The Dream Girl: The Imaginary Perfect Woman All Men Hide

by Anthony Pietropinto

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1558505334
• ISBN13: 9781558505339
• Release Date: January 1995
• Publisher: Adams Media Corporation
• Length: 266 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.4" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Best book I ever read on male psychology

Most everyone is familiar with the simplistic Madonna/Whore extreme as a way to view women - either a woman is all good (the Madonna and the "my sainted mother" outlook) or all bad (it must be true that sex is evil - after all, the church tells me that and my own thoughts make me feel dirty and disgusted - so any woman who enjoys sex must be evil). But Dr. Pietropinto introduces a third template for understanding the all-too-common male view of women: the Dream Girl. A fantasy construct that first appears during adolescence, she is the idealized woman who sees in the young male all the great attributes he possesses; she validates him as a man and as a sexual being. As the boy envisions himself as (someday) being capable, competent and in control, a la James Bond, she is the Bond girl at his side: strong, intelligent and capable herself - and attracted to him. Not just a Playmate of the Month for masturbatory fantasies, the Dream Girl is the partner at his side as he goes out and conquers the world. A main danger, Pietropinto says, is that no flesh-and-blood woman can ever measure up to the Dream Girl, so as long as a man unconsciously obsesses on her, he will have problems in relationships with women. Another danger is that, though the Dream Girl in his mind remains youthful and vibrant, awaiting the challenges of globe-trotting adventures, the typical boy never grows up to become James Bond, Wolverine or a Super Bowl-winning quarterback. Instead, he winds up as a middle school science teacher or an appliance salesman or a dentist. Until he comes to terms with the disparity between his boyhood fantasies and his adult reality, his Dream Girl will be a reminder of all that he isn't. I heartily recommend this book as a way to better know yourself (for men) or the man in your life (for women).