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| Understanding the Underlying Emotional Dynamics of Men Who Are "Players" |
In those articles, I focused on the person who is being manipulated. In this article, I'm focusing on the person who is normally called the "player" (or pickup artist) to get beyond surface appearances and to take a deeper look at the underlying emotional issues involved.
Although this is a nonjudgmental look at men who are players, it should in no way be construed as condoning manipulative and deceptive behavior at someone else's expense. Nor should it be interpreted as encouragement for anyone who is involved with a player to remain in a situation where you are being emotionally abused.
What is a "Player"?
A player can be either a man or a woman, heterosexual, gay or bisexual. But, generally speaking, the term refers to a heterosexual man, who is unlikely to be faithful, honest or respectful in a relationship.
He usually presents himself as someone who is the opposite of a player--a man who is kind, thoughtful, and interested in being in a monogamous relationship with a woman. But his outward presentation hides a more seductive and manipulative person who only pretends to be interested in a relationship so he can fool women into having sex with him. Usually, his main goal is to sleep with as many women as possible in short term hook ups.
Someone who is a "successful player" has mastered the pickup lines, demeanor, and strategies for deceiving a woman into thinking he is serious about a potential relationship with her. He is often able to quickly assess her emotional vulnerabilities in order to get what he wants (see a fictional vignette from a prior article).
If a player has chosen a woman who is especially vulnerable, he can continue to manipulate her even after she realizes that she is being manipulated. As in the case of the fictional vignette in my prior article, there are often unconscious issues involved for the woman who becomes aware that she is being manipulated and who remains with a player--even though she realizes that she's being played.
There are numerous books, manuals, workshops and boot camps for men who want to learn to be players. These sources usually promise men that they will develop the necessary skills to seduce and sleep with as many women as possible.
Understanding the Underlying Emotional Dynamics of Men Who Are "Players"
Needless to say, these men are often young and there is usually a level of emotional immaturity and arrested development for men who engage in this behavior.
Just like any other dynamic, the underlying personality dynamics for a player are on a continuum. This often includes a fair amount of narcissism that vacillates between grandiosity and shame (see my article: Narcissism: An Emotional Seesaw Between Grandiosity and Shame).
If someone's narcissism is on a sociopathic level, he will usually be completely self serving without any real shame or regret because he lacks the ability to be empathic towards the women he is deceiving and manipulating.
At the same time, there are many men who gravitate towards being players because they lack the necessary social skills and genuine confidence (as opposed to faked confidence) to be real with women.
They think that being a player or a "bad boy" will get them more women. To an extent they're right about being fascinating towards certain women (see my article: What Makes So-Called "Bad Boys" So Irresistible to So Many Women? Brain Chemistry Might Have the Answer).
Another aspect that makes becoming a player attractive to some men is they believe they will gain the admiration of other men. They believe that when other men see them with a beautiful, sexy woman on their arm, these men will see them as masculine and desirable to women and buy into the image the player is trying to project. The fact that this often actually does happen among men only reinforces players' dynamics.
These men often grew up in homes where they didn't see loving relationships modeled for them in their household. They might have grown up in homes where the father dominated a subservient mother and ruled the family, so these men get a distorted view of masculinity and what it means to be a man. Also, many of them feel constrained by societal stereotypes of masculinity that are neither realistic nor attainable.
Many of these men, who project an air of confidence and charm, are really emotionally insecure. They think they've found quick-fix techniques for attracting and manipulating women. Underneath their show of confidence is a fear that the women they're meeting will see how insecure and inferior they really feel (see my article: Looking Happy on the Outside But Feeling Broken on the Inside and How to Stop Pretending to Feel Happy When You Don't).
While players, who succeed in obsessively seducing and sleeping with many women, might appear to be happy with their conquests, there are certain men for whom these mind games become old. As they age, the novelty and dopamine rush of conquering one woman after another becomes empty and makes them feel lonely. And the thought of aging and becoming an old player, who is alone, begins to feel pathetic.
