Skillful male dominance provokes rejection just as clumsiness does

Evidence

This is often why the woman obstinately remains frigid. If the lover lacks seductive techniques, if he is cold, negligent, or clumsy, he fails to awaken her sexuality, or he leaves her unsatisfied; but if he is virile and skillful, he can provoke reactions of rejection; woman fears his domination: some can find pleasure only with timid, inept, or even almost impotent men, ones who do not scare them away. — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 989

Categorization

• XREF: Surprising juxtaposition of two opposite failure modes (too brutal vs. too detached) echoes Beauvoir’s master-slave dialectic structure common across existentialist thought.