Committment, Part Deaux

So, Regina brings up some important counter points to my committment blog from Tuesday.

And I've decided, in the interest of covering the topic thoroughly and fulfilling the assigned blogs, to turn this blog into a mini discussion.

Regina, you first:
"I know many women who have changed their hair, clothes, their physical sizes in extreme cases and worry constantly that he's interested in another women."
My response: Don't change superficial things about yourself for a guy -- I say this not because I'm worried about female self-image. I say this because guys don't care about the same things girls care about. Your clothes, hairstyle, finger nails, makeup and such -- as long as they do not fall into extremes -- have almost no bearing on our opinions of girls. We're pretty simple, really. Shower, take care of yourself in the most basic ways and smell good. That's about it. Most guys I know, in fact, prefer girls who do not go to great lengths trying to gussy themselves up. A sloppy pony tail and a sweatshirt will do on most occasions*. I'm telling you.

REGINA: "I have seen them excuse away truly unexcusable behavior from any human being, let alone the one who "loves" them."

This is why men become jerks: It's incredibly effective in getting women. Back when we were young -- I'm talking junior high, the underclasses in high school -- most guys assumed the way to get chicks was to shower them with compliments, hold doors for them, leave cute messages under their windshield wipers. Stuff like that. Well, that never, ever works**. All that does is make you "such a nice guy". And we all know where nice guys finish. It gets you in the "friend zone," which means she'll be dating a guy she cannot stand and calling you to complain about him, which is a form of ancient Chinese torture. But she sticks with him because she wants to change him in to you, who, of course, is somebody she would never go out with.

REGINA:
"And, for the record, there are some women out there who are willing to be themselves and accept the man for who he is, too. But, you cannot have any relationship without some give and take."

This reminds me of a former girlfriend# -- I'd give her, say, a back massage. She'd take away the TV, unplugging it in hopes that I'd think it was broken and stop watching football.
She was unsuccessful.

*This does not apply to Greeks. What happens among fraternities and sororities is a whole different world. These people are basically droids.
**I speak from experience, having employed both strategies.
# The smelly pirate hooker.