Dating other femmes exes: what do you think?

[gaea]

Originally Posted by *Anya*

I have a friend- not on this site-that had a recent experience that got me thinking about this topic. I could not find an existing thread about it.

Her ex-girlfriend and my friend ran in the same real life circle as another woman that they both knew. They were not friends but did know each other to say hi and to chat about superficial things and happened to frequently attend the same activities and parties.

My friend and her girlfriend broke up after a one-year relationship. My friend started going out again a couple of months after the break-up and the woman that she knew and her ex blatantly flirted in front of her at a party. My friend was truly crushed.

I honestly did not know what to say to her (other than to empathize with her feelings) as it would never have been something that I personally would have done. I avoid a friend's (even an acquaintance's) ex out of respect for, lack of a better phrase: femme sisterhood. It just does not feel right to me personally.

What do you feel about this? Is it OK because the couple were broken up? Is there a respectable amount of time that should pass before you, as a femme, flirt with or date a friend's ex in front of another femme sister-even if not you are not close friends?

Does it matter?

Is it different online vs. real life?

Your thoughts?

Perhaps In your question i may need some clarification, you say your friend and her former partner broke up and after a few months witnessed the ex "flirting" with someone she knew however wasn't necessarily friends with....hopefully I followed this correctly...

If the above is correct

Why does the femme code apply to the "person" your friend barely knew?

And why would your friend be upset that the ex is moving on is not your friend also moving on? Is not your friend also dating? If she is how is that different?

I will give you an in real life example of a situation between two people I know, the butch has dated several women in my community she was with my friend for a year it didn't work out, the butch immediately began dating however begrudge my friend who is femme the right to date didn't believe she should and what nots and then tried to pull the card that the ex should not date anyone she knows and in my little community that is basically impossible and that would render both my friend and her ex butch single as long as they remain in this community. I personally do not see this as a realistic situation.

[LadyRieinAL]

Every Butch who has ever dated a femme is some femmes Ex

And are all femmes to be considered Sister femmes to every femme on Planet?

Perhaps it would it be better for each butch to come with a warning label - Be forewarned my ex is _____ and ______ and ______.

And at what time does my own desire, my own happines mean anything - Good lord, does this mean I'm bad and wrong if I find someone attractive who has dated someone on Planet who is someone's EX.

And If I decide to do the right thing in another femme's eyes and not date her EX, will she help me look outside of Planet for someone for me to date?

And is this discussion about any Ex on Planet OR the just the Ex of a femme that I've developed a bond?

I hate stepping on other people's hearts - why did this subject have to come up - man!! NOW I have more worries on my plate.

My little list of what is acceptable for a perspective date has just become almost Nil.

[Medusa]

Originally Posted by LadyRieinAL

Every Butch who has ever dated a femme is some femmes Ex

And are all femmes to be considered Sister femmes to every femme on Planet?

Perhaps it would it be better for each butch to come with a warning label - Be forewarned my ex is _____ and ______ and ______.

And at what time does my own desire, my own happines mean anything - Good lord, does this mean I'm bad and wrong if I find someone attractive who has dated someone on Planet who is someone's EX.

And If I decide to do the right thing in another femme's eyes and not date her EX, will she help me look outside of Planet for someone for me to date?

And is this discussion about any Ex on Planet OR the just the Ex of a femme that I've developed a bond?

I hate stepping on other people's hearts - why did this subject have to come up - man!! NOW I have more worries on my plate.

My little list of what is acceptable for a perspective date has just become almost Nil.

Lady-

I perceive people to be talking about *very* close friendships, not the casual connections that I think you are describing.

Just for example, June and I are very close friends. She is my sistergirl and I have known her and her partner for going on 8 or 9 years now. I love them both.
They also know Jackhammer and I has a couple. We have been in each other's homes several times and June and I are probably responsible for keeping AT&T in business with thousands of hours of phone calls.

We are close in ways that are super intimate and I have confided in her as she has in me about very personal things. If she and Kat broke up, you couldn't PAY me to date Kat. Or even consider it. (and that isn't because I don't think Kat is awesome, because she is, but she is my girl's partner and therefor off limits in huge ways fo-eva-eva).

