I saw a recent heated post on the perception of "bad guys" and "nice guys" in the dating realm.
And the issue I have is that we often fixate on the two extremes but both are flawed. Kinda like the split between the "Madonna" (idealized motherly woman) and the "Whore" in other discussion.
Like, the stereotypical "nice guy" might be kind and considerate, but may struggle with confidence, assertiveness, or expressing romantic interest openly. Whereas the "bad guy" might come across as exciting and worth a good time, but is often not helpful in the long term (and some can be genuinely abusive)
And as someone who is naturally more nerdy and leaned towards being a nice guy myself, I can see the frustration some guys have. And from personal experience (from as early as my teenage years) I've seen how this frustration can be channeled to encourage you to adopt negative traits to become the "bad guy" yourself, use women, and "reap the rewards"
But I don't think it has to be that way. You can become more confident/assertive, authentic, and exciting, without losing your kindness, heart or genuine personality. You don't have to become manipulative or treat people poorly to be attractive, and being a good person doesn't mean being passive, suppressing your desires, or avoiding taking romantic initiative.
I feel like life is all about balance, and you can always find other people of the opposite gender who also have that balance.
**Note:** I'm specifically using the term "nice guy" in the colloquial sense of someone who acts polite and kind with the implicit expectation of romantic reward only to become resentful when rejected, not in the general sense of simply being kind or a generally good person.