get on the (band)wagon

one of the most dependable relationship tenets is the fact that when its blatantly obvious that a man is in a committed relationship, there’s a certain segment of women (read: “all“) who will begin to find him more attractive. from latent self-esteem and “distant daddy” issues to the fact that men in relationships generally aren’t pressed to find new pu**y (an attractive quality in the eyes of most women), there are myriad possible reasons for this phenomenon, but, for the most part, it all comes down to one general rule:

women are lemmings (ie: “sheep”, “followers”, “the borg”, “republicans”)

how so, exceedingly omnipotent and virile champ?“, you ask…well

…its all about the wagon. the bandwagon

bandwagon attraction is a general thought process that many women possess, a way of thinking that allows peer-pressure to influence how attractive they might find someone. they practice this everywhere, from the nightclub dynamic where one expertly timed “i think he’s funny looking” can influence an entire flock of chicks into thinking that an relatively unfunny looking guy is, in fact, funny looking, to the entire mystic surrounding the wedding ring:

well…there must be something great about him since someone actually wanted to marry him. i wonder if he wants some head?”

in equation form:

x (a man’s base score)

+

y(1/10)  (the number of women who’ve professed attraction to him with her earshot)

equals

z (his adjusted score)

for instance, if a woman thinks a guy might be a 5 (x), but she hears 20 different women say that he’s attractive (y)*(1/10), his score raises to a 7 (z)

***for a negative remark, the equation stays the same, sans the “1/10th” changing to a “negative 1/10th”***

in no other avenue is this phenomenon more prevalent than when thinking about pop cultural figures. from michael jordan (who, more than any other public figure, made it socially acceptable again to admit attraction to dark-skinned black males) to the mystery surrounding the confusing infatuation black women had with mos def from 2001 to 2004, theres a long and varied history of men becoming “attractive” basically overnight just because a few fickle women deemed them such and their opinions began to pick up steam like, ummm, a thing that picks up lots of steam very quickly.

the patron saint...for now

the patron saint...for now

currently, the 2008 patron saint of bandwagon attraction seems to be hill harper, a man who in less than 30 months has gone from “what kind of f*cking name is hill??” to the de facto ideal mentioned when black women profess an affinity for nerdy n*ggas. in fact, if you google “i need me a hill harper type of n*gga“, over two billion results pop up, with over 500 million of them coming directly from lizburr.com (***editors note: the champ is lying***)

what does this all mean? why are women so easily influenced when it comes to what they find attractive? why did mos def shack up with an nba groupie? who knows. all i know is that i need to start rocking a wedding ring.

on second thought, maybe not. wagons give me motion sickness. i think i’ll pass

–the champ

386 thoughts on “get on the (band)wagon

  1. That certainly jibes with personal experience. Once one woman expresses interest, suddenly every female in the area code feels the need to get with me. It’s a lot like consulting, where you either have zero clients or 40 at a time: yeah, you’re popular but you’re also not getting any sleep.

    • I’ve heard from my guy friends that a lot of women are like this, but I’ve always been the opposite. If I know that a guy is in relationship, I will not pursue him. He’s taken and I move on to an available guy. A lot of my girls are like this too. It’s a waste of time to pursue a guy who’s taken.

      • Leila..im with you on that one. I dont care how cute a guy is..if hes taken..hes taken..which means..hes not interested in you..so why waste ur time??

        • just because a guy is taken does not mean he is not interested in you… i have met alot of guys who girlfriends all of a sudden “start acting up” or “don’t understand him” when i get in the picture….

        • AJA…doesn’t mean he’s not interested…just not available to pursue said “interest”..so semantics aside…married/committed men are still off limits…

      • I agree with you. Some women see it as a challenge. My thing is, why cause all the drama? If he does happen to cheat with you or leave her for you, what makes you think that he won’t do the same thing to you?

        Not only that, I do believe in karma.

