It’s a Friday, and I couldn’t resist highlighting this Washington Tims story from yesterday on a new Harris survey that gives some not-so-shocking insights into what women want in their men. Some of the findings (with my comments in italics):
• 75 percent of women said their ideal man buys his grooming products at a grocery store or drugstore, not a salon.
A salon… what’s that?
• 72 percent of women said their ideal man spends his free time doing home-improvement projects.
My wife prefers that I try to fix things when possible but realistically just hopes that I don’t break anything in the process.
• 41 percent of women said their ideal man spends his time watching sports.
Yes, but only once in awhile…
• 47 percent of women said their ideal man spends his money on electronics, compared with 9 percent who answered “designer clothes.”
Quite often I’m not sure I even have discretionary money to spend. But it would be electronics and books. Clothes rarely, if ever, make the top ten.
• 90 percent of women said they prefer low-maintenance, easygoing guys.
I wish I’d known that when I was dating. Nine out of 10 women would have liked me? I had no idea. Doesn’t matter now, anyway, since I found one who is very compatible with my “low-maintenance, easygoing” ways.
Most fortunately, I am happily married to a very understanding woman, who appreciates my “manly” qualities while tolerating – and occasionally even appreciating – my quirks and eccentricities, as well.
But I would have been curious to see the polling result about where blogging fits into the realm of what women want in men. It probably doesn’t show up on the cultural radar screen yet. I can only imagine….
I’m glad that I was able to fend off all the other women who found Mr. Mt. Virtus’s easy-going nature so attractive (it didn’t help when they saw him buying shaving cream at Kroger). But even more, I’m glad that the blogging started after we were married. I couldn’t bear another woman talking about what a sexy blog Mt. Virtus is.
Wow, Kroger… who would have known 🙂
Mr. MV: A salon is the place where you walk through double swinging doors, from a dusty street, and order a shot of whiskey at the bar….
To clear Mr. Mt. Virtus’s good name, I must admit I made up the Kroger shaving cream thing (it made for a better story). And when he buys grooming products, well, he doesn’t, I do. And that’s just fine for my ideal man.
You say you BUY personal hygiene products.
Ohhh. . .
Low maintenance?! Easy-going?! Horsefeathers! By the end of three years, I was so tired of trying to steer Ben free of evil Kit-Kats, pernicious pathogens, Michigan Marxist revolutionaries, losing baseball teams, obscure Civil War icons, and colicky Saga food that I was only too glad to turn him over to Saint Marya. And although I miss him terribly, I know it’s better for him this way. I simply could no longer provide the level of care he needed.
My good friend Kappy, your memory serves you all too well. So many of the dark secrets of my college days unearthed…. But need I remind you that the provision of care was a two-way street: I’m hoping the medication has helped you to overcome the obsessions with Airstreams, helicopter noises, farm tractors, sewage treatment plants, famous restauranteurs, doing impressions of professors and fellow students, 70s crooners both peppy and mellow (e.g., ABBA and The Carpenters), proctology, and universities with poisonous mascots. Please let me know if any treatments aren’t working.
Gee, I didn’t realize I manifested those tendencies from such an early stage–none of them have been abandoned, I’m afraid, just perfected. And a classmate even made a comment about my multi-colored shirts Friday–yes, they’ve faded a bit since Hillsdale days, but are still eminently serviceable and (apparently) still entertaining to my classmates.
Well, this brings up the matter of food. There is food and there is manfood: The four basic food groups, according to men: Fat, lard, sugar, and salt.