These men often face an emotional crisis because they really don't feel genuinely confident in being themselves and they haven't developed the necessary skills to pursue a more substantial relationship with a woman. So, they can't go back to their old strategies, but they don't know how to move forward either.
The emotional crisis, while being painful, can be the first step for these men to seek help so they can change.
More about these issues in my next article (see Part 2: Understanding the Underlying Emotional Dynamics of Men Who Are "Players" - A Clinical Vignette).
Conclusion
Players or pickup artists are usually heterosexual men who engage in manipulative and deceptive strategies to hook up or have sex with as many women as possible. Their behavior can be emotionally devastating for a woman who is vulnerable to being manipulated.
Underneath the confident and charming facade of a player usually lies a fearful, emotionally immature man who hasn't developed psychologically and interpersonally. Instead, he has learned various techniques and strategies through books and workshops that promise him success with women.
Over time, some men, who consider themselves to be players and who aren't sociopathic, realize that they're tired of these mind games and want a more substantial relationship with a woman. But they haven't developed the necessary skills to form a mature relationship.
This often leads to an emotional crisis with feelings of emptiness, loneliness and hopelessness. At that point, they usually feel that they can neither go back to their usual ways of being a player nor can they go forward to form stable, monogamous relationships.
Many men, who are in this emotional crisis, find their way forward by seeking help in therapy.
Getting Help in Therapy
If you're struggling with feelings of emptiness, loneliness, insecurity and lack of self confidence, you owe it to yourself to get help from a licensed mental health professional (see my article: How to Choose a Psychotherapist).
When you feel stuck in a dynamic that no longer works for you and you can't find your way forward, a skilled psychotherapist can help you to get through this emotional crisis so you can discover a more authentic part of yourself to form a stable relationship.
Rather than suffering on your own, you owe it to yourself to get help so you can lead a more fulfilling life.
About Me
I am a licensed New York City psychotherapist, hypnotherapist, EMDR, AEDP, Somatic Experiencing and Sex Therapist (see my article:
Although this is a nonjudgmental look at men who are players, it should in no way be construed as condoning manipulative and deceptive behavior at someone else's expense. Nor should it be interpreted as encouragement for anyone who is involved with a player to remain in a situation where you are being emotionally abused.
What is a "Player"?
A player can be either a man or a woman, heterosexual, gay or bisexual. But, generally speaking, the term refers to a heterosexual man, who is unlikely to be faithful, honest or respectful in a relationship.
He usually presents himself as someone who is the opposite of a player--a man who is kind, thoughtful, and interested in being in a monogamous relationship with a woman. But his outward presentation hides a more seductive and manipulative person who only pretends to be interested in a relationship so he can fool women into having sex with him. Usually, his main goal is to sleep with as many women as possible in short term hook ups.
Someone who is a "successful player" has mastered the pickup lines, demeanor, and strategies for deceiving a woman into thinking he is serious about a potential relationship with her. He is often able to quickly assess her emotional vulnerabilities in order to get what he wants (see a fictional vignette from a prior article).
If a player has chosen a woman who is especially vulnerable, he can continue to manipulate her even after she realizes that she is being manipulated. As in the case of the fictional vignette in my prior article, there are often unconscious issues involved for the woman who becomes aware that she is being manipulated and who remains with a player--even though she realizes that she's being played.
There are numerous books, manuals, workshops and boot camps for men who want to learn to be players. These sources usually promise men that they will develop the necessary skills to seduce and sleep with as many women as possible.
Understanding the Underlying Emotional Dynamics of Men Who Are "Players"
Needless to say, these men are often young and there is usually a level of emotional immaturity and arrested development for men who engage in this behavior.
Just like any other dynamic, the underlying personality dynamics for a player are on a continuum. This often includes a fair amount of narcissism that vacillates between grandiosity and shame (see my article: Narcissism: An Emotional Seesaw Between Grandiosity and Shame).
If someone's narcissism is on a sociopathic level, he will usually be completely self serving without any real shame or regret because he lacks the ability to be empathic towards the women he is deceiving and manipulating.
