this post was submitted on 09 Sep 2023
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That women are attracted to nice guys.
It’s 97% untrue.
Not saying they are attracted to jerks either - in fact my overwhelming impression is that women despise those too (some exceptions exist of course).
Just saying that however equality has come, and should still come, attraction exists at a lower level. And at that level, someone who can hold their own, push their way through and be kind about it, will always attract more women than the “nice guy”.
Before you react - I’ve been together with my wife 17 years, we have four kids and I’m not some kind of player.
Just stating that I was brought up to believe women always prefer nice guys. And in retrospect I can see that I was brought up by a well meaning parents (mother, my dad was in the navy so away a lot) who tried their best to make me “not an asshole”. They succeeded. But I wish my dad at some point had sat me down to tell me a few home truths about how the biology of attraction works.
What is a "nice guy" in your opinion? Because this sounds like bs.
The other guy wisely decided not to comment, but as they say, fools rush in. This is a tough topic to navigate, because the "nice guy" label now mostly applies to those self-proclaimed Nice Guys(tm) who act entitled and turn nasty when women turn them down.
I have had the same experience that OP had. I thought, based on what adults told me, that the proper way was to follow that other infamous dating advice, to "be yourself," live my life, treat everybody with basic respect and kindness, and that would be enough: Of all the women I fancied, I would meet one who fancied me back, and we'd start a relationship. It's not an unreasonable idea, and to be fair, it happened that way for me once, which lent credence to the idea.
I believe that's what OP meant when he said "women are attracted to nice guys." That's certainly the message I got as a young man, and it was wrong.
The problem is that "women are attracted to nice guys" implies that "being nice" itself is "enough" to be attractive. Guys get this idea that all they have to bring to the table is "I'm not a jerk" and the ladies will fall into their laps. The problem is, the jerk down the road is in better shape, has interesting hobbies, and/or has a real, dependable job. Being "nice" is like having two slices of bread and saying you have a sandwich. If you don't put anything between the bread slices, everyone's going to opt to order the burrito instead because it's got an actual filling.
Glad you said it, so I don't have to. The harsh truth that straight men need to hear is that for most of us, nobody will ever love us for who we are. We're nothing but mammals, and mating is a competition.
Why do you think that is different for women?
I don't.