Picking Up and Acting Out: Politics of Masculinity in the Seduction Community

142 Pages·2007·1.71 MB·English

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Picking Up and Acting Out: Politics of Masculinity in the Seduction Community
Elana J. Clift
AMS 679HA & 679HB
Special Honors in the Department of American Studies
The University of Texas at Austin
May 2007
____________________________________________
Janet M. Davis
Department of American Studies
Supervising Professor
____________________________________________
Elizabeth Engelhardt
Department of American Studies
Second Reader
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ABSTRACT
Picking Up and Acting Out: Politics of Masculinity in the Seduction Community
Elana J. Clift, Bachelor of Arts in American Studies
The University of Texas at Austin, 2007
Janet M. Davis, Supervising Professor
The “Seduction Community” broadly defines a subculture of men who follow
varying philosophies and methods to achieve success with women. Their goal is to
transform themselves from what they term “average frustrated chumps” into skilled
“pickup artists.” The majority of my research into the Seduction Community has been
observational field study; incorporated into this research is historical analysis. By
acquainting myself with a number of pickup artists, I have been able to observe as well as
informally interview these men in order to ascertain the motivations, goals, and
behavioral patterns of members of the Seduction Community. While my study will
contribute to the continuing discourse of men’s studies, it is unique in that it is the first
academic study of the Seduction Community. The purpose of this project is to determine
the social context that has given rise to such a vibrant subculture, and to speculate on its
broader gender and social significance. In attempting to deconstruct the American
cultural climate that has produced the Seduction Community, I examine a few concrete
factors: the continuously shifting aspects of men’s culture, the collapse of elaborate
courtship rituals, the impact of feminist ideals on popular thought, and the proliferation of
the Internet. Although these distinct elements can be identified as causes for the
community’s existence, they are also intertwined in a complicated web. By recognizing
these distinct aspects, however, I distinguish the motivations behind the formation and
explosion of the Seduction Community. I determine that the community is composed of
many elements that are borrowed from America’s cultural past, making it more reflective
than revolutionary. I propose that what is unique, however, is the distinct manner in
which these various elements have coalesced to form a community of men, bonding
through shared experiences and acting together to accomplish similar goals.
For my brother, who taught me how to tie my shoes, read, drive a car, and so much more.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
List of Images………………………………………………………………………….…......vi
Acknowledgments…………………………………………………………………….…......vii
Introduction: Pickup or Shut Up…………………………………………………….……..….1
Chapter 1: Contextualizing the Culture of Modern Casanovas……….………………..……15
Chapter 2: Pickup and Then What? From Calling Cards to Closing the Deal………………52
Chapter 3: Roots of Reaction and Forming Attraction………………………………………79
Chapter 4: Cyber Seduction: Internet Newsgroups to International Pickup Conventions….102
Conclusion: My Life as a Pivot: Concluding Thoughts on a Controversial Subculture..…..114
Appendix A………………..…………………………………………………………..……120
Glossary……………………………………………………………………………….……121
Bibliography……………………………………………………………………..…………128
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LIST OF IMAGES
Mystery Model………………………………………………………………….……..……..29
Females By Cole…..………………………………………………………………..………..48
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks to the men of the Austin Society. You welcomed me so willingly, I could not
have done this without your stories, your honesty, and your trust. Each one of you helped to
shape my conceptions of the community, and you each confounded my expectations.
Thanks to my brother. You accept me without judgment, but push me to be better. I
still have so much to learn from you. I concede, you are a snowflake.
Thanks to my parents, who remain my role models. Thank you for always
encouraging my ambitions. I love you.
Thanks to Kathryn. I can say with the utmost confidence that this project would not
have happened without your love and support. You are more than my writing partner, you are
my best friend.
Thanks to Dr. Davis, who always met me with a smile. Your easy-going nature kept
me calm and helped my ideas to flourish. You are a truly wonderful teacher.
Thanks to Dr. Engelhardt, the passionate feminist. Thank you for challenging me.
Your emotional and academic support has been invaluable.
Thanks to Ana. I don’t think I have ever seen you without an ear-to-ear smile. Your
constant optimism helped me to stay sane.
Thanks to Alisha and Shannon for your unique perspectives and cheerful attitudes.
Thanks to Quack’s 43rd Street Bakery, where I composed ninety percent of this work.
Please, invest in more comfortable chairs.
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INTRODUCTION
Pickup or Shut Up
Sitting at the family dinner table, I watched as my older brother, a senior in high
school at the time, pushed his food around on his plate and sulked. My mother, always
intuitive and attentive to our problems, asked him what was wrong. He sighed as he admitted
that there was a girl at school whom he liked. “What should I do? I don’t know if she likes
me!” My father piped up to offer, as he always did, a simple and practical solution, “Well,
why don’t you ask her out on a date?” With an exasperated tone my brother said, “Dad!
People don’t do that!” At that moment, my mother and I gave the famously useless advice
“Just be yourself and she’ll like you!” He responded only with a sigh. My mother began to
name all of my brother’s good qualities, as if listing these would give him the sudden self-
esteem boost he needed to pursue the current girl of his dreams. As she continued citing all
that he had to offer the opposite sex, I could see him holding back tears; he was not listening
to a word she said. He was unaffected by our attempts to help him. Neither my mother,
father, nor I was surprised by this particular conversation, it was a common one at our house
and it always ended the same way. Our parents would attempt to give him guidance, and my
brother would listen and nod, all the while knowing that neither of them had the advice he
needed to get what he so desperately wanted: a girlfriend.
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By the age of twenty-four, the advice “Just be yourself” had proved the extent of its
uselessness, he had still never had a girlfriend. He came to the startling realization that just
being himself was not enough. At the advice of a college friend, he began to investigate the
Seduction Community, a society of men who focus on bettering their skills at attracting
women. On message boards and websites he discovered literally thousands of other men with
similar histories to his own. It was within this community that he finally found what our
parents had never been able to give him well enough, the guidance and support he needed to
finally become comfortable with the opposite sex.
The “Seduction Community” broadly defines a subculture of men who follow varying
philosophies and methods to achieve success with women. Despite differing strategies,
members of the community are typically all connected by two constants: a feeling of
frustration and powerlessness with their inability to attract the women they desire, and a
belief that conventional dating methods are flawed. Their goal is to transform themselves
from what they term “average frustrated chumps” (AFCs) into skilled “pickup artists”
(PUAs). Aspiring pickup artists seek to take control over their lives by gaining an
understanding of the female mind, improving their ability to function within a social context,
and by achieving self-confidence. So-called seduction schools have emerged in order to
provide men with both concrete skills that they can apply to their romantic lives and also the
inner confidence that they believe is gained by overcoming social helplessness. Although the
schools of seduction are both numerous and varying, each methodology encourages men to
achieve personal improvement by accepting their flaws and conquering them. While these
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