Let's Get This Straight...

By: Monica

A couple of posts ago, I mentioned the faultiness of the Yahoo! Personals section; feeding the public the assumed answers to people's general questions about relationships. But what good is wrong advice? It's not, so I have decided to correct it.
Below, I will post excerpts from an article designed to help you stay away from "bad men" and then state as to why the information is complete bogus:

"You go out with the girls in hopes of catching the eye of your future Prince Charming and securing that fairytale ending, but sometimes dating trials run amuck, leaving you with an experience that you wish you could have skipped out on."

Me: I go out with the girls to have a fun time. I go out with the girls to spend time with them. I go out with the girls thinking the night is about us and, if some guy catches my eye (not the other way around), I can figure if I'm invested enough to give it a shot. Once I give it a shot, I never regret it. What I do not do is go out with the girls thinking I'm going to meet my future husband and, when some random guy hits on me (the type that didn't catch my attention first), immediately change my Facebook status to "in a relationship" and go steady with him before I even know what his last name is. Sorry, but it doesn't work that way.

"The Cheater
This guy plans dates with multiple girls at a time even when you've been seeing each other for a couple of weeks at minimum. He claims he's keeping his options open, but what that really means is that he has commitment issues and that he's somewhat of a player. This guy definitely is not ready to be in a monogamous relationship, so get out before you get hurt. Keep your eyes peeled for his constant checking of text messages and any smirks that may cross his face while he responds."

Me: First off, if a guy tells you he's keeping his options open while you're in a relationship with him, he's not cheating. He's being honest. It's your decision whether to stay wih him or not. He is not going through the effort of hiding it from you or making you think you are the only girl he likes. Secondly, if a guy has commitment issues and is a "player", that does not qualify him as a cheater. True, he's not ready for a monogamous relationship, but the guy described above doesn't have a problem telling you that. Finally, if he indiscretely smirks when text messaging another girl in front of you then, again, he's not hiding it. In that case, he's not a cheater, just an asshole.

"The Liar
Like the cheater, this guy won't be straight up with you. He'll ignore certain topics you bring up and will try to immediately change the subject. If he can't look you in the eyes when you ask him what he did that day, then there's a problem. This should send you running in the opposite direction before he ends up lying about something much more serious than his daily routine. Obviously this guy has major skeletons in his closet, and you won't want to stick around long enough to find out what they might be. "

Me: For a guy to be labeled a "Liar", in my book at least, he has to be a good one. A guy that makes obvious mistakes while lying, such as avoiding eye contact and immediately changing the subject, is definitely not a pro. Therefore, he has probably only lied in this manner to you. This is a bad thing because he is being untruthful, but on the bright side, if he didn't care he either would not bother hiding it, or would not be as nervous around you when in the act of lying. Bottom line, to be called a "Liar" he needs to know how to lie.

The rest of the categories that I do agree with, such as "Poor Hygiene", "Mama's Boy", the "Cheapskate", and "Innaproriate Commentary", are so painstakingly obvious that it is almost insulting to women's judgement to even mention them.

At least Yahoo! got one thing in this article right, "Confidence is the ultimate form of sexiness."