Plus and Minus

New year equals new month which equals new magazines at Curves for me to peruse when things are slow. Which they were tonight, on account of it being rainy and icy and generally shitty outside, so I had very few people come in to work out. So I took a cursory look through some of the new magazines to see if there was anything worth commenting on.

First, a pretty decent one-pager in Seventeen about sexting. Specifically dudes texting dick pics. I want to give props to the author, Amber Madison, for being generally an awesome and intelligent person. Also for doing a great job with the following recommendations in the article:

1. Getting a dick pic doesn't mean you're obligated to like it, or compliment the dude on it. ...Don't feel pressured to say you like it.

2. "I showed you mine, now you show me yours!" You're never obligated to show a guy anything...

Second, a completely shitty online article from Women's Health about emotional cheating.

For me, "emotional cheating" is one step beyond the bullshit where you get angry at a significant other for something they've done in a dream you had. It's...slightly more justifiable, but still completely idiotic.

I think it's perfectly fine to feel insecure about things sometimes. Let's say you notice your significant other establishing a connection with somebody else that doesn't exist between the two of you. That's intimidating for sure. The thing I have a problem with is not being able to take time and recognize the connection you and your significant other have, and how it's not "better" or "worse" than that other connection happening, but just different, special, and unique in its own way.

I get a tiny sinky feeling in my stomach every time Frisbee, Now-hubby, or the German even looks at another lady, let alone talks to them or starts establishing some type of relationship. Shit, I'll go the whole "crazy lady" route and admit I get mildly jealous if I meet a guy for the first time, feel some sort of connection with him, and then later on see or find out he's made a similar connection with another lady. It's completely fucking irrational, but I recognize it and can eventually get to point where I don't need to compare what I had with that person to whatever else they have with anybody else.

It seems with "emotional cheating" there's a very, very thin line between what constitutes normal human emotional interaction, and what constitutes infidelity. It might be better to limit interactions outside of the monogamous relationship to the absolute minimum.