I used to get tired of hearing that I was intimidating to males. I didn't know what that meant and why it was apparently a good thing to be intimidating. Was it my resting face or my dry wit? Was it my all black attire and dark makeup? What on earth made me intimidating? I've recently come to understand what it was and why it’s such a compliment.

Boys are intimidated by women who are confident. I found that that was part of the reason they would “choose” someone else as opposed to me. I was “out of their league.” Which was the opposite of what the situation left me believing prior to my revelation. It wasn't until my later teens that I realized it was almost a compliment and honestly, if my confidence scared them off, good. It filtered out the ones I wouldn't want to be with anyways and I didn't have to waste my own time figuring that out.

It takes a strong man to handle a strong woman. I'd much rather be alone than have a doormat as a significant other. This has been a problem in the past and now I'm just not willing to put up with it anymore. You don't like my dominant personality? See ya. Men are drawn to strong women because strong women push them to be better. When it comes down to long term commitments, why would you not want someone that betters you?

Boys are intimidated by women who have their stuff together and can hold their own. Men like a challenge. They like women who know they are a prize because insecure girls just aren't attractive. This is why I'm flattered now when boys are intimidated by me. It means I'm doing something right.

I got my personality and my sass from my mother who got it from her mother and so on and so forth. It is really in my blood. So when my father said it was something I was just going to have to deal with, he was being serious. There will be men that just can't or won't deal with it. That's fine, I want a strong man as well.

The misconception about strong women is that they don't want companionship, but its really that we don't need it. The thing about companionship is it is fine to want it. It becomes problematic when you need it. I, personally, think that's part of the appeal of confident women. Clingy is "cute" when you're 16 in your first relationship, but college age and up? Nobody has time for that.

I take pride in my "intimidation" factor now. It is no longer something I worry about because I know it means I'm doing well in my life and I'll be able to more easily weed out the weaker men. Strong women are no walk in the park to pursue, but we sure are worth it.