As I said in my response to the article, there certainly is a time and place for that stoic, rugged personality. I’m a straight male and I’m attracted to that too! Not sexually, but I do admire that quality in males and well as females.

I somewhat get “being assumed guilty before opening my mouth”. I understand because I am intuitive and empathetic, commonly seen as feminine qualities. But I can definitely tell a difference when meeting someone for the first time. They’re on guard around me. I’m a somewhat attractive 6’3” white dude with a deep voice and southern accent. I sense that they’re either intimidated by me or unsure of what I stand for. I happily disarm them by showing them I’m not an asshole, and I am keenly aware when they drop their guard and loosen up.

So, while I’ve never been outright accused of being a dick, I can say for certain most people do have assumptions about me based on my physical appearance alone.

We can’t do anything to stop people from having these assumptions in general, but we can show them that at least when dealing with a particular individual, those assumptions are usually incorrect