Penis Peer Pressure

To the single man, it can at times be baffling trying to understand why women behave the way they do. This is no surprise when you consider the erratic and irrational ways that come along with female decision making.

For example: when a man is hungry, he eats a sandwich. This is because he likes sandwiches.
When a woman is hungry she eats a sandwich because the whole wheat bread is less likely to give her cancer than white, the salad makes her feel healthy, the chicken slices were advised to her in a magazine and a whole host of other ridiculous reasons. It is just the way we are.
Considering how much thought goes into a mid-morning snack; you can only imagine how many factors contribute to the decisions that really matter to a woman, like the men they choose.
For some of us, it can be anything as simple as liking a certain cologne and for others it can stretch as far as Daddy issues and a shared love of whips and chains.
One thing that I have noticed recently however seems to affect a staggering number of girls decisions - other girls.

Supply and Demand

To say that I am a girl with a bleak understanding of economics would be an understatement. While the other kids were learning about numbers I was off doodling, daydreaming and plaiting my hair. Needless to say it wasn't the best GCSE experience. Nonetheless to paraphrase Carrie Bradshaw 'Economics I may not know, but men, men I know.' I happen to believe that understanding one thing can help you understand another, just as my dad helped me understand the value of a score through Marijuana metaphors the other day. 

It is through this process that I have come to understand the true importance of supply and demand in men. 

Consider the iPad. Before the iPad was even released, none of us thought we needed or wanted it. Once there was a demand for it however, it's value sky rocketed. Knowing that everyone else wanted one made the average consumer want one too. Factor in competition that comes with waiting lists and the prospect of someone else getting their hands on it first, and what you have is a product very much in demand. It may not be the best tablet on the market by any means, but because it is the most popular it feels like the only choice. 

It seems that men can work in exactly the same way. Often it doesn't actually matter that much how attractive a guy is, how funny he is or how good he is in bed. Sometimes all that really matters is how much other girls want him - when a queue forms around the block we find ourselves joining it. What we have to ask ourselves is how modern society can fool for these advertising scams, in computers and in sexual partners?

The Value Of Confidence

I believe ultimately this is all affected by a little thing called the 'value of confidence'. The people of Apple do not release a product with a small price tag and hope for the best, increasing the price depending on popularity. Instead they give each new product a sinfully large price so that their customers assume it's worth. This is the value of confidence. 

Similarly with men, if they are confident that girls will want them then girls will believe it regardless of whether or not they have a reason to be so cocky, they're already drawn in before they can find out if the guy is truly worthwhile. 

Although it is one of the prime keys to attraction, confidence can be a tricky game for both sexes. Take my friend Georgia. She is what one would describe as an averagely pretty girl. In spite of this, she has the confidence of a supermodel. Interestingly enough for Georgia, this gives as much as it takes away. While her confidence makes her seem far better looking than she is, the cockiness is also off-putting. It is all essentially a game of balance; like the iPad she is overpriced, but still impressive. 

Competition and Respect

Female competition is the real driving force of this whole theory, but there is more to it than what meets the eye. Although we all run towards the same finish line, it is a mutual respect for a shared goal that is left unmentioned. Ultimately women fight each other for the same men because they value each others standards, and want to earn each other's respect.

 Although a shameful one, I will put myself forward as an example. I was perusing a boys Facebook profile today, deciding if I thought he was good looking. It occurred to me that he was not conventionally attractive and began having thoughts of how he would look on my arm to the public (disgusting I know, but I'm being honest). 

It was at this point that I saw a picture of him surrounded by pretty girls fawning over him. Suddenly his reputation was healed in my mind, because I respected the choices of the girls in the picture and a little part of me wanted to take him away from them. Competition and respect. 

This competition and respect is most obvious in the dating show 'Take Me Out'. For any of you unfamiliar with this show, 30 girls view one guy and turn their lights off if uninterested making a loud beeping sound. While watching it you will notice that the more girls turn their lights off, the more their peers feel inclined to do the same. Similarly when other girls lights are left on they end up going to all lengths to win the guy, breasts spilling all over their podiums. 

Essentially we are driven by respect for the other girls standards, as well as competition to eliminate them. 

...Let's Not Forget The Boys

I may be focusing on the girls here, but this does not imply that the boys are any different. It seems that in the male world, a girls attractiveness is largely affected by how your friends rate her. Within the student houses of University Of Nottingham boys, it seems that unanimous votes are actually cast in deciding the attractiveness of certain girls. 

I can't help but imagine these boys setting aside their bongs and pizza boxes to host board meetings in their living rooms, going through a list of eligible girls on A2 presentation paper. 

This effect is true of the boys in my halls of residence. There is a girl known by many names that Ancaster Hall seem besotted with. I personally don't see the appeal and people laugh when told about this, but because it is a unanimous vote - it stays. 

Helen of Troy is a good example of this. For all we know, she couldn't have possibly been that mind-bendingly attractive. She was probably a solid 9/10. Nonetheless her reputation spread so far and wide, not to mention her status on the arm of King Menelaus that her looks were elevated to a level of fame. It seems that her face launched a thousand ships with an echo of 'I would' resounding from each cabin crew. 

Whether it is a matter of supply and demand, competition and respect or just plain mindless banter - our peers seem to always have an effect on how we see the opposite sex. The best outlook we can hope for is that this is a phase of youth and one day we'll find that special sandwich, iPad or even man that we want regardless of what anyone else thinks.

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to your suggestions :)

Olivia Jane