    • “It’s a lot like consulting, where you either have zero clients or 40 at a time: yeah, you’re popular but you’re also not getting any sleep.”

      yup, thats exactly what i was thinking…its just like, ummm, consulting

  2. I have been diggin Hill since Love, Sex and Eating the Bones. A dude that can get me into porn THEN write a book to young brothers? PURE HOTNESS

  3. 1) I think Black women ALWAYS liked dark-skinned men, no? At least as long as I can remember. I always hear sisters dogging out the yallers (not I!).

    2) Hill Harper has been hot since forever! The books and the Obama friendship just sent him off the meter.

    3) I don’t know about the band wagon thing, because men who are in relationships become invisible to me and I try to ignore them unless we were friends before. I don’t need them around blocking my line of sight from the single fellas. Unless I don’t find them attactive, and we can be BFFs.

    • “1) I think Black women ALWAYS liked dark-skinned men, no? At least as long as I can remember. I always hear sisters dogging out the yallers (not I!). ”

      there was a period of time (maybe from 1979 to around maybe 1987) where being a dark-skinned cat wasnt the business. the al b. sure’s and el debarge’s of the world were the standards, but mj’s popularity helped to change that.

      actually, when you think about it, michael jordan might have done more to influence pop culture than any other american in the last 50 years.

    • now i Toldya:

      1) “I think Black women ALWAYS liked dark-skinned men, no? At least as long as I can remember.”

      hey luv, some of the readers can remember being attracted to, dating, sexing etc. men further back than 1984. some maybe even back before Al B. Sure was the flavor of the month. [some before the wheel] LOL!

      i think since diff. shades of black folk have been on the planet women have been attracted to different shades of men. [dark men not withstanding] just to be clear, i believe part of what we are considering here is what shade has been groupthink popular. the heard mentality. we have all subscribed to, suffered and or experienced it. moooo for me one time.

      how about YOUTH [men and women, girls and boys]are more easily influenced by this pop culture phonomena and more easily influenced in GENERAL.

      how bout grown women are more easily influenced than men in a diverse # of ways. i believe women are more apt to get along with each other and to go along with each other and men are more liable to differ oppose and compete amongst one another. {why, why, why, khan? huh? i can hear women decry.} [later, ok] fuc* u khan! i know. maybe if you’re lucky.

      heh, heh, heh (inhales) whoooooo!

      so in the case of womens groupthink choosing the flavor of the month, (what shade of man is popular) the ball gets rolling pretty fast. we can debate who are the taste makers if you like but my point is womens groupthink especially where it concerns the skintone popularity issue is madd influential amongst women and is ferociously proliferate although many times fickle

      remember if you are person that has a jones/affinity for a particular skintone [and many do] what is popular doesn’t usually change that.

      holla thefuc*back…

    • 2) Hill Harper has been hot since forever!

      as a personal reflection this may be true. strange, but true.

      however, hill harper has definitely become the “dude that can read so i want to f*ck him” du jour despite no real clear achievement on his part for the ascension. he writes books…he went to an ivy league school…he’s been in bad movies…he’s short…

      but somebody said he was hot one day and then voila…”girl, you know who’s boris hot?? hill harper!”

    • Sister Toldja, I don’t discriminate–dark or yellow (or as we sometimes call them red). I’ve always liked them in all flavors. When it came to relationships though it seems I ended up more with the yellow ones with the green eyes or hazel eyes for whatever reason.

    • “3) I don’t know about the band wagon thing, because men who are in relationships become invisible to me and I try to ignore them unless we were friends before. I don’t need them around blocking my line of sight from the single fellas. Unless I don’t find them attactive, and we can be BFFs

      And, that my friends,is the mamafuck!ng word.

    • My tastes have run from white boys (as a pre-teen) to Al B. look-alikes to dark-skinned cuties. My first BF was a dark brotha *flashback* and ever since, my preference tends to be super smart, dark-skinned, bald dudes. Hill Harper is absolutely adorable, though, and I’d holla. I too do not even look at dudes in relationships…waste of time. I’m selfish, and I’m not sharing him like that…especially when there are so many yummy single men still out there!

