So it seems CollegeCandy’s Dude is the most popular guy, like, ever. You ladies just can’t get enough. You’d think he was Bradley Cooper! (Maybe he is….that’s one secret we’ll never tell.) Luckily, this guy’s a giver (even more reason to love him) and he’s gonna bring you even more of his wisdom. Only instead of answering specific questions, he’s telling us what we all want to know and never had the balls to ask. Don’t worry, he’ll still be back every Wednesday for Ask a Dude!

Bring on the hate mail! This time the Dude’s List is bringing you 11 reasons boys like being boys instead of girls. I’m not suggesting all of the advantages discussed below are ethical or moral. I’m talking about the real-world practices and double standards. Fairness isn’t part of the debate. In an ideal world, would there be advantages for one over the other (probably)? Would they be this subjective and this environmentally influenced (probably)? Would they be the same ones?

Hopefully, not all…

1.    PMS, FTW
We appreciate getting cramps for reasons other than our body deciding to completely overhaul our entire beings like Amy Adams’ on Smallville. Honestly, if you had the choice, would you like to bleed uncontrollably for 7 days every month?

2.    Menopause?
The endgame of numero uno on the list. We don’t need to go through anything more physical for our midlife crises than pointless piercings and arrhythmia resulting from over compensatory spending of our joint savings account.

3.    No Labor Pains
Yeah, like this wasn’t your first guess? Read More »

To state the obvious, we as people make decisions based on their potential outcomes.  We evaluate each possible cause and effect scenario while maintaining focus on what is “right vs. wrong” according to society. (Well, when we’re sober, at least.) The concept of “doing the right thing” is ultimately what steers our actions.  In short, the decisions we make in life do not directly correspond to the things we necessarily want.  We embrace the idea of free will, but can we ever really be “free” when we are constantly restricted by our own self-limitations?

When evaluating the main driving forces of our decisions, the power of guilt seems to be a leader in the race. On a day-to-day basis, we are forced to do things out of guilt.  If our actions could hurt someone else, we opt out of doing things we may personally want just to avoid the guilt.  And of course, we are often left to feel guilty for an infinite amount of time over our regrettable actions.

In this theory, however, it is hard to determine if this “we” means “we as people” or “we as women.”  A recent study by psychological researchers in Spain indicates that women in fact, do feel more guilt than men.  Beyond the conclusion that men are from Mars and that women are from Venus, the study has proven that we are actually genetically different when it comes to this emotion.  Neuroscientist Simon Baron-Cohen writes: “The female brain is predominately hard-wired for empathy. The male brain is predominately hard-wired for understanding and building systems.”  (And yes, before you go Googling, he is related to Borat, they are cousins.  So much for credibility…) Read More »

Because I spent kindergarten through 8^th grade at a single-sex school, I didn’t have too many interactions with guys until I was about 14. That means that for much of my life, most of the stuff I “knew” about people with Y-chromosomes came from poring over the pages of mags like Seventeen and Glamour.

Maybe that’s why for nearly a decade and a half, I was under the impression that boys were an entirely different species that thought and acted in ways totally opposite from those of women. I had no idea how to talk to dudes because I figured that I could have absolutely nothing in common with any of them. They were from Mars, and I was from Venus; they got mini-Hotmobiles in their Happy Meals while I had to make due with miniature Barbie dolls. As far as I knew, that was just the way the world worked.

Since then, of course, I’ve learned that guys and girls really aren’t that dissimilar. Sure, maybe they’re more likely to enjoy movies that feature explosions and we’re more likely to watch anything starring Meryl Streep, but real people prove that even such widely agreed-upon stereotypes have plenty of exceptions—especially since those old clichés also assume that all men and women are hetero.

But even though dudes and chicks can’t actually be separated into two conflicting groups, magazines still insist on bifurcating men and women into opposing sides. Hell, the entire women’s magazine industry is predicated on the assumption that all men behave the same way—and that women can only understand men if they read publications that promise to decode their mystifying manners. Read More »

Guys can benefit from acting like a lady. At least that’s what our friends over at YourTango.com are saying. They argue that men should embrace some “girly” trends and we most definitely agree (especially when it comes to manscaping….a little clean up never hurts).

But the same can be said for women. And I’m talking about more than landscaping.

There are some aspects of the manly lifestyle that we women should embrace. Mindsets and activities that will make us happier, healthier (well, mentally at least) ladies. So here are just a few ways that channeling our inner macho man can enhance our daily lives.

Boys night.
There has to be a reason why guys are always so relaxed, and why your boyfriend calls you after a guy’s night and doesn’t have aching arches and raccoon eyes. While we all love girl’s night out, and the stiletto dancing that comes with it, we could all use a more relaxing night once in a while. Get the girls together and head out to a bar, order a bucket of wings and some beers, and chat the night away. You might be surprised how much bonding (and relaxing) can be done in a big booth in the back of a dive bar. Read More »

Got a guy question that’s tearing you up inside? Don’t trust your girl friends to give you honest advice (because they’re afraid if they tell you the truth you will freak out and throw things at them)? Just want to try and understand what a guy is thinking?

We’ve got the dude for you. Send your questions to AskTheDude@CollegeCandy.com and he’ll give it to you straight. Because you can’t throw things at him, no matter what he tells you. Our dude is answering questions every Wednesday, so ask away!

