One Saturday night as I put on and took off the fourth outfit, I peered closely at the mirror and lamented, “I can’t believe I forgot to get my eyebrows waxed before this party!” Prof’s response?
“They’re not looking at your eyebrows, honey.”
Prof’s humorous and all-too-true statement distills a vital concept of swinghood into an easy-to-remember quip. Although proper hygiene, grooming and attention to aesthetics are important in the lifestyle, potential friends and lovers are not seeking a perfect cardboard cut out of you. They are seeking a living, breathing, interesting and passionate person to meet and get to know.
It is all too easy to get caught up in the idea that if we dress in the sexiest outfit, showing just the right amount of cleavage, wearing the hottest shade of polish on our toes, we can avoid experiencing rejection. The idea that hyper-attention to detail steels us against the possibility of hearing “no, thank you” after we risk a proposition tends to send at least me into obsessing over stray eyebrow hairs. It then takes Prof to remind me that once we reach the party the last thing I’m thinking about while meeting new hotties is my eyebrows.
When we are meeting new friends and potentials lovers, people are first attracted by lots of different things…stunning hair, an adorable laugh, gorgeous eyes, a bright smile, hot cleavage, witty conversation. But what attracts individuals to one another varies vastly from person to person. Two people may look at the same person and one may be attracted by his open body language and the other may be attracted by his unique smile. We can never anticipate what it is about us that will make us irresistible to another.
Attraction is mysterious, unique, amorphous and unpredictable and that is the beauty of it. This is the reality contained in Prof’s reminder: “They’re not looking at your eyebrows, honey.” No, they’re not. They are looking and everything and nothing all at once. Obviously putting your best foot forward when heading out to a party or date makes sense, but not necessarily because what another hottie may see will turn them into putty in your hands, but because how you prepare and present yourself gives you the confidence to be yourself in all your unique glory.
Often I hear friends talk about lovers saying, “Well, when we met I noticed she had lovely eyes/amazing legs/beautiful breasts, et cetera, and as we got to know each other I learned she’s just awesome/fun/smart/sweet. I love to spend time with her.” We all have characteristics that we are proud of, that when we play them up or accent them, it makes us feel sexy and sense our erotic energy. Paying attention to what makes us feel hot while we get ready to go out puts us in the right mindset to have fun and be a bit seductive. But obsessing about minute details, like eyebrows…or how a necklace falls over your cleavage…or just how short the skirt is or isn’t, is completely missing the point. (Can you tell I’ve fallen prey to each of those scenarios?)
Remember this lifestyle is about living it up, having fun, enjoying and supporting your partner(s) and sharing your hotness with the world. So to combat this trying-to-look-like-a-cardboard-cutout syndrome, I offer you Prof’s words of wisdom. As you are primping with your partner(s) on the way out the door to a date or party, remind them: “They’re not looking at your eyebrows, honey.”
4 Comments
Actually, I have a thing for eyebrows. But you don't need to wax them on my account.
Hey, Kendra, good to know! I guess there are some sexies looking at my eyebrows. I'd happily be buffed and polished before a date with you! 😉
Great piece Ging! Couldn’t stop nodding our head in agreement. There is no denying that attraction plays a bit part in all of this, but once the endorphins die down it comes down to mental energy. He/she may be beautiful (or be interested in you because they think you are), but our experience is that without the ability to connect as people the sex can be lackluster. Sometimes the sex can be good, but do you really want to hang out with them again if there is no connection? That can be a turnoff too, especially since we are looking for one night stands. We’ve also explored outside of our usual “beauty” boundaries to great success with the right couple. It’s such a buffet out there….don’t stick with the vanilla (ice cream!). Just the opinion of a couple of sometime suburban sluts lol
P.S. Necklaces can be hot too 😉
It is not about the eye brows, it is about this whole thing. This is a time that we can look like we wish we always could look. Nails, hair, floss, whiten,clothes, and attitude. How many times do we need to see someone in a club that looks just regular and wonder why they did not look better, maybe they would have a chance. Maybe a little makeup would mean the difference of watching and actually playing. This is our time to shine, don’t make fun of those who try their hardest.