How to make him respect you is an extremely important thing to consider and a subject that many women take far too lightly. If respect is allowed to take a back seat in your relationship, it can lead to something extremely unhealthy, even abusive, and that is never acceptable. Any good, strong relationship should be built on mutual respect and trust. So if you’re questioning the status of your relationship, consider what you can do to build that respect between you.
It Begins with You
In most cases, disrespect in a relationship begins with not respecting yourself. If you don’t care enough about yourself to express your needs and stand up for yourself, then how can you expect him to do it? You need to be comfortable in your own skin and not willing to change to suit your partner. If he really loves you, he should be able to accept you for who you are rather than trying to make you into his ideal woman. At the same time, men who disrespect women often have low self-esteem themselves. Both partners need to respect themselves before they can respect each other.
No Means No
Respecting yourself includes not allowing yourself to be forced into situations that you are not comfortable with. If it doesn’t feel right to you, you are allowed to say no and to mean it. If he truly respects you, he will accept that. How to make him respect you begins by standing up on your own two feet and taking charge of your body and your life and not allowing him to make you feel pressured. Remember that sex is about expressing the love you feel for each other, it should never be something that one partner or the other is forced into before they are ready.
Disrespect in a relationship often begins with a lack of communication. He can’t know that you’re not comfortable unless you tell him and tell him clearly. Men aren’t always good at picking up on subtle signals. You need to be direct about your feelings so that he understands where you’re coming from. Men who disrespect women will use the excuse of having gotten mixed signals, so you can avoid this by being as precise as possible.
How to make him respect you is not just by communicating your needs, though, respect is a two-way street. If you want respect from him then you have to be prepared to give it in return. He will be much less likely to respect your feelings if he feels that you are dismissing his. Part of communication is listening, and that can be a vital part of a healthy relationship. Each partner must be willing to listen to the other and open to accepting the other’s feelings.
Are You Listening? Is He?
Disrespect in a relationship often begins with tuning the other person out, either because they tend to complain too much or because they don’t make themselves heard properly. Don’t be dismissive, learn to discuss situations rather than automatically break down into an argument. It is possible to disagree with someone without disrespecting them. If you can manage to do that, you will have a much stronger foundation on which to build your relationship.
Give and Take
Strong relationships are also about compromise. Men who disrespect women also tend to dismiss them. In any healthy relationship, there needs to be give and take. If at any time it feels like one partner is doing all the giving and the other the taking, then you know that something is very wrong. How to make him respect you is by being willing to share the burden in your relationship, rather than making him shoulder it all. Ideally, it should be a 50/50 proposition, with each partner carrying his or her fair share.
Being able to talk through your problems and being able to admit when you are wrong is a major sign of respect. You can avoid disrespect in a relationship by putting your own ego aside when you’ve made a mistake. You can also go a long way toward building up mutual respect by allowing him to have his own interests and making sure that he does the same for you. Men who disrespect women are usually insecure and can’t stand the idea of them having a life outside the relationship. By showing him that you are ok with his outside interests, you’ll be able to earn his respect and hopefully, he’ll return the gesture in kind.
Respect is never something to be taken lightly. It is a basic right of every human being and if two people truly love each other, it should be a natural extension of those feelings. How to make him respect you, then, is something you should seriously consider. Without mutual respect, there can be no real love.
