nice guy syndrome

English

Noun

nice guy syndrome (uncountable)

1. (colloquial) A phenomenon in which a man thinks that he deserves romantic or sexual attention from women by virtue of being nice.
   • 2003, Laura Chesnik, "Our responsibility: Education is a right", The Lance (University of Windsor), 18 November 2003, page 18:

     So before you fall into the trap of the ‘nice guy syndrome’ and start complaining about women’s choice in men, you should look to yourself.

   • 2014, Shira Stein, "Are nice guys actually as nice as they seem?", The Highlander (Carlmont High School, Belmont, CA), April 2014, page 3:

     Just because a guy treats a woman with respect does not mean she owes him anything. The “nice guy syndrome” needs to cease.

   • 2016, “Coquette”, in [The Best of] Dear Coquette: Shady Advice from a Raging Bitch Who Has No Business Answering Any of These Questions, page 74:

     If you really are a male feminist, whatever social awkwardness you might be suffering should never be confused with something so gross as Nice Guy Syndrome.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:nice guy syndrome.

Synonyms

• NGS (initialism)

See also

• friend zone