Sharing naked pictures taken and shared without someone's permission in order to bully them

[Offred]

Haven't name changed because I don't want to undermine ability to advise.

Also, am not interested in advice which tells me I am wrong to be upset about this or this is a small issue I shouldn't be making it into a big one because it is pointless given I have a different opinion which I am not going to change. What I want is a bit of support/advice with thinking this through in the context of me feeling it is wrong.

Dh's best friend visiting last night. Something weird going on between him and I anyway; on Thursday he texted me (not uncommon) asking what I was up to, I replied I was tired and stressed, the house was a mess and I was avoiding it in the bath and contemplating drinking a half drunk old bottle of wine which might be vinegar by now. Cue a whole night of pestering to send him a picture of me in the bath indirectly. This kind of thing is not uncommon, he's quite like this (Pervy) fairly indiscriminately when he has been drinking.

Last night it was a bit like he was trying extra hard to be a sexist prick, telling me repeatedly i wouldn't be interested in things because i was female and asking dh's opinion about stuff because he was a man. At one point he got out his phone and was laughing that he had a picture of a woman half naked on it to show dh. He does this kind of thing fairly often too - trying to give dh porn (will not have it in the house where we have 4 small children). I am seriously anti-porn; they both know this so I was already

He went on to say the photo had been taken without permission by the woman's ex and when they split distributed round the school she used to work in causing her to leave her job and move away, the kids in her new school got hold of the photo and distributed it, crazily so did the teachers and even though he left the school in July, even he got texted it.

I feel and :( for this woman, I told him it was really really inappropriate, his reaction was "so what? She's over 16..."

My dh was joining in with my expression that it was wrong at this point so friend says "so you don't want to see it then?" Dh says "well I didn't say that!" and giggles so then friend holds the phone up and dh looks and friend bangs on about the photo.

At this point I had not had a drink because I had a cold. I have been trying to be kinder to dh recently so have been going to things with his friends (they aren't my friends or people I particularly like but he normally wants me to come when he meets them all), cooking nice food for him, trying not to rant about politics or put things on the TV that he hates etc that day I had been cooking a curry and stuffed parathas and cleaning the whole house from top to bottom/sorting out our bedroom so it would be nice for him (us) when he came home. I also have a stinking cold and by 8.30 when we sat down I was knackered but had lemsip rather than going to bed because friend was coming round. This just felt like a slap in the face from him.

At that point I felt I had a choice between making my feelings known or having a drink so I would be able to continue to be friendly. One of the things that stresses dh out is when I argue moral points like this with his friends so I am trying to bite my lip.

So all night I pretended to be friendly and casual and this morning I am angry at myself for allowing myself to a. Be changed and b. be walked all over like some bastarding doormat when I'm trying really hard to be kind.

[Offred]

Dh is working from home today and has been sitting downstairs while twinkles play and pester. He is currently wiping a shitty arse. Normally he runs upstairs to the office and hides because he "can't do anything else when the dc are around". This is a good development. I'm having to cook emergency provisions unexpectedly for my sister when she stays this weekend so it is appreciated.

[Offred]

Crabby - I have just read your link. Yes, the friends are apologising and therefore facilitating it however the women are not frightened or upset over him but jealous and competitive. I might let dh read it later.

[bleedingheart]

That's a really thought-provoking link crabby thank you for posting it.
Offred I hope you sort this out, neither of you are expressing how you really feel out of either conditioning or a desire to be something you think the other wants. It's great not to argue if you aren't burning with resentment at the same time. And I agree you should be able to flirt if that is acceptable in your relationship but Bikertwat is not a safe person to do this with. Why is he texting you to make social arrangements? A text can be answered at any time do he could just as easily text your DH and wait. I am not victim blaming but being pragmatic. He is trying to hurt both of you by the sounds of things.

[bleedingheart]

I admire you for staying so long with someone who doesn't express their feelings, that sounds a very lonely place to be.

[Offred]

I think it was largely because I was parenting again . Dh doesn't make arrangements properly, he doesn't check with me about things or he has to check absolutely every tiny thing but forgets important things or he arranges things that are a pain in the arse even when I have explained they would be a pain in the arse. I organise our lives basically...

Like today he was working from home so he could take the car to be MOT'd which he had arranged and planned all on his own because I have nothing to do with the car, he'd told me in advance what was happening. He took the big ones to school on the way to drop off the car. At lunchtime I asked him when he had to pick up the car (this was around 1.45) and he said later on this afternoon because the mechanic was waiting for some parts so I said "ok, I have to go and pick up my medication because I have run out and get some extra food to make sure there are meals for the weekend so I will get the big ones in my bike but would have to come home via dr's and supermarket so I'm going to be gone for longer than just going to school if that's ok with you to be here while the babies sleep?"