      • “Hill Harper is absolutely adorable, though, and I’d holla.”

        three words that should never be uttered to describe a grown (straight) man:

        adorable
        dainty
        precious

        i could continue, but i need to finish my waffle

        • LMAO Champ. If I want to pinch a man’s cheeks (and not the ones he sits on), then he can be nothing but my friend. Or if I want to pat him on his head (and not the one down south)…

        • Hahaha , that is so true. After seeing that Eating the Bones movie, Hill Harper was actually less attractive to me. I’m realizing I don’t like men who come off as too boyish.. I like grown behind 5’0clock shadow type men who are over adolescent type angst. I’m also not sure how I feel about men picking out pretty scarves – I can’t wait until that trend dies.

  4. “the 2008 patron saint of bandwagon attraction seems to be hill harper, a man who in less than 30 months has gone from “what kind of f*cking name is hill??” to the de facto ideal mentioned when black women profess an affinity for nerdy n*ggas.”

    Where have I been? I didn’t hear that women were flocking to Hill Harper. Jay-Z has a bandwagon effect too…..This post is so on point though! I experience this with my boyfriend. He’s a good-looking guy but he told me that didn’t get the same attention when he was single as he does now that he’s in a relationship. When I go out with him, some women have been really disrespectful but he sets them straight and makes it known that he’s with me.

    • “He’s a good-looking guy but he told me that didn’t get the same attention when he was single as he does now that he’s in a relationship.”

      I can’t for the life of me understand why chicks do this. Like Sista Toldja, a guy becomes invisible to me once he becomes attached to another female. To pursue a taken man is just plain THIRSTY and pathetic. Why wouldn’t you want your boo to yourself?! Writing this is making me angry, lol….women are so so conniving SMH

      • “I can’t for the life of me understand why chicks do this. Like Sista Toldja, a guy becomes invisible to me once he becomes attached to another female. To pursue a taken man is just plain THIRSTY and pathetic”

        i think women just enjoy riding things, whether its roller coasters, bandwagons, or wangs

        • “i think women just enjoy riding things, whether its roller coasters, bandwagons, or wangs”

          Wow, now I really know why you are a very smart brotha…so insightful. Well put.

          • ““i think women just enjoy riding things, whether its roller coasters, bandwagons, or wangs”

            Wow, now I really know why you are a very smart brotha…so insightful. Well put.”

            thank you. and since panama’s already established that women just like hearing voices, all women should enjoy riding public buses and/or subways, both of which allow you to ride something big and hear random voices.

    • to me..Jay-Z looks like that camel dood from those cigarette ads. Why would i be attracted to that? I dont even see what B sees in him..other than the money/power/respect..aspect..lol

      • I got into an discussion one day with a chick when I said Jigga was NOT hot…didn’t care how much fuggin’ money he had. I was deemed CRAZY and chica said “it’s easy to say what one WON’T do especially when he probably WOULDN’T” or some such. I was all, whatever, to each his own. I know that dude could have Bill Gates money and I still wouldn’t want him…

      • I am sorry, Jay Z has BDS that is big-d_ _ _ Swagger.A lot of these dudes (excluding Hill) that you are attributing to bandwagonitis is actually, BDS

      • “to me..Jay-Z looks like that camel dood from those cigarette ads. Why would i be attracted to that? ”

        I am SO with you Aja. That slack-jawed, big-lipped thang he got going on is not HOT to me. Any and all attractiveness Jay has is in his swagger.

    • Jay-Z has a bandwagon effect too…..

      yeah I can see that…I’ve always thought JayZ was attractive…not handsome, but attractive…swag aside…I am an oral lover…a nice mouth does it for me…not to mention his hustle…intel…style and confidence…Jay has always been on the future ex-husband hall of fame!

