This one is for the ladieeeees! Or at least, "to all the beautiful women of the world," as Paulo Rossi's dedication reads in his breakthrough self-help book,
How To Cheat Like A Man. And to think, before this epic guide to sensual, manipulative womanhood, our only primer on gender-specific adultery was Beyoncé's "If I Were A Boy."
Having worked for more than twenty years as an aerospace engineer, specifically on many successful U.S. space and military programs, Rossi claims to have a mind that works "systematically and without emotion, which is something you want when carrying out complex programs, or simply planning a one-night stand." Say what?
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We have so many questions. Why does the author assume that men, given the opportunity, will cheat? Why does he believe that women want to? Why must he make the antiquated argument that women are emotional creatures while men are logical ones? Why does this book have eight five-star reviews on Amazon?
There's plenty to hate on here, no doubt. The title alone is so regressive it could have been plucked from a World War II-era magazine. However, he does make one valid point, which is that "despite what we see on sit-coms, women enjoy having sex just as much as men do."
So...we suppose we applaud him for that. But it hardly makes up for the damage this book is doing. Assigning behaviors as gendered — no matter in which direction — perpetuates the ignorant stereotypes that we're working so hard as a society to eradicate. Besides, Paulo Rossi, who asked for your help, anyway?
Image: Courtesy of BookBaby; Courtesy of Tom Ford (opener)