Crazy Things Men Do To Attract Women

Who doesn't love a daring man?

By Melissa Noble — Last updated on Jun 22, 2023

Photo: iona didishvili / Shutterstock

Boys will be boys, especially when it comes to taking one too many tequila shots, buying rounds when one's credit card is dangerously close to an overdraft fee, getting into violent fistfights, and sloppily darting through a bustling urban street to hail a cab. With all of this, we can assume that women are the superior gender, and the smartest one.

While we ladies often thought these brutes just weren't too bright, another study shows all the show-offish (and risky) behavior might be a hardwired evolutionary response when in the presence of those they'd like to sleep with.

I don't know if doing any of the above things has actually helped a man land a wife, but who am I to judge the mysterious workings of love.

In 2010, a group of Australian researchers rounded up a group of 96 young men (average age 22) and had them perform skateboard tricks. All the skaters (who we're guessing are heterosexual) first did a trick in front of a man and then in front of an attractive woman.

Overwhelmingly, the researchers found that each man was riskier when in front of the woman, regardless of how many times the trick ended with a splat on the pavement.

The scientists also took the experiment one step further and measured their testosterone after each show. Sure enough, testosterone was much higher after the female-viewed performance. Make your next girls' trip to the local skate park and watch all the men literally fall over themselves.

"This experiment provides evidence for an effect that has existed in art, mythology, and literature for thousands of years: Beautiful women lead men to throw caution to the wind," the authors of the study wrote. Is this why guys with loud engines will always rev them and then drive dangerously fast past you just to end up being stopped at the red light?

But what kind of modern woman wants the bonehead to talk trash and do bad types of stunts?

We, ladies, seek out more of a soft and fuzzy type for a husband, you know, the one who calls, listens, and is polite enough to spend the night and buy us brunch. Er, right. We're forgetting that whole bad-boy appeal.

At the end of the day, we want a guy who is sensitive and generous, and polite plus is successful in whatever career path he follows, can carry us over the threshold, and isn't afraid to stand up for us. All of which probably evolve from his "show off to win the ladies" urge.