Amy Alkon's Blog, page 30

Prance Charming

My friend is obsessed with dating models. Of course, because he's dating mostly based on looks, these relationships rarely last. He says that he's trying to move up in the business world and that being seen with a beautiful woman makes a difference in how he's perceived. Wouldn't businesspeople be more impressed if he could keep a relationship going, even if it were with a plainer woman?

--Discerning Dude

The problem with dating largely based on looks is that you tend to end up with the sort...

Fort Noxious

I'm a straight guy in my 30s with pretty strong body odor. I saw your column about how more men are doing body hair trimming. I remember you saying not to remove all the hair, and I don't want women to suspect I'm gay. However, I'm wondering whether shaving my pits would help with my BO.

--Pepe Le Pew

When a woman you meet can't stop thinking about you, ideally her thought isn't, "Could there be a small dead animal making its home in his armpit?"

Underarm stink comes from a specialized sweat...

Paint And Suffering

I'm doing some work on my landlady's house. She just CANNOT figure out what color to paint it. Now, when a man paints his house, he goes to Home Depot, grabs a few cans of paint, and starts right in. Simple. Git 'er done. Not so with a woman. She'll agonize endlessly over a bunch of paint chips. She'll finally make a decision, but even then, it's subject to change without notice. So, my question: Has anyone analyzed this phenomenon and found a connection with, you know, a woman's "time of the...

When The Going Gets Tufted

I'm not a very hairy guy -- except in the armpit area. I've seen articles recently saying men should shave their armpit hair. Really? Do women go for this, or (sorry!) do they maybe think you're gay?

--Fur Pits

Your body hair should not tell a story -- like that Fidel Castro and Osama bin Laden actually aren't dead; they're hiding out in your armpits.

Body hair removal for men has actually gone pretty mainstream. Psychologist Gareth Terry, in a 2016 paper exploring attitudes about male body...

Ambivalence Actually

My boyfriend of two years read my diary and found out that I had expressed feelings for another guy while we were together. I never acted on them (and I wouldn't have), and I probably shouldn't have told the guy I liked him. But my boyfriend shouldn't have been reading my diary! He broke up with me, saying he wouldn't be able to forgive me. Now he wants to come back. What should I do? I don't feel that I can trust him now.

--Disturbed

Having regular sex with you does not give another person t...

Paradise Flossed

My husband and I were visiting friends, and he started walking around their house flossing his teeth. I told him this is not okay, but I couldn't really tell him why. Could you please explain why it's not appropriate to go around flossing so I can tell him and get him to stop?!

--Embarrassed

What's next, margaritas and oral surgery on the deck?

Locking doors didn't get added to bathrooms as some sort of design quirk (like shutters that don't shut on those aluminum siding "Tudor" houses in su...

The Arf Of Reading People

I'm a woman who judges potential boyfriends by whether dogs like them. My friends think I'm crazy, but I'm convinced that my dog picks up on who a person really is. Is there any research on whom animals are drawn to?

--Muttperson

Dogs have proved useful for sniffing out drug stashes, dead bodies, and IEDs. How great would it be if you could dispatch your German shepherd Tinker Bell into a bar or party to sniff out the human minefields? "Naw...skip this dude. Serious intimacy issues."

People w...

The Art Of Reading People

I'm a woman who judges potential boyfriends by whether dogs like them. My friends think I'm crazy, but I'm convinced that my dog picks up on who a person really is. Is there any research on whom animals are drawn to?

--Muttperson

Dogs have proved useful for sniffing out drug stashes, dead bodies, and IEDs. How great would it be if you could dispatch your German shepherd Tinker Bell into a bar or party to sniff out the human minefields? "Naw...skip this dude. Serious intimacy issues."

People w...

Nightlight At The End Of The Tunnel

My boyfriend thinks there's something wrong with me because of how much I sleep. I've always needed to sleep a lot (like, nine hours). I've been tested for everything, and I'm fine. Do some people just need more sleep? How do I get him off my back?

--Duvet-Covered

Okay, so you're the love child of Rip Van Winkle and a log.

Studies on identical twins suggest that our "sleep duration" (how long we tend to sleep) is between 31 and 55 percent "heritable" -- which is to say factory-installed, dri...

The Shoo Maker

I'm a single dude in my 30s, and I really want a girlfriend, but I keep striking out with women. My female co-worker says that if I want a relationship, I need to upgrade my shoes. I wear a pair of super-comfy New Balance sneakers that I've had since college...yes, even wearing them on dates. In the summer, I wear Crocs sandals. What's the problem? Are girls really that shallow?

--Footloose

Sadly, the CDC has been remiss in informing men of the exceptional protection against sexually transmit...