“But really,
Bebe, you shouldn’t blame an entire gender for the behavior of a few men. We’re
not all so horrible, are we?”
“Well, you’re
not bad,” I conceded. “For a man.”
“I’m surprised
you noticed,” he muttered.
Poor James
suffers the dilemma of so many nice guys—Bebe turns to him for companionship,
advice, and kvetching, but will she ever see past his geeky, boy-next-door
exterior to realize that he is very much a man. One who has the hots for her?
Why do so many
women prefer bad boys to nice guys? But do we really? In preparing to write
this post, I immediately came up with two examples proving the allure of the
bad boy over the nice guy: Rhett Butler v. Ashley Wilkes from Gone With the Wind and the Beast v.
Gaston in Beauty and the Beast.
However, closer
examination shows that these aren’t very good examples of the triumph of the
bad boy at all. Scarlett actually prefers the seemingly nice guy, Ashley
Wilkes, over rakish Rhett (until she has her epiphany at the end of the book).
And is Ashley really nice? If nice equates with weak, yes. But he pretty much
strings Scarlett along while enjoying married life with the deceptively meek
Melanie. Even Rhett, despite his handsome devil looks, wealth, and sexual
dabbling, comes through for Scarlett in a number of nice-guy ways throughout
the book.
As for Beauty and the Beast, although the
Beast, in his prince form, is pretty much the ultimate alpha male—gorgeous,
rich, royal—Belle falls in love with the sensitive,
beyond-homely Beast, and has no interest at all in the built, boasting Gaston
that the village girls swoon over.
Do women prefer
bad boys? Or nice guys? Or are we seeking the complex combination of both?
Blurb for “Santa
Bebe” by Lily Carlyle in For the Love of
Christmas:
Beautiful, curvaceous Bebe
is disillusioned by men and her belief that they see her only as an object. She
thinks marrying a man with money is the answer, but her kind, geeky
next-door neighbor, James, tries to convince her that real love is out there,
even as she reveals to him the troubled childhood that made her so cynical
about relationships. When her mother dashes her hopes for a perfect Christmas,
Bebe turns once again to James, never suspecting that what she’s been looking
for has been right there all along.
Contact me, follow me, like me! lilycarlyle@hotmail.com, https://twitter.com/LilyCarlyle, http://www.facebook.com/writerlilycarlyle
6 comments:
Loved this story! Def a must read.
And after having had a bad boy, I went with a nice one the 2nd time around. ;)
MUCH better thank you very much!
Great great post and a really good question.... I personally like the complex combination of both nice and badboy as found in my hubby :)
Love this story !!
Love me a good bad boy, but he must deep down have a heart that shows up in the end. A good guy is so boring for the most part
Well, I hope James manages to avoid being boring! I agree with Terri--after too many bad boys, give me a nice guy!
I can't say I ever wanted a bad boy. I guess I'm too practical :-)
My Calvin says women have always preferred bad boys to nice ones. He gives the explaination that it's part of the survival of the fittest reaction. The female hormones think the bad boy will protect them better than a gentle nice guy. Personally I think it's a bunch of bunk. Just show me broad shoulders, ripped abs and a firm butt--who cares if he's good or bad. LOL
Thanks, everyone, for stopping by Vintage Vonnie today in support of Lily.
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