Letter from a wife #2: A Better Relationship with her husband
My husband is about the most masculine man that I know. He loves football, prefers hamburgers to fancy restaurants, and (in the past at least) has never been the poster child for being a strong communicator.
About two years ago, I noticed that he had been acting funny. He had been doing work around the house where as before he had never lifted a finger. He was cooking dinner and doing laundry for literally the first time in our marriage. I didn't know what was behind his behavior, but I was afraid to question it since I could use all the help I can get. You can imagine how surprised I was when he finally told me one night that he wanted to try and make some changes in our relationship. He wanted to me to become the head of our household.
At first I was very hesitant. It seemed weird to me to be quite honest. I told him I would think about it, but I quickly proceeded to act as if nothing had happened. He also started behaving as if he had never brought the topic up at all. I know now that he felt very ashamed and embarrassed by my initial reaction. I now underestimated how much it took for him to come clean with me about his desires.
It was only after a couple of weeks, after he had reverted to doing absolutely no chores around the house, that I brought the topic up again. It was actually in the context of an argument with him that it came up. I was yelling at him for throwing his clothes on the floor. He begrudgingly got up and started picking everything up. I told him that if he was really serious about me being the head of the household, he would be in for more than he bargained. At this point his eyes lit up. Instead of just walking away, I took the opportunity to give him a chance to talk more about it. He said that he just felt more comfortable if I was in charge. He said he had felt that way for a long time. I told him I was willing to give it a try.
It was a struggle at first. Little by little I got more comfortable in telling him what I wanted. Still, he would occasionally lapse back into his old ways. Finally, I sat down with him and told him that I was too used to being in control to go back. I told him that while I felt as close to him as ever, things were different now. I now expected him to obey me. I don't know what had clicked in me. I guess I was enjoying being in control as much as he enjoyed submitting. Once I openly communicated my expectations, things have never been better. I feel so much closer to him now that we have both accepted our roles in the relationship.
It is completely transparent to our friends. He is respectful to me in front of others, but nobody outside of the two of us would ever guess just how much control I have in the marriage. It really is a great arrangement. Every woman should be so lucky!
Signed… Wendy in Pennsylvania
You should know in advance that even the most well-intentioned husband will occasionally fall off the wagon. Life is full of challenges and it is often easy for even the most submissive husband to become distracted by the challenges of balancing work and your relationship. However, know that even when he does slip… when chores go undone, when he seems grumpy at a new list of tasks… he is still submissive at his core. In other words, he wants you to push back on him. Tell him he will do what you say whether he likes it or not. Busy, grumpy or otherwise, you are still in charge and he is still expected to obey. These moments where you remind him of your authority will reward him like nothing else possibly can.
A Sexual Component that Cannot Be Ignored
This is so very important!
Women have never gone wrong by overestimating how important sex is to their husbands. And by sex, I don't just mean the physical act of sex; I mean the psychological components of sex as well. While men love physical sex, they also desire a level of sexual energy in their relationships that is very often missing. While this is useful information for any woman, it is critical for those with submissive husbands. A submissive husband craves sexual energy (which you can feel free to read as sexual "attention") from his wife as much as or more than he craves physical sex. He can go without the physical sex for extended periods of time, but he needs the sexual energy to feel satisfied.
How exactly does the wife go about adding sexual energy to the relationship? For starters, she can be sexually playful throughout the day. She can be affectionate with the intent of arousing him by kissing on his neck, nibbling on his ears, and patting him on the bottom as the couple goes about their daily routine. It is particularly useful if as she does these things she is telling him what she expects from him. For example, instead of asking him to take out the trash, sneak up behind him, kiss on his ear and tell him to take out the trash in a soft, sexy whisper. He will absolutely love this!
Remember that this does not have to result in any more physical sex than the woman desires. However, the woman needs to be recognize that her husband's desire to have physical sex will be higher than ever. She should not make the mistake of ignoring this reality; she should overtly acknowledge it. As was said before but bears repeating, most submissive men are very happy to be denied release (within reason) if their wives make it clear that they are consciously exerting their control over their husbands. Wives can simply tell him that they like having him remain aroused as he's easier to control. They can tell him he hasn't yet earned sex yet. They can tell him whatever they want as long as they do not ignore his heightened arousal. Importantly, women should not let their own physical needs go unanswered. Just because the husband is denied physical release does not mean that the woman needs to be denied. The wife should receive all the sexual stimulation (e.g. oral sex) she likes with no expectation that the act will be reciprocated.