I have to leave for school about 2.55. I was putting my trainers on at 2.38 and the babies were still asleep and he comes in saying he has arranged to pick up the car at 3.30.

So I said "whhhhaaaaat? So you are wanting me to wake the babies up, clean their bottoms and get them into the bike by 2.55 and it is now 2.38 and you are telling me this now?!"

He said "oh were you expecting me to go for the big ones?" I was like "no! I was expecting to be able to leave the babies sleeping while I picked up the big ones in the bike and got my stuff but even the conversation that we had aside if you arrange to pick the car up at 3.30 for no particular reason that means you were intending not to mind the babies or pick the big ones up and you were expecting me to cart all four round everywhere by bike entirely unnecessarily?"

He said "oh... Well I can get the car now if you want, it is done" so I had to say "well will you be back by 2.55 if you want me to get the big ones?" He said "probably not". So I said "well can you not get the big ones and I'll take the babies to get the medicine and the food when they wake up which will probably be while you are gone? "And he said "yes..."

He makes everything so much more difficult and less organised if I leave him to sort it out so I just take it over and sort it out because it really is essential we are organised as a family of 6.

[Offred]

He does have lots of good points too! honestly and his bad points are not earth shattering to me and are things he needs to sort out for his own happiness and sanity anyway.

[Charbon]

I am choosing my father and trying not to be my mother aren't I?

Can you explain a bit more about this Offred?

If you mean that your father was weak and seemed to need organising and micro-managing and your mother did this, yes those roles often get replayed in children's adult relationships.

The interesting thing about the parent-child dynamic in adult relationships is that often, it is the child who is the most controlling and powerful one in the relationship. To outsiders and even to the couple itself, it looks just the opposite. However the child usually wields control and power in passive-aggressive ways and the rebellion is shown in many forms. Keeping secrets, 'forgetting' important information or tasks, undertaking tasks incompetently so they have to be re-done, having secret affairs or threatening friendships, engaging in secret habits or addictions, enacting power struggles with sex. The covert nature of these attacks on the relationship means that the maximum disruption is caused to a partner, without the true motive ever being discovered.

[Offred]

No I mean my father uses childishness to abuse and control all of us and my mother is a denier and enabler of this.

My dh is quite immature in terms of life experience and also self awareness/regulation but not in terms of attitude or responsibility.

The situation with my parents is absolutely ridiculous and it is really unbelievable how they behave a lot of the time. DH is categorically not like my dad and I'm not like my mum but I think I must have chosen someone childlike in some ways because of modelling my parents. I think if he was unwilling to accept things were a problem or he did nothing about making them better he'd irritate me more than he does.

I think there is probably also an element of having been attracted by his closedness because I don't really want him to be like my parents who had all kinds of confusing and difficult emotions all the time when we were children so if he was happy to be reserved I was happy with that set up and the separation it allowed me to have. I'm pissed off to find out he isn't happy with that he just does it because he feels it is expected.

[Charbon]

No I mean my father uses childishness to abuse and control all of us and my mother is a denier and enabler of this.

Is there any of that going on in your relationship Offred?

Is it possible that because your husband's childishness isn't experienced as problematically as your father's, you're much more likely to deny how much it controls you?

[Offred]

I would say it controls me infrequently now but I have had a part in allowing that and it influences me more often. Until my last thread I enabled it by not explaining to him when he had upset me and often not questioning him when he did stupid things. On my last thread I mentioned about sucking it up because I was afraid he would react badly, he did react badly the first time at the start which I now think associated him with my dad and made me decide to suck it up so I didn't end up getting screamed at like my dad would do. His "bad" reaction was extremely minor in comparison and during a period of great stress and a lot of the talking we have done since I decided to challenge him about things has been productive.

What is problematic about things with my parents is they have a lot of expectations of me but I feel refuse to hear or respect me in any way. Challenging my dad results in an extreme explosion of rage and lots of horrible and unfair accusations in such an angry and continuous stream that if you do respond you have to shout and repeat yourself and he still does not take it in. My mum copes by saying one thing to me and a different thing to him which makes it worse.

I think I have changed my part in it by not expecting him to behave like my dad when I challenge him on childish behaviour and he is opening up, listening and making changes of his own accord too.

[OohWhatAPalaver]

I think you're massively over analysing it.

This guy is chatting with you while you're in the bath and asking for pics.

You refuse.

He then pops up with a naked pick of someone else to make you jealous and encourage your compliance in the future.

I would stop talking to your husbands friends (especially ones you know are a bit 'pervy') while you're in the bath. It's not apologist or whatever to think that someone speaking to you while naked is very comfortable with you

As to the woman in the pics- disgusting story, but if you consent to another person taking pics of you naked in this day and age, you consent to them ending up on the web, getting passed around etc.

Sorry if I'm not within the rules of the opinions you want to hear.