We’ve all seen these articles on Cosmo, Facebook, and anything that has a strong female fan base. “Guys React to Short Hair”, “Guys React to Winged Eyeliner”, and the list goes on. We all know that these articles can be rather entertaining. I have fallen victim to the clickbate many a time. However, the other night my roommate and I were sitting on a couch when she pointed something out to me. She said, “You know, whatever I’m doing, I don’t honestly care about a guys reaction to it. I mean I guess it’s nice if they notice, but I’m not gonna cut my hair short because a some guy didn’t like it long.” This made me start to think.
Why are these articles so popular? It can’t be because women actually care that much about what guys think about their hair or makeup, at least I would hope not. There is the possibility that women like to read these and giggle to their friends about how clueless boys can be about such things. Honestly though, I find the whole concept absurd. I have this deep conviction that whatever you’re writing, no matter who or what it’s for, you should have some conviction about it. The topic should evoke some strong emotion. And the same goes for readers. In a day and age where Facebook clickbait can be the most exciting part of our day, we need to stop and think about why we’re reading what we’re reading. Is it because I genuinely care about what boys think about my winged eyeliner? Is it because I sincerely have nothing better to do with my life? I honestly hope it’s neither of those options.
So that brings us back to, why are these articles so popular? Maybe some women need to read that article that tells her that her haircut is what’s preferred by boys to feel valuable, in which case I would tell her that she is already valueable. She doesn’t need some guys opinion in an article to affirm that. Instead of looking for these affirmation through magazines and internet articles, maybe we should look to ourselves. FInd that confidence to rock a pixie cut, if that’s what you want to do. Don’t let an article run your life.
I would like to say that I think the premise of there even being a thing called “Guys React to Girls (Fill in the blank with some granola topic)” is completely stupid. I’mma say it real clear: I do not care what boys think of me. My goal in life is not to wake up every morning and get some boys attention. If I wear makeup, it is not because I want John Doe to notice how nice my winged eyeliner is, it’s because I wanted to wing my eyeliner that day. Is that clear?