An issue that has caused a lot of debate, controversy and painful personal experiences is this: For centuries, women have believed that all men are dogs. I don't believe it's true, but several factors push both genders in different directions.

The men:

Good men are often the ones you never notice because they fly under the radar. They are respectful, mature, intelligent. A good man is a man, not a boy.

Alexander Knight

Women today need to realize there is more to a man than just his physical appearance and the tangible things that he owns. What you should really care about: What are his goals, personality, character? How does he treat you, and what does he want out of life? But men are not so innocent. There are a lot of guys who make it hard for nice guys by taking a woman for all she has, and the nice guy has to come behind you. That makes it twice as hard, proving the clich&eacute that nice guys finish last.

When you examine men and women, women are more emotionally attached than men. Women want that special someone, while some men might feel the same way. Society has taught men not to cry, to never show emotions. If a man does those things, he is considered less of a man. If you have emotion, you just hide it. From the B.C. days to now, men who have a lot of women have power and are highly respected.

The women:

Since the beginning of time, women have accused men of being dogs. But women have a part in this, just as much as men do.

Today, many women dress provocatively, and it sends the wrong message to guys. The way women dress today fuels the sexual desire of men. Women should not be in a hurry to call men dogs because, according to Sun.com, 43 percent of women cheat on their lovers compared to 34 percent of males. Women are able to get away with cheating because they have valid reasons why they cheated and guys mostly cheat for sexual reasons. But cheating is still cheating.

Women need to stop listening to relationship advice from other women who don't have a man! You cannot give advice on something you do not have. Something that is really shocking is a lot of women call men dogs, but they knew that he was a dog before they met him. Guys, most women know about your past.

One last thing about some women is how they want a man who is thug-like because he may be tough and financially stable. But the thug part comes out when he starts beating them or cheating. Then they blame him. But that is what they wanted, a thug.

Articles in the "Voices" section represent the opinions of the individual writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Black College Wire.

Alexander Knight is a student at Grambling State University. This article originally appeared in the Gramblinite. To comment, please e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Posted Oct. 15, 2007