Whenever I hear a ‘nice guy’ bemoan the fact that women seem to constantly pass him over for jerks, I can’t help but think he might be overestimating his innocence. Nobody, after all, is a gentleman 100% of the time, just as nobody is 100% bastard. Instead, we men inevitably inhabit the spectrum between those two extremes.

Further, ‘nice guy’ lament to the contrary, women don’t actually prefer men on the asshole end of the spectrum; they don’t even prefer men at the fifty-fifty split. Instead, as careful observation of female friends will quickly reveal, most women look for guys at the 10% asshole, 90% marriage-material mix: someone charming, sweet and wonderful the vast majority of the time, yet with independence, backbone, a handful of unpredictability and a bit of edge.

So take that to heart boys. If booty’s your aim, be nice. But not too nice. Aim for 10% asshole. Or one-up what women say they want and head for the thing their behavior shows they like even better: the 80% nice guy / 20% asshole mix who they alone can tame into the ideal 90/10.