Let's be realistic..

[Love'sReject]

..what is the acceptable percentage of "be(ing) yourself" to attract a girl?

With my thorough knowledge, it is in my estimation to be between the 10-20%, and must be subtle and well placed.

[bcgirl]

very few people show their true selves when meeting the opposite sex straight off the bat.

[Love'sReject]

So then all the talk about hating "fake people" is really bunk?

[bcgirl]

^ yup. The people that say that the most are those who are the biggest fakes and actually hate that characteristic about themselves

[Sonrisa]

i am the fakest there is, only the closest of my friends know the real me lol

[bulrush]

"Fake people" are, IMO, the ones that act fake all the time. Normal people show their best side when meeting a date for the first time, then gradually reveal more of themselves as time goes on.

[smackie9]

Being negative or talkin smack about others makes you look like a loser.....like you have nothing interesting to talk about. I'm myself 100%, if I'm not your type at the start then you just saved me from wasting my time.

[Love'sReject]

The custom in American dating, probably Canadian and South American dating and wherever dating customs are similar, is apparently to slowly reveal one's true character to the partner...

[smackie9]

Apparently? Ya why not get a few free dinners out of it before they finally reveal how much of a zzzzzzzzz they are lol....

[Love'sReject]

Easier to be a girl in this situation, then, eh? As a guy, I can't really do what you're suggesting there.

[smackie9]

I say it's better to be a little aggressive in what you are looking for. Everyone has an idea or what type of personality, what they find attractive, etc...your expectations. You want to get that out of the way asap, before you continue dating someone. You don't want to waste your time, or their time if the expectations are not being fulfilled.

You need to be confident enough in yourself to be successful in getting what you want. Confidence attracts.

[Love'sReject]

To be honest, all those posts of mine were started, what, 2-3 weeks ago? I think I've come a long way since then; I have been so busy with my studies (just passed my exam today!) that I didn't even bother dwelling on those things that I was ruminating on so heavily when I signed up for this site.

As always, I appreciate your input, smackie9:

I do wonder, however, with that last statement of yours, if there are like 2 distinct kinds of confidences: I'm confident in my ability in terms of things outside girls (as evidenced by my having passed a tough exam) but my confidence with girls is something else. Hope that makes sense?