Do guys like bold, firey women in real life or do they only like them in the stories they're told? I have met men who claim they like that kind of woman and reference characters in comics and tv shows but who are in fact in relationships with women who are very insecure about themselves and don't stand up for themselves (body pulled inward, socially withdrawn, stay quiet and look away when told something offensive, etc.), especially in front of their boyfriend/fiancé/husband.

A bold, firey woman in real life gets told she's bitchy, bossy, a harpie, uncompromising, that she needs to think about others before herself if she wants others to like her (especially if in a social situation where doing so would be selling herself short and advancing others at her expense), or even more irksome her bold firey nature is disregarded and patronized (in a ditzy, child-like voice) as being "too emotional" or the subject matter she cares about treated as superficial or something only "certain other people" are allowed to care about.

Guys, from where I am standing, you seem to prefer your strong confident women stay in the realm of fantasy, and not bother you in the real world where YOU can be in charge. Someone please tell me otherwise.