Fed Up with Bad Boys

I know this doesn't apply to all of them, but when are guys going to stop being such selfish pricks?

I was completely thrown recently when I found out that a family very close to me is crumbling because of an affair.

Yes, women do cheat as well, but what's with this whole influx of men galavanting around town, having numerous extramarital conquests, popping out love children and ruining the lives of everyone around them?

Let's see, there's John Edwards, Tiger Woods and Jesse James. There's the ex-husband of my close friend and now this current douche lord that I just found out about. All of them putting themselves ahead of their partners and families.

My only theory is this sense of entitlement that these cheaters feel because of their positions of power, arrogance, self-righteousness and feelings of invincibility. If enough people are kissing their asses, and if their narcissism continues to expand, it's a clear warning sign that eventually they'll stray from morality.

I also think society perpetuates this behavior - how many times do we dismiss men behaving badly by saying, "Well, he's just being a guy" or "Boys will be boys!" We accept douche-baggery by declaring it as the natural make-up of the male DNA.

I'm guilty of this myself, I'll admit. I've dismissed certain things guys have done to me, believing that that's "just the way it is" and that men might truly be from Mars.

But this, for the most part, is bullshit. By minimizing negative behaviors, we participate in a cycle that creates the message that there's nothing we can do about it. And thus, it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. We expect the bad in guys, and guys do bad things because it's expected of them.

I know there are good men out there - plenty of them. My dad is a great example - a truly loyal man who believes and practices equality. But it still angers me that boys are not growing up being taught how to treat others well.

I know this is a generalization, but we're teaching boys to not cry, not show emotions, stay tough, and to be extra nice to girls (because chivalry basically means going easy on all us meek, incapable ladies). This whole idea of "chivalry" is counter-productive - I don't think it's teaching men to respect women. Any asshole can open a door for a woman or throw down his credit card when the check comes at dinner.

If I ever have a son, I vow to not raise him any differently than I would a daughter. I have several girlfriends who grew up with brothers that got away with a whole lot more than they did, like being allowed to have their girlfriends spend the night when they were in high school, yet my friends couldn't even have their doors closed when a boy was over. It's ludicrous! The same rules should be applied to all - we are all accountable for our actions, gender aside.

I'm so sick, tired and 100% fed up with this asshole era of men. It's time for the bad ones to learn what being a real man means. Stop basking in your half-assed attempts at making relationships work and - to use a highly sexist phrase - grow a pair!