Neg (seduction)

A neg (also neg hit, negative hit) is a term in the seduction community for making an ambiguous or negative statement to an individual in order to induce certain reactions. The term was coined by the pickup artist Mystery.cite book|title=The Mystery Method: How to get beautiful women into bed |author=Mystery |publisher=St. Martin's Press |isbn=978-0-312-36011-5 |date=2007 ] Some pickup artists use negs in order to pick up beautiful women. An example of a neg is to ask a woman, "Nice nails; are they real?" ["The Mystery Method", p. 93]

Purpose of negs

Mystery advocates the use of negs by pickup artists to distinguish themselves from the typical suitors he believes beautiful women receive, men who are boring or display too much interest too quickly. He defines a neg as "a statement or action made to briefly and without insult disqualify oneself from being perceived as a potential suitor," that "puts a target off-guard and makes her question her own value, increasing yours on a relative basis." ["The Mystery Method", p. 92-94] According to Neil Strauss, a neg can be a backhanded compliment.cite book |last=Neil |first=Strauss |title= |publisher=Regan Books |isbn=0-06-055473-8 |page=20 |date=2005 ] Rather than being an insult, Mystery describes a neg as "a negative social value judgment that is telegraphed." ["The Mystery Method", p. 94]

Negs are only intended for use on beautiful women accustomed to frequent male attention and compliments. ["The Mystery Method", p. 93] [cite news |last=Johnson |first=Andrew |url=http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=22&art_id=vn20050904104008747C800562 |title=Women rage at book of pick-up tips for men |publisher=The Independent Online |date=2005-11-04 |accessdate=2008-08-09 ] [cite news |last=Strauss |first=Neil |title=Go on, pull the other one |publisher=guardian.co.uk |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2004/feb/15/observerreview.onlinesupplement |date=2007-08-06 |accessdate=2004-02-15 ] Tony Clink argues that, "The woman's confidence has to be sky-high – they have to believe 100 percent that they are too good for you and every other man on the planet – or the neg will destroy their confidence and make them despise you." [cite book|title=the Layguide|chapter=Neg Hits|pages=92|author=Clink, Tony|isbn=0-8065-2602-5]

Controversy

An article in the Rochester City Newspaper calls the neg "one of the many interesting examples of pseudo-psychology the PUAs employ." [cite news |last=Klein |first=Matt |title= "The Pick-Up Artist": The art of seduction |publisher=City Newspaper |url=http://www.rochestercitynewspaper.com/entertainment/blog/+The+Pick-Up+Artist+:+The+art+of+seduction/ |date=2007-08-09 |accessdate=2008-08-09 ] An interviewer of Mystery for Salon.com described the neg as "inspiring ire," and asked him about critics of the neg who considered it to be insulting and "misogynistic." Mystery maintained that negs were not supposed to be insults, and that critics of the technique "haven't seen it in action."cite news |last=Clark-Flory |first=Tracy |title=The artful seducer |publisher=Salon.com |url=http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2007/08/06/mystery_qa/ |date=2007-08-06 |accessdate=2008-08-09 ] In his book, Mystery advises against going "overboard" with negs, and he argues that it is both cruel and impractical to to "drop a woman's self esteem out from under her." If a neg offends a woman, Mystery advocates apologizing for crossing her boundaries. ["The Mystery Method", p. 95]

References