At the same time, there are many men who gravitate towards being players because they lack the necessary social skills and genuine confidence (as opposed to faked confidence) to be real with women.
They think that being a player or a "bad boy" will get them more women. To an extent they're right about being fascinating towards certain women (see my article: What Makes So-Called "Bad Boys" So Irresistible to So Many Women? Brain Chemistry Might Have the Answer).
Another aspect that makes becoming a player attractive to some men is they believe they will gain the admiration of other men. They believe that when other men see them with a beautiful, sexy woman on their arm, these men will see them as masculine and desirable to women and buy into the image the player is trying to project. The fact that this often actually does happen among men only reinforces players' dynamics.
These men often grew up in homes where they didn't see loving relationships modeled for them in their household. They might have grown up in homes where the father dominated a subservient mother and ruled the family, so these men get a distorted view of masculinity and what it means to be a man. Also, many of them feel constrained by societal stereotypes of masculinity that are neither realistic nor attainable.
Many of these men, who project an air of confidence and charm, are really emotionally insecure. They think they've found quick-fix techniques for attracting and manipulating women. Underneath their show of confidence is a fear that the women they're meeting will see how insecure and inferior they really feel (see my article: Looking Happy on the Outside But Feeling Broken on the Inside and How to Stop Pretending to Feel Happy When You Don't).
While players, who succeed in obsessively seducing and sleeping with many women, might appear to be happy with their conquests, there are certain men for whom these mind games become old. As they age, the novelty and dopamine rush of conquering one woman after another becomes empty and makes them feel lonely. And the thought of aging and becoming an old player, who is alone, begins to feel pathetic.
These men often face an emotional crisis because they really don't feel genuinely confident in being themselves and they haven't developed the necessary skills to pursue a more substantial relationship with a woman. So, they can't go back to their old strategies, but they don't know how to move forward either.
The emotional crisis, while being painful, can be the first step for these men to seek help so they can change.
More about these issues in my next article (see Part 2: Understanding the Underlying Emotional Dynamics of Men Who Are "Players" - A Clinical Vignette).
Conclusion
Players or pickup artists are usually heterosexual men who engage in manipulative and deceptive strategies to hook up or have sex with as many women as possible. Their behavior can be emotionally devastating for a woman who is vulnerable to being manipulated.
Underneath the confident and charming facade of a player usually lies a fearful, emotionally immature man who hasn't developed psychologically and interpersonally. Instead, he has learned various techniques and strategies through books and workshops that promise him success with women.
Over time, some men, who consider themselves to be players and who aren't sociopathic, realize that they're tired of these mind games and want a more substantial relationship with a woman. But they haven't developed the necessary skills to form a mature relationship.
This often leads to an emotional crisis with feelings of emptiness, loneliness and hopelessness. At that point, they usually feel that they can neither go back to their usual ways of being a player nor can they go forward to form stable, monogamous relationships.
Many men, who are in this emotional crisis, find their way forward by seeking help in therapy.
Getting Help in Therapy
If you're struggling with feelings of emptiness, loneliness, insecurity and lack of self confidence, you owe it to yourself to get help from a licensed mental health professional (see my article: How to Choose a Psychotherapist).
When you feel stuck in a dynamic that no longer works for you and you can't find your way forward, a skilled psychotherapist can help you to get through this emotional crisis so you can discover a more authentic part of yourself to form a stable relationship.
Rather than suffering on your own, you owe it to yourself to get help so you can lead a more fulfilling life.
About Me
I am a licensed New York City psychotherapist, hypnotherapist, EMDR, AEDP, Somatic Experiencing and Sex Therapist (see my article:
I am a sex positive therapist who works with individual adults and couples.
To find out more about me, visit my website: Josephine Ferraro, LCSW - NYC Psychotherapist.
To set up a consultation, call me at (917) 742-2624 during business hours or email me.
To find out more about me, visit my website: Josephine Ferraro, LCSW - NYC Psychotherapist.
To set up a consultation, call me at (917) 742-2624 during business hours or email me.