Without a strategic plan in place, dating can be an overwhelming experience. Feeling like a “fish out of water”, many gay men may flounder in their efforts to try and find a compatible dating partner, typically being ruled by attraction and chemistry that usually can overshadow the fact that there is little in common beyond that spark. Having a solid understanding of who you are, what you stand for, and what you’re specifically looking for in terms of a partner and a relationship can be the best armor you have in protecting yourself in the dating jungle and in ensuring you’re aligning yourself with the most compatible men you’re meant to meet!

Click on the following link to read the response:  http://www.datingadvice.com/advice/my-perfect-gay-boyfriend

© Dr. Brian Rzepczynski, The Gay Love Coach

www.thegaylovecoach.com

This particular article is not for re-publication in other e-zines, magazines, or websites as DatingAdvice.com owns the rights to this material in partnership. Any questions or consent to do so is required by that organization.

Growing up gay, we didn’t receive any socialization on rites-of-passage when it comes to love and relationships; the only dating template we had to go on was the male-female variety. While dating and romance can take on similar qualities as our straight counterparts’, there are also some very real differences. With two men, who holds the door open? Who pays for the first date? Who does what? There are no clear, designated roles to follow like straight relationships have. While we are fortunate to not be bound to certain “rules” when it comes to dating, it at the same time can be confusing on how to navigate through various interpersonal situations. It also becomes challenging in trying to determine if the guy you’re seeing is a “keeper” or not based on the blurred roles. What follows are five qualities of gay men that could be considered “a good catch” in helping you to assess whether he’s got the goods!

When you break up with a boyfriend, it can feel like your whole world is crashing down around you as you try to make sense of what’s happened, while trying to keep yourself together as you go through this adjustment. You are grieving, and like a death, you will likely go through the various stages of grief (shock/denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance, per the famous Kubler-Ross model). In an ideal world, both partners would sit down and discuss their relationship, “life review” style, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses and processing their feelings about what went wrong. They would be able to forgive each other for any hurts and mistakes made and find a way to say goodbye to each other that would officially close the book on that chapter of their lives before parting ways. A nice and clean ending like this isn’t always possible though.

As we all know, one factor that fuels physical attraction is appearance. Gay men, and men in general, tend to be very visual-oriented, so it’s important to capitalize on that in your online dating profile picture. Below, please find an article written by Giles Fabris at LookBetterOnline.com that offers tips on how to create attention-getting photos that highlight your assets for maximum return on those online dating sites you may utilize. Good Photos That Get Results For Online Daters

Your eyes catch the handsome stranger from across the bar and you find yourself captivated—he’s just your type. “Go talk to him,” your friend nudges. As your head swirls with imagery on how you might approach him, your body tenses as you begin to worry about how you might be perceived and fears of rejection and embarrassment immobilize you. Frozen in place, you try to muster up the courage to put one foot in front of the other, but before you can contemplate your opening line, he walks out of the bar with a group of his friends. Opportunity lost.

Is this scenario all too familiar? I conducted a  poll on my website once asking single gay men if they tended to initiate contact with a man they found interesting or if they waited to be pursued. The overwhelming majority of respondents indicated that they were passive daters, meaning they waited for men to approach them to start conversations. The sad reality of this is that if most men wait to be approached, very few contacts are made. How many great relationships could have gotten off the ground had someone made that first move? Refuse to allow yourself to be one of those liability statistics. To be successful in dating, one must be a proactive dater by being in the driver’s seat and making things happen through one’s own initiative.

Click on the following link to read the full article:  http://www.datingadvice.com/advice/approaching-him-with-gusto

© Dr. Brian Rzepczynski, The Gay Love Coach

www.thegaylovecoach.com

This particular article is not for re-publication in other e-zines, magazines, or websites as DatingAdvice.com owns the rights to this material in partnership. Any questions or consent to do so is required by that organization.

