5 Reasons Why Jeff D is NOT a Manly Man

Jeff D, a coworker of mine at NextStudent (yes, this is a blatant plug for my company in hopes of garnering traffic. Feel free to click on the link several hundred times in order to win me big points with my boss!) recently wrote an article on What it Means to Be a Man. Though well written, I disagree WHOLEHEARTEDLY with the article! Not with his so-called "manly characterizations" but with the fact that Jeff D actually HAS any of these characterizations and therefore actually IS by his definition a "manly man"! I am so strongly opposed to this claim that I felt the need to write a post of my own proving him wrong. So, with no further ado, please let me present:

Five Reasons Why Jeff D is NOT in fact a Manly Man!

Reason Number One:
Need I say more?? This was not Halloween and as such, orange tuxes and top hats are NOT supposed to be a part of the manly man's wardrobe! To 99.9% of you, this is probably all the proof you need that Jeff is in fact NOT a manly man. However, as I have 4 other pieces of proof, I will continue.

Reason Number Two:
Jeff claims that manly men ONLY eat meat! Though I haven't witnessed it myself, I have been told by an unnamed but very reliable source that the Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad at our local Wendy's is the meal of choice for Jeff whenever they frequent the place. Granted, chicken IS a meat of sorts however when surrounded by nuts and berries, it tends to lose it's "manly man" appeal!

Reason Number Three:
Jeff claims that to be a true "manly man", "there are only two fluids men can drink - beer and their own urine after drinking beer." (First of all, eewwwww!) Now, Jeff may drink beer in front of his friends, girlfriends, and other manly men, but I found this candid shot of him taken during his last vacation to Miami Beach which shows him enjoying something that is pink, frothy and definitely NOT a beer. True, I don't know for sure that the glass doesn't contain his own urine, however IF that's the case, Jeff has much bigger problems than just his masculinity and should go see a doctor as soon as possible! (P.S. Reason Number 3.1 that Jeff is not a "manly man" - note the pink umbrella pinned to his shirt! Manly Men DO NOT use pink umbrellas as fashion accessories!) (P.S.S. The fact that he actually WENT to Miami Beach is reason number 3.2 that Jeff is NOT a "manly man"!)

Reason Number Four:
While standing around the water cooler the other day (alright, so we weren't actually standing around the water cooler but that's where social conversations are supposed to occur within the work place and I thought it a great visualization to reinforce my point!) Jeff made the following quote in response to a conversation we were having regarding stupid fashions that people wear - "Pink is my signature color" (fyi - quote was said in a southern and distinctly feminine voice). Because it happens to be one of my favorite chic flicks, I knew that this was a quote made by Shelby, the character played by Julia Roberts in Steel Magnolias. Now granted, the quote was said in jest and meant to be funny so the words themselves are not the issue. Jeff is in fact NOT a "manly man" because he actually KNEW the famous words! And, as Jeff claims, manly "men are not allowed to watch any show on the WB, Lifetime, TLC or Oxygen or any movie with Julia Roberts!"

Reason Number Five:
Last but certainly not least, Jeff is NOT in fact a "manly man" because of the car he drives! In his blog post, Jeff lists 10 vehicle types that manly men are not allowed to drive. As you can see from the photo on the left - Jeff is true to this and does not drive any of these 10 cars. However, I'm pretty sure (and feel free to disagree if you would like) that "manly men" do NOT drive cars that have been painted pink, no matter what the model! And if THAT wasn't proof enough for you, how many "manly men" do YOU know that don't change their own tires??

Though I think that Jeff is great guy and wonderful to work with, I simply couldn't allow him to lie to the public in such a way! I truly hope that by offering undeniable proof that Jeff is NOT in fact the "manly man" that he claims to be, he will learn his lesson and refrain from spreading falsehoods in the future!

DISCLAIMER: All of the information contained herein is completely bogus! All of the photos and claims were fabricated and done purely for fun in order to try and "take Jeff down a notch." Hopefully Jeff will have a sense of humor about this and not do anything truly evil to me in retaliation! To help me avoid this, please feel free to visit Jeff's Blog: I Am Better Than You and tell him what a great guy he is!

