Johnny
Confessions
What Pickup Artistry Can Teach Us About Consent and Better Sex

I studied and practiced “The Game”-style pickup artistry back in the day. This may sound far-fetched, but it’s actually shaped my attitude on the subject of sexual communication and consent for the better. One of the biggest teaching points of many PUAs (pick-up artists) relates directly to the topic in the news of late: sensitivity […]

Confessions
Comment of the Week: When Abuse of Power Is Your Fetish

Leave it to MVP Johnny to get inside the male mind and see that the abuse of power is the turn on for some: The common denominator I see in all these men – whether they’re rapists like Weinstein or just inappropriate jerks like C.K. – is that they like to venture outside the bounds […]

Confessions
Comment of the Week: Attractive Women ARE Hard to Get

Johnny had some pick-up-artistry knowledge to drop on the recent article “Do Men Play Hard to Get?” in which the author argued that the popular girls in high school play that particular game, well, hard: I don’t think those popular girls were “playing.” Up there at the top of the pile, they ARE hard to […]

Confessions
A Straight Man’s Take on Rape Culture

As usual, Johnny had something thoughtful to say. This past week it was about rape culture, thanks to the Stanford rape case in the news: You know… as a straight man you think “rape culture” is bullshit when you learn about it. You believe that a tiny percentage of men are rapists, and since they’re sociopaths, there’s no […]

Advice
Inside the Mind of a Jealous Man

Things with your boyfriend started off great. But then he realized you actually had a sexual history…with other men. Maybe he found an old naughty picture your ex once sent you long ago, or maybe he can’t handle you being friends with an ex, or maybe he invades your privacy and goes snooping through your email […]

Advice
The 4 Motives of Pick-Up Artistry

The following is part of a series on pickup artistry by longtime reader and contributor Johnny: When I first looked into PU – not the game, but the actual real-time community – I was surprised at its positivity. If it had been full of anger or misogyny I would have been turned right off by […]

How To
The 5 Necessary Steps for Getting a Pickup Artist to Commit

The following is part of a series on pickup artistry by longtime reader and contributor Johnny: If you really like someone you suspect is a pickup artist – and that’s a decision you may re-evaluate now that I’ve lifted the veil for you – here’s what it takes for a woman to lock down a PUA: […]

Advice
The 3-Stages of PUA Development

The following is part of a series on pick-up artists by reader and MVP commenter Johnny: “Naturals” are guys whose talent for getting laid occurred organically. Maybe they’re really good-looking, maybe they figured out how to push female buttons early on – but the natural is who the Pick-Up Artist (PUA) seeks to emulate. So there […]

Confessions
Why Online Dating Is Much Rougher on Men Than Women

MVP reader Johnny said the following in response to our post, “New App: Online Dating Protection” (he was responding in particular to a concern we voiced that, rather than protect women, this app would just make it harder for jerk guys to disappear): Ahem. I have to disagree with your math on who’s going to […]

Confessions
Why a Wife Bonus Isn’t As Bad As You Think

MVP commenter Johnny wrote the following in response to our post “The Best of #WifeBonus on Twitter”: Is there not just a touch of sour grapes about all this? Because I’ll tell you my main feeling on the matter: envy. Green, ugly envy. I wish I had as much money as those people. I wish […]

How To
5 Signs You’re Dating a Pickup Artist

You’re a straight woman, and you like this guy. You have fun, you have chemistry, and then you have sex. At which point, he seems to disappear. But not totally. Sound familiar? Chances are he’s read the Pick Up Artist lit and is following it to a T. Below, read up on the 5 tell-tale […]