I was raised by my mom, grandma, and two older sisters.  Growing up, never did I ever take any interest in the girls at school who tended toward exposing more skin. I always treated them as I would my female family members -- with the utmost courtesy and respect.  And anytime I suspected that a male friend or acquaintance of mine adopted a hump-and-dump attitude toward women, I nixed them from my life. I held men who treated women as objects in very low regard, and still do to this day. If women feel empowered to show off their bodies because they love and work hard on their physique, more power to them. In other words, if they're doing it to please THEMSELVES and no one else, good for them.  However, those who do it specifically to curry men's favor are making a big mistake. It sends the wrong signals and actually makes it less likely that a man will want to stick around for a committed relationship (if that's what you want as anyway).  Granted, if you're not lookin...

There are good relationships -- then there are relationships that are simply transcendent. There are relationships in which partners connect physically, intellectually, and emotionally. Then there are those in which both cultivate a spiritual bond as well, two souls connecting so deeply that nothing short of death could ever break their union. Oftentimes, a pair might point to the fact they can finish each other's sentences, make the other feel better merely by grabbing their hand, or empathize with them like no one else can as proof that they're truly in sync. The right partner awakens in us feelings that lay dormant, or that we never knew existed. Before we met them, maybe we were too afraid to pursue our dreams, or too reluctant to believe in ourselves. They have a special way of cheering us up when we're feeling down, perhaps with their characteristic smile or laugh. They may not always agree with everything we say or do (and why would they?), but they a...

The right man or woman will love you for your heart and mind, and not just for your body or wallet. Above all else, he or she will value your top character traits, whether that be kindness, faithfulness, loyalty, intelligence, integrity, or a great sense of humor. A good man gives precedence to a woman's feelings, goals, and passions over the size of her breasts and how good she is in the sack. A good woman focuses on ways his qualities complement hers rather than how much money she can wring from him. (And let's not make the dangerous mistake of pigeonholing men and women into traditional gender roles. Some women can be just as superficial as men when it comes to looks, and some men are on a mission to find only sugar mamas.) But we'd be remiss if we didn't concede that physical appearance and financial resources do count to a certain degree. Would most of us want to go on a date with someone who's 300 pounds overweight, broke, and deeply in debt? Pro...

A beautiful person doesn't need to have great hair, gorgeous eyes, or a ravishing body. A beautiful person isn't necessarily the smartest or most self-confident of the bunch. While these attributes certainly enhance the overall appeal of a person, they don't make him or her beautiful . What truly makes someone beautiful is their inside . Beauty is only skin deep. I know there has to be some level of physical attraction, but society makes it out to be far more important than it should be. When you meet someone, ask yourself these questions: Do I see myself being with this person for the rest of my life?  Do I see myself remaining with this person even in our later years, when his or her good looks begin to fade?  (Remember, yours will too.) If you truly prioritize finding someone with a great heart above all else, the answers to the above questions should be no-brainers. A beautiful person puts others before oneself, remains positive under even the...

I recently read an article in The Telegraph about a study that revealed that four out of five women don't shower every day . The survey also found that almost two thirds of the participants couldn't be bothered removing make-up before going to bed, and one in eight owned up to not brushing their teeth before turning in for the night. Even more surprising was that one in three women admitted to going as many as three days without washing their face or body at all. Moreover, 89 percent of the women stated that they would like to improve their body hygiene, but blamed morning or evening tiredness for their tendency to pass on bathing. What these findings tell me is that between marriage, jobs, children, and other responsibilities, women are more strapped for time than ever before. There just aren't enough hours in the day to do everything, it seems. Although a woman need only allocate a few minutes of her day for a quick shower, when she is feeling exhausted, that tim...

When a person says "He/she is hot," others might assume this individual is digging someone's six pack or long legs. But hotness doesn't always have to translate to good looks alone. One person's definition of "hot" may be completely different than someone else's. When I say a woman is hot, yes, I might be referring to her dazzling appearance. But I may also be describing her as such because she is self-confident or intelligent -- two qualities that, in my view, greatly enhance a woman's overall appeal. To me, a woman who has long, shiny hair is hot, as is the kind who wears glasses and embraces the librarian look. My point is that society and the media make hotness to be all about big boobs and biceps. This couldn't be further from the truth. After all, we mustn't forget that looks fade -- eventually, we all get those pesky wrinkles and a little flab in quite a few places. That said, when contemplating what makes a person "...