Intro to Behind Enemy Lines

I was told by a few of my readers that my blog was..well...boring and way entirely too "fluffy". I was accused of catering more to women rather than men and was told that most self respecting men would not want to visit a blog called "What Women Want." I was also told that the only way I'm going to get any faithful readers is to become more edgy and post topics that were both humorous and that "skated the line between proper and racy". In an attempt to follow this potentially wise advise, I have changed the name of my blog as well as the URL and hope to start posting topics that live up to the name. Wish me luck!

Boys with Backbone - Continued

I had a few really good comments on this post and thought the replies deserved a post of their own. One person said that he too has experienced this kind of treatment, however that the giver was a female rather than a male. Someone else said that girls do tend to have a hissy fit when guys try to do the right thing and break it off. Though it pains me a bit, I have to agree that both of these guys probably have a point! There are in fact plenty of women out there that are just as inconsiderate as some men! So, as an addendum to my previous post - women...you need to get a backbone too!

I also agree that there are some women who even after only a few weeks will turn batty if a guy tells them that they aren't interested. The only thing I can say to this is...you need to start dating better women!!

Boys with Backbone - Is this just a female fantasy?

I have a rant to submit on behalf of a very good girlfriend of mine! The scenario is a familiar one and something that I'm sure every female in the world has experienced at least once in their lifetime!

You meet a seemingly nice guy. You go out a few times, have what you consider to be a great time! You have long conversations over the phone and start telling each other your life stories over email. Everything seems to be going very well and you are starting to feel quite lucky about meeting this particular man! Then all of sudden a full day goes by without a word from him. One day turns into two, and two turns into three. Wanting to give this guy the benefit of the doubt, you call him once or twice, leaving a message when you can't get a hold of him. Low and behold, another 2 weeks have gone by and you haven't heard one word from him. You are clueless and confused as to what went wrong! However more than anything...you are seriously pissed off! There were no signs from him. No words of doubt, no phone calls, emails or conversations of any kind expressing that "he wasn't interested", "wasn't feeling a connection", or "had no time for a girlfriend because of his other two wives and six kids!"

Why do men do this? Women can handle rejection! We've known you for less than a month. We are NOT in love with you! We are NOT picturing what are future children might look like. We will NOT break down into hysterics if you tell us that you never want to speak to us again. We are strong, independent twenty-something and thirty-something women who are just wanting to "try you on for size" just like you!

So boys...get some backbone!! If you don't want to date us any longer, for whatever reason..have the balls to tell us!

Another Hopeful Relationship

My best friend of 17 years got married this past Friday! She has had numerous relationships over the last 17 years and thankfully, married the only man I ever really liked, and who ever really liked me back! I truly wish them all the best of luck and all the happiness that life can bring them.!

Are you Married for your Children?

I have a friend who has been married for about 6 years now. (I did mention that I have a lot of male friends didn't I?). He has two lovely children and is, by all accounts, miserable. He considers himself to be in a loveless marriage and regularly claims that his wife has cheated on him numerous times. He also admits that he remains married to this woman only for the sake of his children. "No, I don't love her, I don't even really like her much of the time. But she is the mother of my children and I do respect her for that."

I know that there has been much research done on the subject of children and divorce. Many true professionals Dr. Laura for example (alright, maybe not TRUE professionals) claim that children will always do better with two parents, no matter what the situation. Frankly, I think this is total crap!

Children are not dumb! I believe they can instinctively pick up on the unspoken and true messages of the quality of a relationship. When that relationship is not good, children can get ill, stop sleeping, do poorly in school, and have bad relationships themselves. They can also come to resent one or both parents for staying in that bad relationship! I firmly believe that by staying in such a relationship, you are relying on your children to be the glue which holds the family together and that's a terrible burden to put on any child.

So, both men and women alike should truly put their children before themselves and get out! Believe me, everyone will be happier!

Great Piece of Advice for Any Man

I have this friend who seems to always have problems finding and keeping women! He comes to me constantly for advice and I am more than happy to give it. Though his problems do differ based on the situation and the girl, there is always one underlying theme to his problems...lack of confidence and self esteem! I have told him over and over to "just be yourself" but I don't think he likes who that person is. He needs to come to grips to who he is and start appreciating that! It may be cheesy but I firmly believe in the tried and true advice of "you have to love yourself before others can love you." Confidence is one of the most attractive features a man can possess. If you have that, everything else will eventually fall into place!