Just Like In Real Life, Men On HBO's 'FBoy Island' Who Brag About Being Nice Guys Are The Real FBoys
F-Boy, F-Bye
HBO Max “Nice guys finish last” is a phrase that makes me gag. I mean, come on, self-identifying as a “nice guy” is a huge red flag. Even worse than a f**k boy that just doesn’t want to commit.
Seriously, just because you haven’t robbed a bank and love your mom, doesn’t mean you deserve a cookie — or a hand in marriage. But what does that mean for all of the self-identifying “nice guys,” competing their little hearts out on "Fboy Island"?
Who are the "Nice Guys" on "FBoy Island"?
On HBO's new dating show "FBoy Island," three incredible women — Nakia, Sarah, and CJ — seek true love among 24 potential mates who are composed of 12 self-identifying “fboys” and 12 self-identifying “nice guys.”
Neither the ladies nor the viewers know who is who but, guess what, it doesn't matter because anyone self-identifying as a nice guy probably isn't.
It’s up to Nakia, Sarah, and CJ to weed out the "fboys" from the “nice guys.”
Each week, three contestants are eliminated, and it is only then that the men have the opportunity to reveal their true colors.
What would be a reality show dating competition without a cash prize? If the three women scope out all of the “fboys” and kick them to the curb, they win a shot at love and $100,000. If an “fboy” makes it to the end, he gets to keep the money to himself.
The producers have hours of footage of the 12 "fboys" talking about their motives for coming on the show — to win money, not hearts. But the only way for the "fboys" to win is if they pretend to be "nice guys."
But, are the self-identifying nice guys pretending too?
Self-proclaimed nice guys aren't always that nice.
Just because someone self-identifies as a "nice guy" doesn't mean they're a good person — or that you want to date them!
Creator of the series, Elan Gale, couldn’t agree more.
“Just because you're nice doesn't mean you're necessarily good," he said. "And frankly, I'm not sure having fboy tendencies necessarily makes you objectively bad."
"There's no such thing in my mind of a 100% fboy or 100% nice guy," Gale explained. "A lot of these guys fall into a lot of gray area in between. Being a nice guy doesn't mean you're going to do everything right; being an fboy doesn't mean you're going to do everything wrong. We use these titles, but what we really get to see is there's every kind from 0 to 100 on the fboy to nice guy spectrum."
If only dating could be that black and white. Imagine if anyone who identified as nice actually respected you and your boundaries.
When it comes to moral character, people are complicated. Someone who opens the door for you can still be a sexist pig.
A guy can be a hard-core monogamist, but still think the fight for women's reproductive rights is a sick joke.
In episode one, Garratt — self-proclaimed nice guy — is eliminated for his overbearing nature. During the elimination round, Nakia talks about how she felt put off by his behavior.
How does he decide to soothe her discomfort? Instead of apologizing, he recites a love poem he wrote in her honor. When I watched Garratt get the boot, I was relieved. Better him one of the fboys, I thought.
Self-identifying nice guys are often not to be trusted.
A man who self-identifies as a nice guy is not to be trusted.
Relationship coach Keya Murthy says, "If someone needs to declare themselves 'nice' how nice are they truly? Your niceness feels right when mentioned by others. If a nice guy is tooting his own horn, there's an underlying 'noise' he's trying to silence."
The only times I've heard a guy self-identifying as a nice guy is in the context of feeling entitled to a woman's attention.
If a lonely guy can't get a second date and blames the date, that's not very nice.
Even if you were the nicest guy in the world, that doesn't mean someone is forced to be attracted to you, duh.
Why can't friendship be enough?
Izzy Casey is a writer who covers pop culture for YourTango. She received her MFA in Creative Writing from the Iowa Writers' Workshop. Her work has been published in The Iowa Review, BOAAT, Gulf Coast, Black Warrior Review, The Columbia Review, and New York Tyrant.