Man-Fixers: Women on a Mission

Man-fixers are women addicted to improvement. They look at a house, a garden, a car, or anything else that they imagine needs sprucing up, and all they can see is what needs to be done. Man-fixers aren't evil women who want to manipulate men in a bad way. Instead, they want to make men better. The problem is that they are adept at looking for faults, but can't easily recognize positive qualities. If a man-fixer wants to get her claws into you, beware, as you'll be subject to a major overhaul. However, it doesn't matter how many changes you make for her, as you'll never be entirely fixed enough in her eyes.

How to spot a man-fixer

Man-fixers don't lay all their cards on the table at once. In other words, they don't reveal their agenda too soon. Instead of immediately letting you know that you'd look better wearing a different shirt, or need a haircut, they will smile sweetly and be nice. They will treat you well because they are in a good mood upon discovering their next project to work on.

Signs that your date might be a man-fixer are likely to surface after you've been going out for a few weeks, and even then, attempts to change you are likely to be small. Your date won't want to scare you away. She will see you as a poor, forlorn creature in need of her help, but will know that you might be resistant when it comes to accepting change. She will think of you as a welcome challenge that she's willing to take her time over.

She might offer to help you select clothing when you go shopping, or point out pictures of men's hairstyles she thinks will suit you in magazines. In addition, she might correct your grammar when you speak, but make doing so into a joke so that you aren't offended. Likewise, she might make suggestions as to how you should behave towards her, towards other people, and when out with your friends.

How to react to a man-fixer

You have two choices from which to select when it comes to how you can react to a man-fixer. You can adapt because you recognize that you enjoy being fixed, or you can rebel because you don't want to change.

Adapting is easy, as all you need to do is go along with suggestions to change. However, not many men take this route because it can be disempowering. To rebel, however, takes gumption.

Short of singing, "I am what I am" at the top of your voice, there isn't much you can do apart from speaking your mind. If you really like your man-fixer, despite her attempts to remodel you, you might like to resist her attempts to change you by being strong and manly. Hopefully, she will find you irresistible when she realizes that you won't succumb to her desire to alter you.

Then again, your man-fixing date might leave you fuming. After all, can't she just like you for who you are? If you feel this way, it's time to move on and say goodbye. Find a date that likes to dwell on your positive qualities rather than seek out your faults, and leave the man-fixer to find a new project that isn't you.