What Does It Mean When A Guy Calls You "Cute"?
By John Ortved,Glamour magazine
Dear Single John,
I need helping dissecting compliments. Guys always call me "cute" and it makes me think of a puppy or a two-year old. In fact, in a bar just last night a guy tapped me on the shoulder said "sorry to interrupt but my friend and I think you're cute as hell." What I wanted to say was, "What the hell do you mean by that?" To me a "cute" girl is not mature, intelligent, witty or sexy. Why do guys say "cute"? does it have a different connotation than "pretty" or "beautiful"?
If I have a type, and I don't think I strictly do, it would be the sporty girl next door. She tends to be "cute," not "hot," but "pretty" and "beautiful" as well as "mature," "intelligent," "witty," and "sexy." Does that help? No?
OK, let me try a different tactic. Let's look at my list of Hollywood crushes from the late '90s (I can't share the current one-too embarrassing; also I don't want to let on that I've ever watched Gilmore Girls, never mind that I know Rory's 10 most romantic….I've said too much):
Katie Homes - Cute
Kirsten Dunst - Cute
Natalie Portman - Beautiful
Amy Smart - Hot (maybe cute…borderline)
Selma Blair - Hot
Liz Hurley - Hot
Hmmmm…that didn't really help at all. It just kind of made me miss the '90s.
Let's look at some more contemporary sex symbols. Ashley Greene is totally cute, but also hot, and kinda beautiful, as is Emma Watson and Emma Stone. Anna Kendrick seems really cute, but there's something hot about her talent. Evangeline Lily is hotness personified, but she looked so cute whenever her character teased Jack on Lost. Carey Mulligan and Mia Wasikowska are both cute as hell, but there is something so hot about their accents.
See where I'm going with this?
Dude, take the compliment.
The point is this: "cute" can mean "hot" and it can also mean "beautiful" and smart, witty and really anything else that turns his crank, depending on who he is.
The guy who approached you in the bar thought you were attractive-why does it have to be a certain kind of attractive?
Only one other question-was he cute?
Do you get mad if you're called "cute" vs "hot"?
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Photo Credit: WWD
