My own awakening was from an ex girlfriend who explained to me the mechanics behind female competition, and who frequently alluded that her sole purpose for speaking to men was to find a "beta provider".

As much as she has admitted to me, she has never explicitly admitted to using men for resources, merely redirecting topic/mood with such phrases as "if he wants to give me $500 for rent, why would I say no??". She has admitted in separate conversations to using manipulative tactics such as acting child-like to evoke sympathy, and playing two parties off each other such as telling the same sob story to both her parents and her "friend" to double her profits.

She has, even with me, never referred to a man as her boyfriend, despite the fact that it describes the dynamic perfectly and none of her friends call it anything other than what it is.