  5. I have evidence that my behind has always loved the smart geeky guys because I’m a geek myself. Hehe.

    Hill Harper lives near my mom. He’s always at the Pink Berry in Studio City. He’s so hot ::SIGHS::

  6. I am going to have to co-sign on this one. I dated a conventionally attractive guy prior to my husband. When I met my husband who is a regular looking guy (per public opinion); I can’t tell you how much negative feedback I received from friends and associates. And if I am being completely honest with myself, that did kind of feed into the lack of play he got at the beginning. When I shook that off and moved forward, lets just say women came out of the woodwork, even a few of the associates that formerly thought he wasn’t all that. That being said there is something to say for the confidence that a man develops knowing he has a woman at home and swagger will definitely give you bonus points. Now on the other side of that coin, guys have the same mentality. While men will still date a chick that other men don’t find attractive, they love the flavor of the month as well and let’s not forget the big ass pass ninjas pass out on the regular, Buffie the Body, Deelishus? Cmon now……

    • “Now on the other side of that coin, guys have the same mentality. While men will still date a chick that other men don’t find attractive, they love the flavor of the month as well and let’s not forget the big ass pass ninjas pass out on the regular, Buffie the Body, Deelishus? Cmon now……”

      eh…i disagree. ive never met a guy who needed to be convinced that someone was (or wasnt) attractive.

      never.

      sure, we like when our boys think some chick we’ve bagged is hot, but it really doesnt affect our behavior at all

      • I second the Champ and Panama on this one…never…infact some of ma boys always give the WTF look when i see a bowlegged-athletically-built woman, and say “That’s too nice, i would further bend that…”

        The reason being – i don’t give a f**k what ma boys girl looks like, as long as she’s puttin out, and he wont be paying me any random visits at 11 o’clock pm wanting to “hang out”/”chill out”/”let the Nuts airdry” whilst watching some anime

      • I will agree that men willl date a women that there friends dont approve of more readily than women will do the reverse, however Men will pursue a chick based on her locker room appeal. Hence the pass around chick with good head, the chick with the big ass, the track/basketball chick etc, etc

        • “Men will pursue a chick based on her locker room appeal. Hence the pass around chick with good head, the chick with the big ass, the track/basketball chick etc, etc”

          this has nothing to do with “locker room appeal” and everything to do “butt naked in my bedroom appeal”

    • let’s not forget the big ass pass ninjas pass out on the regular, Buffie the Body, Deelishus? Cmon now……

      This is truth.

      • eh, it’s more fiction.

        as the champ said, how many men do you know can be convinced a swampdonkey is hot? and nobody said buffie looks good, she just has beaucoup ass.

        tip.drill.

        besides, as black men, ass is effectively calling card. you see it in action every day…nearly every black men looks back at the sight of most women to see what she’s working with. i’m sure this was part of the human genome project, phase II: black men and ass.

        • and nobody said buffie looks good, she just has beaucoup ass.

          Just beacause you didn’t say she looks good, doesn’t mean I haven’t heard this…lol

        • I think this is actually an east coast thing. I never heard so much about booty til I got here. Its all about face and boobies (natural or fake) on the west coast. Sigh .. maybe I should move back..

          • “I think this is actually an east coast thing. I never heard so much about booty til I got here. Its all about face and boobies (natural or fake) on the west coast. Sigh .. maybe I should move back..”

            seriously. what the hell is going on out west?????

            this like the 5705478507 time in the past couple months ive heard some black woman make some variant of that remark

  7. It works both ways…
    I went to a club in LA…and when I was in there…for some reason I was the shit (well, I am…but this particular night I looked a hot mess…which I guess does not in fact take away from me being the shit…lol)
    Men were crowding me…and pursuing me…I have to admit, I’d never had quite that experience before. So…clubs over and we are all heading to our cars and I had 4 different guys waiting to talk to me…I laughed them off and figured the moon was full or either I’d gotten sexier between looking in my mirror before leaving the house and reaching the club…
    Finally got to the car with my girlfriends and this guy comes swaggering over and won’t let the conversation die…
    I finally ask hwy he was being so persistent… he said…he saw everyone else trying to get at me…he figured I was worth having and felt he needed to actually seal the deal and get me to go on a date with him.

    So you see, men do it too!!!

    I am not fraternizing with a man that is married. I have enough of my own shit to account for on judgement day, muchless the answering of why I broke up a union that was promised before God.

    • “I am not fraternizing with a man that is married. I have enough of my own shit to account for on judgement day, muchless the answering of why I broke up a union that was promised before God.”

