Women sometimes encourage their romantic partner to be more vulnerable. The encouragement is more likely to succeed if the women use a term other than “vulnerable.”

The word “vulnerable” means exposed to the risk of being harmed, either physically or emotionally. Not many men (or women) want to be in that condition. 

These women would best change the request so that it is more precise and acceptable. The women could want the man to be more open (self-disclosing) about emotions, including negative ones. Or the women could want the man to be nicer or warmer or something else. 

Asking for precisely what you want is part of assertiveness. Making assertiveness effective involves ensuring that requests are as acceptable as possible. 

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