And honestly, it's not even something that will ever come up because my relationship with Jackhammer is forever and #2 My friendship with June is a primary friendship.

[The_Lady_Snow]

You're welcome to date any of my exes!!

Originally Posted by LadyRieinAL

Every Butch who has ever dated a femme is some femmes Ex

And are all femmes to be considered Sister femmes to every femme on Planet?

Perhaps it would it be better for each butch to come with a warning label - Be forewarned my ex is _____ and ______ and ______.

And at what time does my own desire, my own happines mean anything - Good lord, does this mean I'm bad and wrong if I find someone attractive who has dated someone on Planet who is someone's EX.

And If I decide to do the right thing in another femme's eyes and not date her EX, will she help me look outside of Planet for someone for me to date?

And is this discussion about any Ex on Planet OR the just the Ex of a femme that I've developed a bond?

I hate stepping on other people's hearts - why did this subject have to come up - man!! NOW I have more worries on my plate.

My little list of what is acceptable for a perspective date has just become almost Nil.

[gaea]

Originally Posted by LadyRieinAL

Every Butch who has ever dated a femme is some femmes Ex

And are all femmes to be considered Sister femmes to every femme on Planet?

Perhaps it would it be better for each butch to come with a warning label - Be forewarned my ex is _____ and ______ and ______.

And at what time does my own desire, my own happines mean anything - Good lord, does this mean I'm bad and wrong if I find someone attractive who has dated someone on Planet who is someone's EX.

And If I decide to do the right thing in another femme's eyes and not date her EX, will she help me look outside of Planet for someone for me to date?

And is this discussion about any Ex on Planet OR the just the Ex of a femme that I've developed a bond?

I hate stepping on other people's hearts - why did this subject have to come up - man!! NOW I have more worries on my plate.

My little list of what is acceptable for a perspective date has just become almost Nil.

I agree whole heartedly with all the above here....

[The_Lady_Snow]

Someone mentioned in the CIJS thread about Femmes having to release exes, I'm not sure how that assumption was made from the discussion being had. Dating/fucking doesn't peg you in an ex category for me.

-----------------------


I'm going to try to articulate what I know has turned into icky sexist stuff.

I'm bothered that the conversation we're having is now in another thread being discussed as if Femmes are holding EXes hostage and now a release the Ex thread needs to be made.

I'm not sure how this conclusion was made from the posts here hence my frustration and post

[aishah]

Originally Posted by The_Lady_Snow

Someone mentioned in the CIJS thread about Femmes having to release exes, I'm not sure how that assumption was made from the discussion being had. Dating/fucking doesn't peg you in an ex category for me.

-----------------------


I'm going to try to articulate what I know has turned into icky sexist stuff.

I'm bothered that the conversation we're having is now in another thread being discussed as if Femmes are holding EXes hostage and now a release the Ex thread needs to be made.

I'm not sure how this conclusion was made from the posts here hence my frustration and post

yuck. i didn't read this thread as a "releasing exes" issue at all. i also wanted to say - even though i've disagreed with a lot of folks, i'm super grateful to anya for starting the discussion and to june and angie and everyone else who's posted. this is one of the most thought-provoking threads i've read in awhile. it did make me really stop and investigate some deep shit in my own self.

and can people not drag shit from thread to thread. please.

[FemmeBibliophile]

I'm sounding in on this late, but I will say that I am another who goes against the grain.

You can't help who you fall in love with... Things happen.

Now, granted, I am not saying I want my ex to start dating my best friend the day after we split... However, I will say more power to you if it's something true and not a rebound (or finding out that you've already been secretly seeing that person while we were still together).

[The_Lady_Snow]

I don't run into these issues in real life, if my ex is on here I'm going to assume they're gonna be grown and self edit and not involve all of BFP. It's unfair to drag your (general) community through muck cause your (general) ex has moved on.

In real life stuff like this doesn't come up for me, unless it's the ex husbrat and even then I can call the law.

