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Why Men Love A Chick Flick

For about as long as there have been movies, there have been chick flicks. These are movies so called as
they are due to their seemingly irresistible appeal to women. Movies that touch on a nerve, awaken sadness
and happiness, and even create entire institutions around themselves sometimes. What a marketing ploy,
huh? Make a film that is going to drag in millions, either in box office receipts or DVD sales or both, and
you’ve got an instant classic that cable TV is going to run endlessly for years. Yes siree, the chick flick is an
ingenious invention.

What I find to be very interesting about this genre is its ability to attract as many men as it does women. A
lot of guys might tell you that they see them because their girlfriends or their wives dragged them to the
theater. Others might say that they watched them on cable because there was nothing else on. Still more
might claim to hate the chick flick and state they wouldn’t be caught dead watching one.

Talk. That’s all this is. Talk. I conducted survey of one hundred men and asked the same questions:

1. What is about a chick flick that makes you want to watch one?
2. What is your favorite chick flick?
3. Do you prefer to watch them alone or with your significant other?
4. Are you more or less comfortable nowadays about admitting that you enjoy them?

Now this survey was conducted among men of many demographics. Gay, straight, bi, older, younger,
middle aged, single, and married. I expected to get as many different answers as there were participants in
the survey. As usual, I was surprised to find a common theme running throughout the replies.

To the first question, the most common sentiment was that all these men enjoy watching chick flicks
because they get tired of nothing being on to watch, brainless action movies, and they like to feel something
that means more to them than simply being entertained. Also, they seemed to be attracted to a story that
delivers more than a comedy or a drama or a horror film has to offer.

For the second question, the number one favorite chick flick among the men polled is Steel Magnolias.
Number two was The Color Purple. Driving Miss Daisy was a close third and The Prince of Tides
was fourth. When asked what about these four films made them stand out, the answer was that the human
drama interwoven with humor was something that really appealed to them. They also liked the way these
movies drew upon the experiences of the male characters in them to make the stories have a rounded out
feeling to them.

In response to the third question, seventy percent of the respondents said they preferred to watch chick
flicks alone, while only thirty percent want to watch them with their significant others. The majority did admit
that they like to watch them alone because they feel freer to cry during the sad scenes when they are by
themselves. Interestingly, on a side note, about thirty percent said they enjoyed watching them with their
brothers or their male friends as well. They also felt no shame or no less men because they cried during
these movies either. It is true that crying makes one feel better and even the roughest man in the world
needs a good cry now and then.

Responses to my final question were ninety percent unanimous. Men feel much more comfortable now
admitting that they enjoy the chick flick than they did twenty years ago. When pressed on this one, most of
them said that men today are more conditioned to recognize and appreciate their gentler emotions than they
used to be. They also implied that the world is slowly becoming a more tolerant and a healthier place now
that men and women are on pretty much equal footing in most aspects.

I was indeed, and very much so, surprised by the responses to my poll on this subject. Perhaps the men I
polled felt more comfortable in answering these questions honestly because they were assured that no one
but me would see their replies and know who gave them. Maybe the old macho image is really evolving
now. Or maybe there just isn’t anything for men to be worried about when it comes to expressing their
vulnerable sides after all.

Vulnerability is one ingredient that all chick flicks expose. The fact that men seem to enjoy them as much as
women is, in my opinion, a testament to the reality that men and women aren’t that much different in the
end. I found this to be an overall positive experience for me. I love a good chick flick myself. As for my
own answers to my questions:

1. Chick flicks make you think and they make you feel.
2. Steel Magnolias.
3. Alone, or with a good friend.
4. I am more comfortable now than I would have been in years past.

So ladies, the next time you’re dabbing your eyes at your favorite chick flick, remember that they aren’t
only aimed at your audience. Millions of men out there are dabbing their eyes and loving them every bit as
much as you are. I’ll bet most women won’t be surprised to find this out either.

Have a wonderful week and God bless...

Rantings & Ramblings
by
Carey Parrish