about Honor and Respect. If you want deeper intimacy and connection with your partner, the key is learning how to Respect him.

There is a wonderful book written by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs entitled, “Love and Respect.” According to the theories of Eggerichs, the love that she most desires and the respect he desperately needs causes pitfalls in relationships. The challenge in many relationships today is that we live in a vicious crazy cycle. Men want respect and women want love and neither party can effectively provide. However, a man can’t love a woman who doesn’t respect him. This is intuitive as you can imagine love can’t happen in ANY relationship where respect is not a foundation. And a woman can’t respect a man if she doesn’t feel loved and seen. If you didn’t have parents that modeled both love and respect in your household, it can be hard visualize this balance of needs. So what does respect look like to a man?
In the book, Dr. Eggerichs breaks out the needs of men and women into two different easy to remember categories. How to spell respect to your man, CHAIRS. How to spell love to your wife: COUPLE.

How to Spell Respect to your Husband:
Conquest: Appreciate his desire to work and achieve
Hierarchy: Appreciate his desire to protect and provide
Authority: Appreciate his desire to serve and lead
Insight: Appreciate his desire to analyze and counsel
Relationship: Appreciate his desire for Shoulder- to Shoulder Friendship
Sexuality: Appreciate his desire for Sexual Intimacy

How to Spell Love to your Wife:

Closeness: She wants you to be close
Openness: She wants you to open up to her
Understanding: Don’t try to fix her, just listen
Peacemaking: She wants you to say “I’m Sorry”
Loyalty: She wants to know your committed
Esteem: She wants you to honor and cherish her

As women, we know what it feels like to be LOVED. We crave this in our relationships and if we don’t feel loved from our partners, we can feel empty. When experience this empty feeling, and it can be hard to show respect our men. Once we are aware of the different needs, it makes it easier to take different actions in your relationship. If you really want to experience deeper levels of intimacy with your partner, it is critical that you understand your man’s basic needs. Rather than criticizing him for actions you can’t relate to, learn to appreciate and respect him for the man he is.