[Rockinonahigh]

I'm going to put my $.02 worth in hear.Several years ago I dated someone I met on line who lives only an hour from me,we got along great for quite a while,untill I found out quite by accident she had had a long realtionship with a butch buddy of mine ten years or so back.At first it was a huge blow up from my now x friend(not over this) as I got handed all the crap that ended theire relationship,wich was a lot of old dry crap that both were responsable for.L (not hear) had long moved on from this but B (not hear) was still chewing the bone even tho she was in a fine relationship at the moment.It was totaly by accident that B saw us together at a drag show at the local hang out..B grabed me by the collor then proceded to drag me into the bathroom to give me the low down.I simply told her to let it go its been ten years and why are you still bellowing like a stuck cow about something long past.He couldnt even anser me on that question.I mean how long dose it take for people to let go of a suposedly past broken relationship?This is something I find a lot in dateing or meeting someone that they cant let go of whats done and over...I refuse to have a gost of past relationships in my current relationship,no mater how hard anyone trys u cant live up to the past.U can bet the other person has moved on a long time ago..I cant figure it out.It makes me feel like im not good enough,I try to understand but finaly I quit chaseing what is unaccesable.

[The_Lady_Snow]

Rockin you're a better person than I, let some mother fucker grab me by the collar cause they think in their mind they still have rights to their EX head. That's down right insane right there!

I see this a lot in hetero break ups

[easygoingfemme]

I think it totally depends on the circumstances.

I have some ex's who it totally wouldn't bother me if a friend dated. I'd be psyched if they made each other happy.

I have others who I would be totally crushed about should that happen.
I'd expect a friend to ask me before making any move in that direction.

As far as me dating a friends ex it would depend on all the same points. I'd generally go with the side of no way. However, if it was a casual short relationship and in well into the past I might ask her how she'd feel about it.

[*Anya*]

Originally Posted by The_Lady_Snow

Rockin you're a better person than I, let some mother fucker grab me by the collar cause they think in their mind they still have rights to their EX head. That's down right insane right there!

I see this a lot in hetero break ups

I agree with this. Someone having a fresh break-up of a month or two is quite different than a 10-year break-up! Not to mention the battery of grabbing!

That is a call to !

[Rockinonahigh]

Originally Posted by The_Lady_Snow

Rockin you're a better person than I, let some mother fucker grab me by the collar cause they think in their mind they still have rights to their EX head. That's down right insane right there!

I see this a lot in hetero break ups

Thanks Snow,I really just wanted to slap the shit out of this person,but she is the spouse of one of my best friends wo wasnt there at the time as she was parking the car when this happened.I didnt say a thing cause I didnt want to put a wedge between my long time friend over her spitefull wife.Sometimes its hard to be the sane one in a crazy world.

[tantalizingfemme]

Originally Posted by JustJo

Honestly, I don't put the responsibility for that on the new partner or prospect though...I put that responsibility on the ex.

I think the above is important to repeat.


Anya, I can tell by your very emotional reaction to this situation/subject that you really care for your friend. I hope that this will soon be a distant memory for her and bitterness stays far away.

[*Anya*]

Originally Posted by tantalizingfemme

I think the above is important to repeat.


Anya, I can tell by your very emotional reaction to this situation/subject that you really care for your friend. I hope that this will soon be a distant memory for her and bitterness stays far away.

I think a lot of folks had many reactions to several of the issues that evolved out of the original post. I wrote mine no more or less "very emotionally" than anyone else has posted here. I might add, are women not frequently told by bio men that they are "very emotional" when voicing an opinion strongly? That is another thread, I guess.

Did I react negatively to being told I "snubbed my nose" and was "judgmental" to those with different opinions? Yes. That clearly felt like a personal attack to me. Actually, it was. I ensure that I make no personal attacks or use judgmental attacks on others when I disagree and pride myself on that. Should I have said that the poster appeared to be devils advocate? No, I should not have. I was being reactive and I do apologize for that. I do not feel proud of my reaction in that case.

As I have said in many posts since I joined, that is the beauty of the Planet: that we are all entitled to our reactions, both positive and negative and I believe that several folks in this thread agreed and several did not.

One post can prompt 10 different opinions. I may not agree with 5 of the 10 and may say so, but I defend to the end their right to that opinion and to say so (as long as we do so without personal attacks on those with which we disagree).

We do not all have to agree and we certainly can support opinions both pro and con, as anyone can see by all posts in this thread.

I feel for any femme or butch dealing with a breakup-regardless of who they may be.

All of us know what that feels like.

