The Villain Problem: why woman actually prefer the bad guy

No, it’s not because they’re stupid

I was watching an old 1930s movie last night: a standard Tod Slaughter film about a wicked seductive villain who seeks riches and the hand of the beautiful woman. If you aren’t a huge fan, that’s basically the plot of all his films. And as I watched it, I realised why women both then and now much, much preferred him to the lacklustre, predictable male heroes.

And why men still wrongly think we like “bad” guys, 100 years on.

Less sigh, more yikes

Here’s the thing, in this film, and all other melodrama romances: the hero openly seeks riches, and the hand of the beautiful woman. That’s not a different goal to the villain, as far as the heroine is aware, so we can’t claim he’s a more attractive moral proposition.

So far, 0–0.

The hero is not particularly interested in the heroine/damsel for her mind, personality, or character: the only lines in these films refer to how pretty she is anyway. No difference, there again, to the villain, who at least appears to have spent more time trying to get to know and win the attentions and good will of the heroine, with long romantic speeches, courting, and dramatic close ups of his heartbreak and adoration. The villain, if…