WHEN WOMEN MAKE SACRIFICES
For a while, a woman is even happy to make sacrifices and
give more in a relationship. On Venus, this is a sign of love
and also one of the ways to ask for support. When a woman
gives more, it is clearly also a sign that she is not getting her
due share. Another woman will immediately notice and insist
on helping. To her, it is obvious that when a woman is strug-
gling to carry a box, she is asking for help.
For a man it is not always so clear. In stages one and two,
he will offer his help to assure her that he is willing to help,
but in stage three he assumes that if she wants help she will
ask.
When a woman gives more instead of directly asking, it
gives a man the wrong message. He is led to believe that either
she doesn’t need his help or he is already giving enough.
A man automatically assumes that
when a woman is not asking for help,
she must be getting enough.Without this understanding of how men think differently,
a woman keeps giving to a man until she feels resentment in-
side. As her resentment builds, she feels increasingly entitled
to ask for more. Eventually she does ask for more, but because
she is feeling so resentful, she asks in a demanding tone or
complains before making her request.
WHY MEN RESIST A WOMAN’S REQUESTS
At this point, a man will resist her request. His resistance is
also misunderstood. It is not that he is resisting giving the help;
he is resisting her resentful attitude. He is resisting the negative
picture her complaints are painting of him. Although she thinks
she is just sharing her feelings, he inter-
STAGE THREE: EXCLUSIVITY / 79