I will never apologize for advocating kindness towards anyone's sadness, be it loss of a relationship or any other type of loss. It does not matter to me if one is a close friend or someone I hardly know.

I advocated for discretion with the person she only knew casually. No nose rubbing was necessary-in my opinion.

The friend issues was an offshoot that just arose as it usually does around here. No, I personally would not date the ex of a friend. Again, my opinion!

I state my own opinion, just the same way everyone else does on the Planet.

[tantalizingfemme]

Wow, you completely misinterpreted my post. Not sure why you are so defensive to a simple post pointing out how I noticed how much you care about your friend.

Btw, this is coming as femme to femme, not bio-male to femme.

[QueenofSmirks]

Originally Posted by *Anya*

...
Did I react negatively to being told I "snubbed my nose" and was "judgmental" to those with different opinions? Yes. That clearly felt like a personal attack to me. Actually, it was. I ensure that I make no personal attacks or use judgmental attacks on others when I disagree and pride myself on that. Should I have said that the poster appeared to be devils advocate? No, I should not have. I was being reactive and I do apologize for that. I do not feel proud of my reaction in that case.

As I have said in many posts since I joined, that is the beauty of the Planet: that we are all entitled to our reactions, both positive and negative and I believe that several folks in this thread agreed and several did not.

One post can prompt 10 different opinions. I may not agree with 5 of the 10 and may say so, but I defend to the end their right to that opinion and to say so (as long as we do so without personal attacks on those with which we disagree).

....

Anya, I was direct, but I did not personally attack you. My comments were directed at you because you're the one who started the thread, and my questions were about your questions. I said it felt like (to ME) that your responses to posters that did not fall in line with your way of thinking/behaving were judgmental. That is my opinion. I don't know any other way to state it that you wouldn't consider it a "personal attack". I was confused why you would ask a slew of questions but then give responses like "I would never do that, but I understand *your* values may be different." I asked you to clarify a few things so that I could understand where you were coming from and to possibly clear up any misunderstandings on my part. I do not play devil's advocate unless I state I am doing so to make a point. I don't need to come into threads to stir up shit, they often do that all by themselves. If you don't feel like answering my questions, that is certainly your right; I'm not going to lose sleep over it. I'm fine with sticking to discussions where people actually take responsibility for what they say and respond to each other's questions and comments, whether we agree or not.

[QueenofSmirks]

Originally Posted by *Anya*

... They were not friends but did know each other to say hi and to chat about superficial things and happened to frequently attend the same activities and parties...

A few month's after someone's breakup, if I know the person well enough to even know about their relationship, then no, I probably wouldn't blatently flirt with their ex in front of them if they were going to be bothered by it.

As far as dating goes - everyone has a different opinion on what is a "respectable" amount of time, and details are important and should be taken into consideration. If someone is a mere acquaintance, we happen to hang in the same circle, but we're not friends, then I likely don't feel a "sisterhood" with that person, so that isn't going to be taken into consideration. Maybe she's a raving lunatic that doesn't deserve so much care and concern about her breakup, who knows. I'm not saying this is the case with your friend, I'm merely saying that most people behave based on all of the information they know at the time. So, without knowing all the details, I'm not 100% sure what I would do, but I can tell you that if I avoided dating every ex of every acquaintance online or in real life, then virtually everyone would be off limits. We're a small community, and at my age (mid-40's), we've all been around the block a few times. I think I probably have acquaintances via all of my exes. Perhaps we're defining "acquaintance" differently. :: shrug ::

[Words]

Under normal circumstances, I'd say that I would neither flirt nor otherwise go after a friend's ex because, up until meeting Blue, I'd met no one worth losing a night's sleep over, let alone a friendship.

But...and please bear in mind here that I'm not lucky enough to have any femme friends who live this side of the Atlantic, let alone locally...say I'd met Blue and he was the ex of an (imaginary) best femme friend of mine. Would I flirt with Hym in front of said (imaginary) best femme friend? No, no need to rub salt in the wound. But would I otherwise go after Hym? Absolutely. I'd probably feel shit about it, but selfish as it may seem, knowing what I do about Blue, there is nothing on earth that would stop me from trying to be with Hym.

Which makes me, I guess, judging by most of the responses here, a potentially crappy friend. Sorry

Words