Chapter 3: Pretty Girl Syndrome

“The true man wants two things: danger and play. For that reason he wants woman, as the most dangerous plaything.” – Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche

There’s a saying that a beautiful woman is the most dangerous creature stalking the social scene. Women with boatloads of pretty wield a lot of power over men. And if you find yourself stuck in their orbit, it can get pretty ugly.

I coined the term Pretty Girl Syndrome (PGS) to describe the behaviors these women often let loose during the mating game. PGS is a disorder that hits women (and men, too–PBS) blessed with a bumper crop of beauty. Many attractive women suffer from PGS.

Now I’m not saying there aren’t loving, unselfish and emotionally stable women out there who also happen to be beautiful. There are certainly more than a few. But, as a general rule, the more beautiful a woman is, the more likely she is to be an inconsiderate, self-absorbed head case.

Women with PGS have this loop constantly running through their heads: “I’m so pretty; I don’t have to please you. Sure, I pretend to be sweet, unselfish, innocent, and accommodating. But when the rubber meets the road, I’m going to do what I want to do, when I want to do it.”

Personally, I’ve always believed I could never meet and form romantic relationships with gorgeous women, though there have been exceptions. I operated under the assumption that a beautiful woman would snub me. So I didn’t even try. Ultimately, I lost out. But so did she.

A beautiful woman usually won’t ever hang on to a really good guy because of her vanity. When you spot a couple where the girl on the guy’s arm is more attractive than he is, you can bet he’s a guy worth keeping (see Chapter 6). And she likely doesn’t suffer from PGS. She is considerate. She is interested in pleasing her man.

But when a beautiful girl insists “oh he’s got to be at least XX tall, and can’t be over XXX pounds, and has to make $X,XXX,XXX per year,” and she won’t make any exceptions, she likely has a chronic case of PGS. She will struggle to hold on to a relationship with a keeper, even when she really wants to keep him. What she will have is a never-ending chain of broken relationships with not-so-great guys.

Most relationships among women with PGS are short–four months or so. Why? Because women with PGS are constantly checking the horizon for a more perfect guy. These women will keep dancing in and out of relationships until they find the man they feel is good enough for their beauty. What does a relationship with a woman suffering from PGS look like?

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