#bitches bite back

The Friend Zone: An imaginary area filled with self-professed Nice Guys who’ve been sexually rejected by women they’ve been Nice to. See also: A convenient social construct designed to comfort men who cannot cope with rejection. See also: A manipulative tool used by Nice Guys to make a woman feel guilty for not wanting to have sex with them.

The Nice Guy Phenomenon: In which self-entitled men believe that if they spend enough time with a woman and aren’t explicitly terrible to them, it’s unfair when the woman doesn’t then suck their penis and/or fall in love with them.

Poor Nice Guys. It must be so difficult, putting all of that effort into pretending to be a decent human being without being rewarded with sex or love afterward. They listen to our problems, buy us gifts, shower us with compliments, talk to us about all the other horrible guys we’re dating, and yet! And yet we still don’t tear our clothes off and fall into their arms. We keep going for those other dudes, the ones with charisma and personality. The ones we’re attracted to, the ones who make us laugh, the ones who make us feel good. It is just so unreasonable and infuriating. They must really regret falling for such a Bitch.

To that I say: cry me a river. You should be nice because it’s the right thing to do. If you’re nice because you want something in return, you’re probably not that nice at all.

I mean, maybe we can blame Hollywood. The invariable message of most romantic comedies is that men can be as lazy or slutty or awkward or obnoxious as they like, but as long as they’re relatively nice and keep trying, they’ll get the girl in the end. The below-average and perilously flawed man always ends up with the beautiful girl if he puts in a little effort and isn’t an outright dickhead to her. The bar is so low that Nice Guys who watch it must see it and think, huh. I can do that. And if I do, I’ll get any woman I want. Who is she to say no? Who is she to have a choice?

But I’ve got a news flash for you, Nice Guys: the world doesn’t work that way. Sure, it’d be great if you could get anything you wanted – a job, a promotion, a mortgage – by being a semi-decent person and trying quite hard, but that’s not reality. Just ask the millions of disadvantaged people around the world who face discrimination based on their gender, race, sexuality, class and disabilities every day.

That’s probably why the Nice Guys are so angry. In a system that inherently favors them, it’s the first time they aren’t automatically getting what they want just because they want it. Their privilege

is no longer doing the heavy lifting, and they’re mad about it.

This entitlement has to stop. The world owes you nothing. Girls owe you nothing.

We do like good guys. You just aren’t one of them.

The Exact Opposite of Okay by Laura Steven

While I, Izzy O’Neill, the incredible narcissist that I am, would like to believe I can help everyone in the entire world, the simple fact of the matter is that I’m not a licensed therapist. [I know this may be a shock to many, but it’s true.] 

So if you’ve been affected by any of the issues explored in The Exact Opposite Of Okay, please don’t hesitate to reach out to one of the following organizations. They’re much better equipped to offer the help and support you need.

Bullying UK

Offers information and advice on bullying – including cyberbullying and bullying at school.

Kidscape

Provides advice and information on preventing bullying and keeping children safe.

eCRIME Action

An online directory providing helplines, guidance, advice, and practical information about cyber crime.  

Cyberbullying Taskforce – Royal Foundation

Provides an online code of conduct to empower all young people to take a stand against bullying.

Internet Matters

A not-for-profit organisation offering a range of advice to help parents keep children as safe as possible online.  

Revenge Porn Helpline

The UK’s only dedicated service supporting adults offers practical assistance and confidential advice.

Victim Support

Offer confidential support to people affected by different types of crime including cyber crime and revenge porn.

Papyrus UK

I was lucky enough to receive a review copy of The Exact Opposite Of Okay by Laura Steven at YALC last year. It’s such a good book and I highly recommend pre-ordering a copy so you can read it straight away when it’s released on 8 March 2018!

You can read my review of this brilliant book on my Wordpress blog (or on Goodreads).

Laura Steven is offering anyone who pre-orders The Exact Opposite Okay an extra bonus scene from the book. You can read more below (or on Laura’s Tumblr) - unfortunately I couldn’t reblog the original post due to silly second-Tumblr rules!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Want to win a bonus chapter from THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF OKAY?💖👊🏻✨

Fancy hearing the hilarious story of how aspiring comedian, impoverished orphan and slut extraordinaire Izzy O’Neill lost her virginity? 💀🙊

If you preorder The Exact Opposite Of Okay before 7 March 2018 – and email proof of purchase to [email protected] – you’ll be sent a super exclusive BONUS SCENE on release day, exploring Izzy’s first time in painstaking detail 😈🔥

This scene won’t be available anywhere else, so the only way to find out how Izzy got the perfectly round bruise on her left buttcheek is by preordering The Exact Opposite Of Okay now 🎊✨

Preorder in the UK

Preorder internationally

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Aspiring comedian Izzy O’Neill never expected to be eighteen and internationally reviled. But when photos involving her, a politician’s son and a garden bench emerge, the trolls set out to take her apart. Armed with best friend Ajita and a metric ton of nachos, she must figure out who’s behind the vicious website – while keeping her sanity intact.

Izzy is about to find out that the way the world treats girls is not okay. It’s the Exact Opposite of Okay.

This is a book for anyone who’s ever called themselves a feminist … and anyone who hasn’t.  

‘Funny, unapologetic and shameless in the best possible way, this is a YA heroine (and book) that you’ve never seen before’ - Louise O'Neill, award-winning author of Asking for It

'This book will make you laugh out loud, nod in agreement, cringe with recognition, and stand up and cheer. I adored it’ - Katherine Webber, author of Wing Jones