I was shocked when I read the headline “Women find modesty an unattractive trait in men” from an article on the website Asylum.

I am a woman, and I definitely disagree with that headline. In addition, I know several women who would likely dispute this so-called fact too.

We will discuss the reasons it is necessary to appreciate modest men in a moment.
First, I would like to discuss an important aspect, possibly the most important one, of this study: the lack of actual women in it.

Videos of a man and a woman interviewing for a job were shown to 200 people during the study, conducted by researchers from Rutgers University.

Neither the man nor the woman were actual applicants for a job, they were actors reading a script, which called them to be as modest as possible.

The results showed that the female applicants found the male actor to be less qualified for the job because of his humble behavior.

I am not debating that the participants of the study found the male actor to be unattractive.
That is not the point.

What is crucial is that only 200 people were actually used to draw the conclusion that women don’t like modest men — and they were not even all women. I have more than 200 female friends on Faceboook.

How many females I know — even though it outnumbers the study participants greatly — doesn’t give us an accurate idea of how women feel about modest men, either.

Not when there are more than 6 billion people on the planet.

The United States Census Bureau’s World Population Clock puts us at about 6.8 billion people.

In my humble opinion, measuring the reaction of 200 people is not enough to determine how all or even most women feel about anything.

Since there is not a better study of how women feel about modest men, I thought we could focus on why it is important for ladies to support these fellows. That is if these elusive creatures even exist.

The dictionary defines modest as having or showing a moderate or humble estimate of one’s merits or importance.

I have experienced a lot of men talking at me — rather than to or with me — about their brilliance. A less confident, more realistic assessment of their actual achievements would be refreshing.

It is similar to finding $20 in your coat jacket; it is unexpected, and therefore you are pleasantly surprised. I would rather be impressed with someone’s actions than being disappointed because they sold me some pipe dream.

Modest doesn’t mean meek or mild. The dictionary describes it as being free from vanity, egotism, boastfulness or great pretensions. I am not sure I see what is wrong with anyone being free from vanity.

At the least it will save you some time while waiting to leave the house, because the days of women always taking longer than men to primp are over.
Another common idea of modesty is the absence of showy extravagance, which is the trend right now anyway.

With the recession and high unemployment rate Americans have been less ostentatious.

Whether you nodded or shook your head while reading the Asylum headline it doesn’t hurt to appreciate modest behavior.

Just don’t be too proud of yourself while doing so.