Congratulations! You’ve found yourself a girlfriend and you’ve never been happier to spend your time with someone so wonderful. Everything is going well, except for one tiny little problem: her dad may or may not want to punch you in the face.
At least, that’s the impression he’s given you. No matter how much you try to stay out of his way or prove you are worthy of his daughter, he just doesn’t seem to be warming to you. Before you take it personally or begin trying too hard, here are the six reasons why he just doesn’t want you near his daughter:
1. You Are A Reflection Of His Failings.
Who do you think you are? Turning up at his home, treating his baby girl like a princess, giving her all the affection and presents she could ever need or want? You’ve even got your hair combed and your fly done up, like you think you’re better than him! He was once like you, you know. All those years ago, before he became middle-aged and a father. But with hit age, comes years of failing to manage buying his own yacht or winning any sort of extreme sport competitions.
When your girlfriend’s dad sees you, he is reminded of regrets that accompany the realization he is no longer the young stud he once was. You are an embodiment of his wasted years, his unaccomplished dreams, his increasing age and dwindling sexual prowess. You might as well just throw your extra, more potent testosterone, right in his face.
2. You Smell.
Yes, you may want to consider toning down the amount of cologne you wear, but this has more to do with pheromones.
When you are close to your girlfriend’s father, your scent affects his behavior and emotions on a subconscious level. Even worse, you are making his daughter smell of you and he knows exactly what sort of activities you two get up to make that happen.
As I’m sure you’ve noticed, this does not please him. To him, you may have well just peed on his precious princess. You are a threat, taking ownership of parts of his domain and he will not thank you for it. Speaking of which…
3. You Are His Replacement.
Regardless of your sex, gender, age or how menacing you actually are or aren’t, you threaten to replace your beloved’s father as the alpha in his daughter’s life. He has reigned supreme as the main man in his baby’s life for a long time, and he’s not about to roll over and let you usurp his roll.
No matter how hard you try to prove to him that you are a worthy individual for him to hand his reigns over to, he will probably never be entirely convinced.
4. You Are Annoying And Immature.
Even if you are the same age as her father or you’re the smartest human being to ever walk among us, he is still going to see you through a haze of irritation and condescension.
Particularly if there’s a generation gap, he is probably going to regard every movie, type of music or hobby preference of yours as completely ridiculous because he already has his opinions on such things and he is not about to relent them to you. Everything you do is wrong, and what’s worse is you’re with his daughter, which is your most annoying quality of all.
5. He Is Her Protector.
As a father, he has spent many years cherishing and protecting his daughter with all the strength and determination he is capable of. So, he’s not likely to feel an instant connection with the person who is taking away his baby girl.
However, there may be a slightly deeper and creepier reason as to why he feels so protective of his daughter. Introducing the Westermarck Effect, otherwise known as reverse sexual imprinting. Put simply, the Westermarck Effect occurs when two people are kept together in close quarters for a significant amount of time, resulting in a significant desensitization to sexual attraction.
As strange as this may sound, this could be why her father converts any sexual tension he feels toward his daughter into an almost unfeasible sense of protection.
So beware: if you hurt his daughter, he will come down on you like a ton of bricks, and he’s constantly prepared to do so.
6. You Are Impressive To Her Mother.
Now, for the one person that will make him regard you as sexual competition: her mother.
As you shower her daughter with affection, attention and passion, her mum will probably begin to feel a little jealous, maybe even a little competitive. Can you guess who she’s going to be dragging into this weird romance battle? That’s right: the dad. As if he didn’t dislike you enough already, he is not going to appreciate being compared to you and it’s only going to make him resent you more.
Unfortunately, if your girlfriend’s father experiences all or any of these feelings, then it may be impossible for you to change his mind about you. If he is a decent man, he will likely avoid actively trying to get rid of you and may even try to get to know you, but it’s unlikely he will ever genuinely like you either.
Instead, you must accept that he will never like anyone who takes his daughter’s attention off of him and learn from him so that you can prepare for your own daughter’s future relationships.
Featured photo credit: gratisography via gratisography.com