A study by the University of Michigan asserts that when gay male couples make and keep sexual agreements, this can be an effective HIV prevention strategy. However, according to the study results, more than half of the couples in the sample acknowledged breaking their agreement. Here is an article about the study:  http://www.datingadvice.com/studies/saagcm

What are your thoughts about this?

You know the scenario. You go out on a first date with that incredible guy who seems like he meets all your criteria for good boyfriend material and you both seemingly had a great time. You maybe even got a kiss and exchanged lots of flirtatious banter that raised your hopes that maybe it was “true blue” this time. But then he falls off the face of the earth despite his claims that he’d call you back for a second date. There is nothing more frustrating, right? What happened to integrity? Worse yet, now you can’t get the injustice off your mind, ruminating about what went wrong and why he isn’t returning your phone calls or e-mails and it’s making you feel crazed and depressed. I hear from lots of forelorn men that have experienced this all-too-common situation that is unfortunately a part of dating who can’t seem to shake their disappointment and upset. What’s a guy to do?

Click on the following link to read the full article:  http://www.datingadvice.com/advice/my-perfect-gay-boyfriend

© Dr. Brian Rzepczynski, The Gay Love Coach

www.thegaylovecoach.com

This particular article is not for re-publication in other e-zines, magazines, or websites as DatingAdvice.com owns the rights to this material in partnership. Any questions or consent to do so is required by that organization.

If you’re single, and don’t want to be, the Valentine’s Day holiday can be torture. And there seems to be no escape from it when everywhere you go you see what appears to be happy couples, not to mention being bombarded with Hallmark advertisements and gifts at every turn. But you can survive this illustrious day! It is, after all, just another day. It’s all about perspective; if you place a lot of emphasis on the symbolism of the day, it could adversely affect your mood and lead to a dreary existence on the 14^th. And since perspective, as the “Law of Attraction”  states, creates the climate it’s embracing, this article is going to present a guide for bolstering your spirit on Valentine’s Day by challenging you to engage in specific, positive, and action-oriented tasks that will leave you uplifted and affirmed by day’s end.

Click on the following link to read the full article:  http://www.datingadvice.com/advice/the-single-gay-mans-guide-for-getting-through-valentines-day

© Dr. Brian Rzepczynski, The Gay Love Coach

www.thegaylovecoach.com

This particular article is not for re-publication in other e-zines, magazines, or websites as DatingAdvice.com owns the rights to this material in partnership. Any questions or consent to do so is required by that organization.

I often get letters from men asking how to go about maintaining a friendship with an ex-partner after they’ve broken up, and this is no easy endeavor. But it is possible! In fact, this scenario is quite commonplace in the gay community. When some of us feel disengaged or removed from our own biological families, our friendships and lovers become families-of-choice that comprise wonderful additions to our support network of positive attachments and affiliations. They give us a sense of membership and belonging that we often times may not experience within our own lineage. What follows are some tips on how to go about navigating this tricky relationship alteration:

Click on the following link to read the full article: http://www.datingadvice.com/advice/staying-friends-with-an-ex

© Dr. Brian Rzepczynski, The Gay Love Coach

www.thegaylovecoach.com

This particular article is not for re-publication in other e-zines, magazines, or websites as DatingAdvice.com owns the rights to this material in partnership. Any questions or consent to do so is required by that organization.

Do you approach dating with the best of intentions by only screening guys who fit your personal requirements, but then throw that all out the window when that hot Mr. Wrong winks at you from across the room? Worse yet, do you find it difficult to keep all the guys that you’re dating straight and then follow up on a conversation with one that was from a meeting you’d had with a different man? Yikes! For better organization, structure, accountability, (and sanity!), it’s time to start keeping a “Dating Journal” to help you optimize your dating life.

Click on the following link to read the full article: http://www.datingadvice.com/advice/the-gay-dating-journal

© Dr. Brian Rzepczynski, The Gay Love Coach

www.thegaylovecoach.com

This particular article is not for re-publication in other e-zines, magazines, or websites as DatingAdvice.com owns the rights to this material in partnership. Any questions or consent to do so is required by that organization.