To me, the word manipulation denotes a sinister intent. So, a guy who is improving his social skills with women by going out, trying different approaches, all of that is not by definition manipulative. His intent and his honesty are what we look at. For instance, it may work really well when picking up women to act like you are looking to get married and start a family, but getting a woman to sleep with you by telling her that when your real intent is only a one night stand is manipulative.
Similarly, a woman who says to a man, "I would like it if you brought me flowers" is not manipulative, whereas a woman who sulks, says, "You know, so-and-so's husband brings her flowers all the time" etc is considered manipulative.
I can tell I'm not making my point really well here, so either it's invalid or I'm just not expressing myself well. In any case, I do think that there is such a thing as manipulation, and some, NOT ALL, PUAs are practicing it (and, yes, so are tons of women).
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