      9 times out of 10 that union was broken wayyy before you came along ;)

    • You may be unaware of some information. I know that women are real hard on themselves and will think that they are ” a hot mess” when that is far from the case because more often than not what is important to you appearancewise we could give 2 shits about. Do you have a big ass? Is your chest larger than normal?

    • I am not fraternizing with a man that is married. I have enough of my own shit to account for on judgement day, muchless the answering of why I broke up a union that was promised before God.

      AMEN! I am already pretty much for certain going to hell…butlet me go on my own merits…not on some okee okde adultery bullsh*t… be good or be good at it!

  8. *First, stop hating, Hill Harper is a cutie pie.
    *Second, this “Bandwagon attraction” that you speak of is really just our way of getting confirmation that we’re not wearing any variation of ‘the goggles’. That being said i’ve avoided many a bandwagon like K-Ci, Usher and Method Man, when he wore that weird eye thingy; (However, Method Man without the weird eye thingy can get it though…and twice on Sunday…and in the shower…and on the kitchen floor with the frig door open)
    *Third, married men don’t turn me on, but married people in general that are content, realistic about their expectations of marriage and are reciprocal in their lovey-doveyness towards one another, make me all warm & fuzzy inside; this is also the reason why i love reading comments by Raqi and D*stroy. Gives me hope or something. i dunno.
    *And lastly…y’all invented Bandwagon-ness. i.e.) every video (ho) model that’s gets mentioned on this site usually gets an “Amen!” from every male commenter on here. i guess all it takes is a big butt and a smile… i still luv y’all though. ;)

    • “*And lastly…y’all invented Bandwagon-ness. i.e.) every video (ho) model that’s gets mentioned on this site usually gets an “Amen!”

      thing is, these are women we all thought were hot already, and we didnt need any extra
      convincing of that fact.

      so you’re wrong and shit

    • (However, Method Man without the weird eye thingy can get it though…and twice on Sunday…and in the shower…and on the kitchen floor with the frig door open)

      PREACH!

  9. That being said i’ve avoided many a bandwagon like K-Ci, Usher and Method Man, when he wore that weird eye thingy; (However, Method Man without the weird eye thingy can get it though…and twice on Sunday…and in the shower…and on the kitchen floor with the frig door open)

    hi 5@ Miss Pat with the frig door open ’cause yall needed something to drink.

    I don’t really agree about the Hill Harper thing, he seems so something ……fragile, soft sweet, like he would use my shower gel; just my opinion.

    I always thought that Mos Def was sexy, who said he wasn’t? It’s sad that he married the groupie; so sad.

    • I hate to do it for fear that it further validates this article but I am going to co sign on both the method man comment (yes, he could get it) and the fact that I swear Hill Harper probably uses that honeysuckle scented bath and bodyworks shower gel and lotion.

      • I know Shay-d-lady he just looks like he smells like flowers or some shit. I don’t know why he looks so fragile; metro sexual.

        And about validating this article it doesn’t matter what is said he’ll just twist words to fit his meaning anyway. Lol, that’s what they do, you know those very smart brothas. :)

        • “And about validating this article it doesn’t matter what is said he’ll just twist words to fit his meaning anyway. Lol, that’s what they do, you know those very smart brothas. ”

          :)

      • I know a guy who uses body shower gel (not the lotion though)…needless to say, he’s also super smart, loves sports of all kinds and single…if he didn’t live on the other side of the country, I’d have married him years ago…

    • “I don’t really agree about the Hill Harper thing, he seems so something ……fragile, soft sweet, like he would use my shower gel; just my opinion.”

      Ok THAT made me cackle!! LMAO!! I pictured someone getting mad and saying “Hill! U aint SHIT!! What I tell you bout using my Japanese Cherry Blossoms joint??”

  10. Weeeeeird….like a few hours ago, I just happened to pick up Hill Harper’s new book to Young Sisters and flipped through and I was like hmmm now that’s the kinda guy I want. Why hasn’t any of these Hollywood chicks scooped him up? No bandwagon effect at all, I remember him only as the lil’ pip squeak b-ball player in He Got Game…but that book made a huge impression on me in a matter of a few page turns. Wow. And that’s soo creepy. Maybe the bandwagon effect is telepathic.

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