How to Be Popular With Boys by Stacy Rubis — an advice book about love, dating, and romance for teenage girls — was published in 1984. Here are 29 of the most ridiculous quotes from the book.
Crown Publishers
1. "Do you know the one quality boys can't resist? It's innocence."
2. "When you're shy and natural, boys instinctively feel, 'Here's a girl I can believe...She doesn't have anything up her sleeve...She won't hurt me or humiliate me.'"
3. "Boys get an ego boost from your awkwardness. It makes them feel more incontrol, more manly. And at the same time they get more protective toward shy, trembling you."
4. "Most guys are afraid of a girl saying 'No,' they lose sleep over it. And they go out of their way to avoid the humiliation of rejection, even if it means passing up the chance to have a close girl friend—and being lonely all through high school."
5. "If you appear to be 'boy crazy,' guys won't be crazy about you. They won't trust you or respect you. You might even get a bad reputation. 'Oh, she's so desperate...' or 'She'll go after anything in pants.' None of this will help you become popular."
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6. "Sometimes, when [sweet] girls are with a guy, they put up an impenetrable wall. They act hard, or nonchalant, or they are sarcastic. It's just a defense, to be sure, but how are boys supposed to know that? I have girlfriends who are just the shyest, nicest, wouldn't-hurt-a-fly kind of people. And yet I've heard boys ask again and again, 'How could you be friends with her, she's such a snob?' or 'She's so cold, how can you hang around with her?' What a shame that these girls are completely misunderstood."
7. "Many boys think it's sissylike to show affection. They think it's uncool, feminine. And a boy will be darned if he's going to act feminine. So he'll ignore you. Or make crude jokes in your presence. Or flirt with your girl friends instead of you."
8. "Don't tell your girl friends every last detail about your relationship with a boy, at least not in a gossipy way. A guy can feel very embarrassed — and bitter — knowing that your girl friends get a play-by-play each time he calls you, asks you out on a date, or kisses you."
