How to Be Alluring

Women's magazines offer a consistent staple in their articles on how to be attractive to the opposite sex; and these articles seem to suffer from a common flaw: they are based on what the writer thinks will attract members of the opposite sex, rather than field-testing those ideas in a natural setting.  Here's an example: a sample of ten straight guys that I asked all agreed that they did not notice what sort of shoe a girl was wearing.  Hmmm....what a relief, since two of those guys was my Lover and my brother Mike and I don't have to deal with possible shoe fetishes!*  In a nutshell, most of the opinions I've encountered in this informal survey include elements of being provocative, like Miley Cyrus, or having an impressive topography like Scarlett Johannson or Kim Kardashian!

So I tried a different approach: I asked my respondent guys which women they found interesting or alluring.  Here is the short list, in no particular order:

1.  Zooey Deschanel
2.  Kaley Cuoco
3.  Sandra Bullock
4.  Reese Witherspoon
5.  Kirsten Dunst
6.  Britney Spears
7.  Beyoncé
8.  Valerie Bertinelli
9.  Kate Upton
10.  Allesandra Ambrosio 

So what can we abstract from these examplars?  Two are supermodels, two are popular singers, and six are actresses.  None are politicians or lawyers.  While most are in their 20's or 30's, one is in her 50's.  Only two are known for their figures.  In general, most of these have guy-friendly personas, and some, like Zooey Deschanel, are consistently described as quirky.

So what can we conclude from this?  Doing quirky or being mysterious might be easier to pull off than improving your assets.  And, for some of us, quirky comes naturally.

I'll be away on a trip for a week or so.  In the meantime, I hope everyone has a great time, and finish up shopping or whatever without undue pain.  

I may have to put something up not quite so often, as my imagination doesn't come across every other day and I fall back on lame jokes or stories.  Au revoir, not adieu!

Laissez les bon temps rouler!  Geaux Tigers!

*For the record, no profs or French men were embarrassed by this poll.