Nice guy
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
No More Mr. Nice Guy is a self-help book by Dr. Robert A. Glover. He describes what he calls the "Nice Guy Syndrome," a condition in men who appear to be always nice (and boring), and who avoid conflict at all costs.
Glover's premise is that nice guys have been conditioned by their childhoods and by society to believe that they will be successful only if they make everyone happy, and never cause any problems for others. However, this desire for approval is countered by self-loathing. In other words, nice guys want approval, but don't think they deserve it. This creates internal frustration--nice guys never try to obtain what they want in life. In addition, the nice guy's desire to obtain approval from everyone (especially women), causes him to actually behave in very un-nice ways. This includes dishonesty (about themselves) and passive-aggressive behavior (to get what they want without asking for it).
Dr. Glover's prescription involves getting nice guys to recognize that their needs and desires are important, and that to make others happy they must first learn to make themselves happy. One of the primary ways advised in the book to remedy this is for nice guys to learn to embrace and develop their masculine traits, instead of fearing and suppressing them.
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Nice guys in the media
Due to their often neurotic antics, nice guys are popular characters on television and in film. Some examples include George Costanza on Seinfeld, Arnold Rimmer from Red Dwarf, and the main characters in the films The Spanish Prisoner and Fight Club.
See also
- Nice guy
- Love-shyness
- Involuntary celibacy
External links
Disambiguation (abbreviated list)
- No More Mr. Nice Guy is also a 2007 book written by Christopher Thomas Gardner
- No More Mr. Nice Guy is also a song by a New York Hardcore band Killing Time
- In a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy is a musical album by Pat Boone
- No More Mister Nice Guy is also a song by hard rock artist, Alice Cooper, which was later remade by the heavy metal band Megadeth
- No More Mr. Nice Guy is also a 1995 short animation film by Brad Schiff [1]
- No More Mr. Nice Guy is also a 2002 fiction novel by Chet Kelly Robinson [2]
- No More Mr [sic] Nice Guy is a 1992 romance novel by Terry (last name anonymous)[3]
- No More Mr. Nice Guy! is a 1991 book by Stephen W. Brown [4]
