Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac - Henry Kissinger

Men are slaves. Women have the power.

 

I see nothing wrong with that

 

He was actually paraphrasing. The "immortal line" (if such it is) was Napoleon.
Both men who will rightly be judged by the court of history.

 

Unfortunately, your "i.e.," is not what Henry was referring to. Henry was known, at times, for being accompanied by beautiful women though he himself was not so attractive. This was his explanation -- that is was *his* power that was an aphrodisiac to the women, not the other way around.

 

yep thats how I read it.

 

One of us is. Do you really think he said that about someone else. He was talking about his own power. Unless you can prove otherwise.

 

He was a powerful man.

 

By some weird coincidence I've just taken a break from writing a short story that covers very similar ground to this (except it's two women, not a man and a woman).

I think the OP has a point about relational power, but I'm dubious about invoking Henry Kissinger to make a point about women really being in control of the relationship. That undoubtedly happens, and most of the men on this board would applaud that, but I seriously doubt Henry Kissinger would. He certainly would not have thought in terms of the woman holding the power, and I doubt he would concede that, because of his lust, the reality was that there was a transfer of power. I just think he used women, and used power in order to use women.

Some men are irredeemable, and I reckon Kissinger is one of those. Napoleon, on the other hand, may have been a different kettle of fish - "Not tonight Josephine," and all that. There's no evidence Boney ever said that, of course, but I am very happy to envisage a situation where there is a subtle exchange of power such as the OP alluded to.

 

maybe if you take "Henry Kissinger" out of the title of the thread...

 

Some women also obtain power thru a superior intellect, greater earnings, respect for their achievements, etc.; but truly, when it is coupled with the love of a man who has learned his place (having been properly "broken" if you will it is very sweet indeed. More power to you Ms. Amanda.

 

Yep, that would work...

back to the question in hand, I think what you suggest in the OP is accurate to a point. But not in all cases. I think that some men are just users and will always use women and there's no chance of a relational power shift, because the women are not cherished and adored.

But sometimes that is undoubtedly the case, and when that happens the beautiful exchange you describe comes to pass.

 

So why have JFK, Clinton, Trump, Berlusconi, and so many wealthy and powerful men tended to have affairs?

I guess what Kissinger said is a key issue:
power is the ultimate aphrodisiac
, and some feel the natural logic is women want to mate with a POWERFUL partner and have powerful offspring.

Maybe men do too? Or just some men?

if we start a thread,
"Obama said x, or Nixon said Y", I don't think we will be hijacking the thread to say what we believe they meant & what we think they were summarizing.

 

This is quite thought provoking. I've done a bit of reading on the quote and there seems to be no general agreement on its interpretation. Some think that it means that women are attracted to powerful men. Others (a psychologist) that power induces raised testosterone levels in both men with power or women with power. For men because their testosterone is higher anyway they can act riskily as in the case of Clinton or Profumo ( a famous UK spying risk case). For women their raised testosterone will indeed act as an aphrodisiac to themselves; their perception of power is different to the male centric view of power in terms of money and status. One form of power would be their desirability.

 

I agree. Isn't that what i'm saying here?

 

[QUOTE
If the male is so enamored of a woman that he’ll do anything to make her his own, if he’s “enslaved” by his boundless passion, then who, after all, is in charge of the relationship?
Obviously, however much an alpha he may be, his obsessive desire for her ends up putting her in control of the relationship.[/QUOTE]

I think this is totally true having experienced it myself.

 

No probs. Thanks.

 

Though I do believe it can work both ways in one desires someone sufficiently to be enamoured of them and to pursue them relentlessly then that person does have the potential to take control.
Whether it be any combination of female or male that is doing the chasing or the one being chased.