Our resident dating expert James Preece has offered his thoughts on the Soft Guy Era trend on TikTok, branding it “game-playing manipulation.”
Much like the problematic “seeding” trend and the rise of the boy sober, the Soft Guy Era initially began on everybody’s favorite video-sharing app, TikTok. Unlike said dating trends, the Soft Guy Era has been a massive topic of contention, with some agreeing with its principles and others dubbing it wholly misogynistic.
What is the Soft Guy Era
The growing trend was seemingly put forward by content creators @scarfacemark and @lilgoodiee, who claimed men were finally starting to understand their worth. In reality, it’s a direct parody of the 2023 Soft Girl Era trend where women were rejecting the “girlboss” attitudes of yesteryear.
“We all know being a provider in 2024 is a scam. So we don’t care, we’re not doing that anymore. We know that’s old-fashioned, these women got money, these women are working, so they need to contribute,” Scarfacemark said earlier.
The trend has been subjected to criticism from all sides, even by the usually supportive right-wing commentators on FOX News. Ultimately, people have taken issue because the trend seems to be about punching women down, not lifting men up.
James Preece comments
We caught up with our resident dating expert to ask his opinion on the rise of the Soft Guy Era, with James Preece telling us that relationships should be about “respect and balance.”
“The soft guy era is more wishful thinking than a real movement. In order to get women to treat someone like this, they’d have to display incredibly high value,” he told us. “They would have to be a pop star, billionaire CEO, or high-profile celebrity. If they don’t have that sort of status, then women will just ignore them and date someone who makes them feel special.”
Ironically, James argued that women wouldn’t be required to conform to the trend if the men perpetuating it were actually worth the work.
He continued: “The ‘soft guy era’ isn’t really a thing, but instead a way of calling out how women often behave in dating. They expect men to pay for them and chase them before committing. All relationships are about respect and balance. Without it, then it’s just game-playing manipulation and has no future.”