Dear Dude,

The other day, I randomly met a guy at a bus stop who just got back from Europe. We clicked immediately, and hung out for about 2 hours (instead of studying for genetics…). He has my number and email, but is it a bad idea just to ask him to hang out? I have no interest in a romantic aspect, and my female friends say I’m nuts. This is legit, right? I can just ask a guy to hang out just to solely hang out…
Or am I just being an idiot?

Thanks!
Just Wanna Be Friends Read More »

Fact: Women don’t understand men.
Fact: For the past 6 months, I’ve attempted to get some answers from some men to help all the ladies out there truly understand what the eff those turds are thinking.
Fact: After seeing a guy for two months and being “dumped” via email (where he called me the wrong name), I’m still horribly confused.

While our resident guy gave some pretty sound advice, there are so many tricky situations we women find ourselves in with men on a daily basis. Situations that can’t be summed up in some general question about dating or life or fake boobs.

So, I went on a quest to find a man who can be our voice of reason when we need him most. Like when our crush isn’t returning our calls, or, I don’t know, a guy says he loves us but wants to take the relationship back a few notches. WTF? Read More »

"Here's the thing about us women..."

There are so many things I’ve wanted to say to guys over the years.

Things that would no doubt make my life (and the life of the girl who came along after me) so much easier…and pleasure-filled. Or things that I never got the chance to say because the boy decided to break up with me via email instead of growing some balls and saying it to my face and I didn’t want to look like the crazy bitch who can’t handle a break up and then sends back an angry email talking about how bad he was in bed and how he’s clearly over-compensating in his life for his lack of package.

Sorry. Little bit angry right now.

The point is, if I’ve learned anything from all my he said/she said-ing, it’s that communication is key when it comes to the relationship between men and women. They can’t read our minds and we can’t read theirs.  So I started thinking about all the things I’ve wanted to say to boys over the years – everything they need to know when it comes to us ladies – and I asked my guy to do the same.

Hopefully this will clear things up for all of us and we can all live happily ever after.
Now where’s my Nobel Prize? Read More »

I am a Cosmo devotee. Have been since I started stealing my mom’s when I was twelve. I am amazed monthly by the hair, the witty captions, and their never ending innovation of synonyms for the word penis. Many of my friends, acquaintances, relatives and sisters swear by Cosmo as their Bible (and for the most part I do too). But there are some times (well…many times) when Cosmo’s take on real world situations is – in a word – whack.

I will still accept their declarations of lip gloss superiority like they were handed down from the divine, but when it comes to their interpretation of all things men (or at least all things greatly generalized and stereotyped), I think I’ll be reading with a grain of salt handy.

And I’ll pass that grain onto you. With every passing month and, in turn, every new “Secret Sex Fantasy Guys Won’t Tell You!” revealed, I will be here to break it all down for you. I will find the truth buried deep between the unsafe sex positions and “things he secretly loves you for,” so you don’t end up with a stiff neck, an angry boyfriend or some seriously embarrassing sexcapades.]

This month, Cosmo published a wonderful/accidentally hilarious article titled “Fascinating Facts About Men.” Naturally intrigued by the offer of any additional knowledge to help me decipher what the hell goes through my boyfriend’s mind, I delved into the article. The facts, if not all that surprising, did explain some of the reasons WHY men do such inexplicable things occasionally. Far more interesting, however, were Cosmo’s interpretations and addendums to the facts. I took it upon myself to conduct my own “scientific” (read: slightly drunk with several girlfriends) analysis.

1. “Men with elevated levels of testosterone may have trouble commiting, because it suppresses vasopressin and oxytocin, chemicals that encourage bonding.”

Cosmo says: “Signs a dude has a high dosage of it: strong brow, defined cheekbones, thin lips, pronounced jawline, broad shoulders, muscular body, large penis, ring finger longer than his index finger.”

Kari says: Cosmo just described Robert Pattinson, as far as I’m concerned (not that I can confirm the part about his schlong). So, yeah, I’d have trouble committing too if hundreds, quite possibly thousands, of women would literally do anything to screw me. I also enjoyed the sculpted physique and stunning profile of the little cartoon man that Cosmo supplied, perhaps a little too much. Thus reinforcing my theory about it not being the testosterone itself that makes a playa, but the hot face and rockin’ bod it creates. Read More »

“Nice ass, you must walk a lot?”

I just read that a group of researchers at Maastricht University in the Netherlands found that people who walk, and move about more often, had the highest overall physical activity levels.

Before you say “duh”, it gets better. They also found that although the participants (men and women) who ran burned more calories, the moderate exercisers burned more calories overall.

In other words, in the 30 day study, the runners with their laced up, geared up sneaks laid around after they hit the road, and the moderate walkers bounced around a bit more post-workout.

Makes sense… I can recall many a post-job moment when all I did was grab a PB&J, hit the couch and watched Grey’s.

I’m glad I read this news, I was just starting to berate myself for choosing the stroll instead of the run. Also a side note for you… My Biology professor said that you burn very close to the same amount of calories whether you run or walk a mile. The difference is the after burn of a run is greater…it also perks up the ole’ metabolism.

But, hey, lets just keep walking for now.