Guys in Their Late 20's through 50's, What are Some Socially Acceptable, Non-Violent Ways to Enforce Boundaries Against Other Men Who Lack Respect Enough for You to Openly Hit on a Woman Who is With You in Some Capacity?

Now, I realize several things:

1. Not everything is within my control;

2. The male's behavior is often a reflection of his own lack of security and self-control. Sure, he could wait and be discreet, but he just can't help himself, and I make him insecure, so he has to "prove" something to me and to himself. The individuals I am thinking of all have this track record. I'm sure it's not true in every case. In other cases, the guy may just think he's better than me, and wants to prove it. He may even be better than me in one or more ways. But not everyone tries to "prove" it.

3. In a secure, committed relationship, these incidents are mere annoyances, and are not to be taken seriously, but rather worth only an eye-roll and a smirk. So, I wouldn't care AS MUCH if it were an LTR I was secure with to some degree. Also, I don't want to mate-guard. And of course, a screened LTR should know the boundaries of acceptable behavior, or else risk getting dumped.

4. I have many tools in my tool-kit. I lift, I take care of myself, I know how to physically defend myself. I know how to trade verbal spars without getting upset. I make decent money, I dress well, I get plenty of female attention, etc.

HOWEVER:

I would say, that because I'm generally in a good mood, I project out this "nice guy," "I would never punch your face in" vibe that actually is at odds with what is going on underneath. I DON'T want to punch anyone's face in.... but only because I don't want to go to court, or to jail, or have to pay bills, etc. Otherwise, faces would get punched in, but then, we'd all live in a state of anarchy, and my face would also get punched in.

Sooooo.....

I'm just wondering if any experienced folks on here have any "one weird trick" type folk remedies for this situation, stuff that has worked for them.

Other guys have experienced this. If it's with strangers, it is actually easier, because you can just stranger danger them in a lot of cases.

But I'm thinking more along the lines of guys who are in my social sphere, but who aren't really friends, more like frenemies, or just dudes who don't like me because they are competitive, or somehow threatened, or because they think there are no consequences to their behavior. I mean, I have considered some form of retaliation, but in this sphere, I would prefer to not have something escalate. My retaliation would be along the lines of invading their space, and hitting on their women, but so far, that situation hasn't presented itself, and several of them are actually dumb enough to not get the point. Plus also, there is the possibility that I making too much of their intentions.

I guess the thing that bothers me is that it "feels" like a respect issue, where I don't "feel" "respected" enough as a person to naturally deter these incursions.

I think that it is a case of me rising up in a social hierarchy, and then getting towards the upper tier, and that threatens these guys in the upper tier, because all of them are in the upper tier of this particular social group. And also, them being in the upper tier IS part of the threat. I don't care when schlubs hit a girl I am with, only guys that could be a threat, because it's all in the woman's perceptions. Even if one of THESE guys is actually inferior, just by being new and different, he'll be perceived as better. So, I feel that these little games are part of them trying to peck down on me, to keep me beneath them in the social pecking order.

Anyway, that's a pretty over-exhaustive elaboration, but it is something that I need to deal with.

My goal, however unrealistic, would be to project out an aura of "Don't hit on any woman that looks romantically connected to me, in front of me, especially in a provocative way."