Its a trope that heterosexual men enjoy the thrill of a romantic chase, and if there is no chase their interest wanes. The trope paints this preference as grounded in biology, and it is essentializing and slightly misogynistic. But, I wonder if men are socialized to desire women who don't yield easily to their advances. A female comedian tweeted a few weeks ago that heterosexual relationships don't work unless the man is more invested in it than the woman, because if its the other way around, the man loses interest. I wonder if there is some truth in this. Of course, in some cases, the man might be too shy to make the first move, and if the woman is more outgoing, she might do so. But, this is a question of shyness not of a lack of desire. Anecdotally, I know of a few cases where it was apparent that the woman wasn't interested in the man initially, but the man pursued her doggedly and they ended up together. I wonder if its common to have the opposite case--woman pursuing a man determinedly and them ending up together. Are men put off by women expressing interest in them unless they are as keen on the woman? A woman they would have considered partnering if she hadn't expressed a clear interest in them?I doubt it.
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