Agreed. =)

John Carter said it better! And was a bigger badass to boot!

Are we talking of the sort of "baggage" that is totally okay for men yet makes women some sub-human stigmatized-for-life bitch ?

Seconded!

No, we're talking about the kind baggage that makes anyone an unreasonable, annoying, twat. Seriously, who the fuck wants to date that? If anything that bullshit is less accepted in men (at least in the US), you act like that and not only will girls not date you, other guys will likely take the opportunity to kick your ass.

Oooh, ritual serial killing, purse theft, arsonism, joss whedon fandom and deliberate STD spread ? Okay. Yes, it is very bad. I'd advocate against it. Makes for very annoying dates, on the long term.

See, "baggage" didn't seem entirely univocal, as a term. For someone who's not used to it, it cound sound open to a wide array of assumptions. Including the regular "ew she has slept with several people in her life", which is traditionally seen as derogatory when it comes to women (they are soiled and out of control and all that) while vaguely flattering for men (ooh, he's a real charmer, he's lived quite a bit). You know, the glorified action hero who gets all the girls and is super cool and awesome -sometimes until marriage- as opposed to the strong or weak female character who'd be immediately labelled an evil sick bitch if even remotely "promiscuous". The old opposed role-models and countermodels. But, well, obviously, this has nothing to do with what was being talked about.

Wurn the bitch.

The girl I'm sleeping with has been with at least 100 other guys and I literally don't care. With that said, I'm the exception for an American on that point, but still the term "baggage" in the US tends to mean people that actually could use therapy: daddy issues, abandonment issues, anger issues, untreated depression, or any other unresolved trauma that makes them act out against people that really don't deserve it. These people are unstable and unpleasant to be in a relationship with (though due to their issues they are usually easy to get into a relationship with, they are frequently seeking external sources of approval and comfort), they tend to resist getting treatment, their problems are clearly "your fault" (even though they existed before you met them and will persist long after you're apart)... you get the picture.

I know dudes that have had them steal all kinds of shit from them. I leave a hundred bucks out on my bureau when a new gal comes around just to see. Am I a dick? Probably.

If I understand correctly, the reason why a high number of sexual partners for a man is praised and a female is err... I'm not sure what the word is (1am now).. looked down upon is at least partially due to the effort involved in acquiring a sexual partner.

The playing field is uneven, thus the achievements of the handicapped are greater, even though the result is the same. To my knowledge, the common perception is "men have to work for it, a woman can just ask".

I suppose we need to experiment. We need an average-looking man/women and they each go into a bar and asking the opposite gender the question directly. My hypothesis is the man would be kicked out pretty sharpish and the woman would be accepted by the first or second single man she asked.

For the man, make that average attractiveness, which after mid twenties tends to shift away from looks to other traits.

Wouldn't make any difference. The idea is nothing else is said.

Walk up to one person, ask, if declined, walk to the next person and ask them. Rinse and repeat.

Yes, but the question's responders can spot an expensive watch, shoes, or shirt as well as may have judged the quality of the car one drove up in. Even the smell of an expensive cologne might matter far more than looks. Even the confidence with which the question is asked will highly influence the response.

If you could control for all the rest of that, well, the experiment would be way less organic, but I suppose more controlled, nonetheless.

I've seen many less attractive guys go home with a young hottie while the 25 year old hunks are drinking sullenly alone.