Do you have a guy friend who hasn’t had a girlfriend in ages? Some guys have no problem finding their next girlfriend after breaking up with the last one. On the other hand, some guys have never found themselves in a serious relationship of any kind.

Internet forums have buzzed with conversations between groups of Japanese women over what the differences are between men who can attract women and those who attract only scorn. After lengthy discussion, they narrowed the list down to 20 characteristics of guys to avoid:

1. Guys who join a conversation but just to try switching the subject to something he wants to talk about.
2. Guys who only wear black.
3. Guys who work in offices with no women, and whom have no platonic girl friends.
4. Guys with dirty nails. The ladies are checking your hands!
5. Guys who overreact. “She looked at me, therefore she’s into me.”
6. Guys who do nothing but complain about women on the internet.
7. Guys who act weird or creepy in public.
8. Guys who’ve been told they were handsome since they were young. They are usually seen as too ideal (read: out of the girl’s league).
9. Guys with some sort of complex or misanthropy issues.
10. Guys with helicopter parents.
11. Guys who can’t pass slower couples walking in front of them.
12. Guys who ride bicycles farther than most people drive.
13. Guys who are too ideal (see #8).
14. Guys who are loners.
15. Guys who can’t step outside if they hear their neighbors coming out.
16. Guys who wear sweaters everyday.
17. Guys who don’t seem to have any energy, but yet are obsessed with some odd activity.
18. Guys who listen to other people’s problems but never tell theirs to anyone.
19. Guys who will touch a girls hair only when he is drunk.
20. Guys who read way too much into why the cashier girl gave them too much change.

One girl remarked: “I’ve seen guys who deny themselves. Those kinds of guys aren’t attractive at all. Men should be self-confident in order to be attractive. Features don’t really matter. Even if he’s ugly, if he has a confident demeanor, he can still attract many girls.”

Good news for the poor and ugly: you don’t need to be handsome or wealthy to attract girls. Just exude confidence.

Translator:Mayumi Holmes
[ Read in Japanese ]