Real Stories - May 2005

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"Oh, it's no problem" she cheerfully replied - to Anna, ignoring me completely. "Men are all the same" she said dismissively, and with a cavalier wave of her hand, she returned to her magazine.

"You just wait till I get you home" Anna said. At that moment the walls seemed to close in upon me. I pretended to ignore her, and purposefully avoided the gazes of anyone else on the train, but felt both mortification and dread. The twenty something victim of my imbalance did not raise her head from her magazine, but fought back a smile.

Many submissive顺从 — willing to obey males fantasize about total control by a woman, and living in an entirely female-oriented world. That restrained smile put me in that world. Anna's control over me was so complete and obvious that even a casual female bystander could feel empowered by it, and not fear any consequences arising from smirking over my discomfort. Ms. Twentysomething didn't know exactly how I would pay for my transgression that evening, but knew that I would, and that knowledge would undoubtedly be shared at her corporate water cooler the next morning. The unexpectedly firm and public feminine admonishment of male misbehavior she witnessed obviously delighted her. Though I had not planned the incident, I felt in an odd way pleased that my clumsiness, through evoking chastisement, both gave Anna a venue for self-expression, and gave another woman a satisfying moment of emotional conquest.

Homelife