Most women would not want to forego intercourse altogether as it is an important and enjoyable component of their sex life. However, when women do have intercourse with their husbands, they should not necessarily concede to him his orgasm. They can have him pull out whenever they feel like it. Consider the benefits to you of keeping him on edge. It is no great secret that after sex men become very sleepy and disinterested in affection and communication. Men have a physiological response to orgasm that is in conflict with a woman's emotional requirements for cuddling and talking after sex. I promise that any man that is denied an orgasm will have no desire whatsoever to get quickly off to sleep after being intimate with his wife. In fact, he will probably open up and talk as never before. He will dote on his wife, playing with her hair, rubbing her back, and kissing her neck and shoulders. He will behave as if he is just getting to know her. It will be as if the old flames have been rekindled.
When first experiencing this intentional arousal and denial, most men are amazed at what it does to their brain chemistry. The intensity of the feelings that men have for their wives goes through the ceiling. Men literally find themselves anxious to do something, anything, to please their wives. One wife even wrote that her husband wakes up early to do her laundry on nights that he is "deprived".
Sample Dialogues for Wives with Submissive Husbands
(Some of these seem pretty corny, but these little snippets have received tons of positive feedback! Feel free to send your own and we'll add them to the collection.)
Go get the lotion. I need you to rub my feet.
Run my bath for me. And while I'm in there get started on the laundry.
Get up, Sweetheart, and make me some coffee and an English muffin with butter.
You did a nice job cleaning the bathrooms; I am very pleased with you.
I want a full body massage for exactly one hour; keep an eye on the clock. When you are done I want you to go down on me until I tell you to stop. Afterwards, we'll both go to sleep. You won't be having an orgasm tonight.
I'm going out with the girls tonight. While I'm gone you can work on the laundry.
I want you writing down everything that you eat. I want to monitor your eating habits so that I can make some changes. Also, you'll be starting an exercise program this week.
I think I need to put you on a budget. At the beginning of every week, I'll give you an allowance. If an emergency comes up, please feel free to come to me and we can discuss giving you some extra money.
He is still the same man that you have always loved
By far, the most common concern that we hear from women is that they do not want to trade in the husband that they love for a mindless domestic servant. This is a fair concern, but it is the manifestation of an essential misunderstanding of how this dynamic will impact their relationship.
While some men, and doubtless some women, fantasize about a relationship where the man is engaged in a constant, 24/7 effort of nipping at his wife's heels to please her, this is simply not a relationship that works for most people in the long-run. It is better to understand loving female authority as a dimension of the relationship that is always present, but not always out in the open. Day in and day out, the vast majority of the woman's interactions with her husband will be exactly as they are today. Husbands and wives share friendship, trust, affection and a spiritual love that is completely independent of who has the final authority in the household. None of this - absolutely none of this - changes when the wife acknowledges her husband's submission.
They will still laugh together, they will still play together, and they will still work together for common goals. If there are disagreements in the household, the woman's decision will certainly be final, but relationships do not revolve around conflict resolution. The husband will most likely take on a much greater percentage of the household chores, but neither do relationships revolve around domestic work. The woman can be as demanding as she chooses as often as she chooses. Just because the submissive husband has an innate desire to feel controlled by his wife, she does not have to reinforce that control every time she speaks to him. She can do so daily, weekly, or however often she feels that the husband's role in the relationship needs reinforcing to keep him fulfilled.
Of particular concern is that fact that many women do not want to feel dominant in the bedroom. When the make love they like to feel, either once in a while or virtually every time, that they are being taken by their strong, masculine mate. A woman that feels this way should feel open to communicating this with her husband so that her sexual needs are being satisfied in a way that suits her particular tastes and preferences. This woman, however, should understand that her husband craves this same sense of submission in the bedroom that she does. She should nurture his submission by dedicating periodic sexual activity that reinforces her authority and his submission. How often this takes place is something that each couple should work out together.