USA Today quote on pickup artists

I'm quoted in a USA Today story today about pickup artists:

And many guys need the help, Strauss says. "My site gets e-mail from everyone from 30-year-old virgins to Vietnam vets, all of whom need help with women," he says. "I'm not sure if this (Seduction Community) phenomenon will be a revenge of the nerds for the early 2000s, or if it's the beginning of a brand-new form of men's movement. But I do know that guys want someone to show them the ropes."

None of which surprises the author of Why There Are No Good Men Left. "When it comes to meeting and mating, most men are sort of clueless," says Barbara Dafoe Whitehead, who also is co-director of the National Marriage Project at Rutgers University. "It doesn't help that many women today are highly educated and well-compensated, which makes them set even higher standards for men these days."

She gives pickup tutorials a qualified thumbs-up: "Though it seems rather artificial, if it makes men more confident, I'd think women would applaud this."

Just not women such as Rachel Kramer Bussel, sex and dating columnist for New York's Village Voice. While acknowledging that "guys have pressure to make that first move," she cringes at "being seen as a target of a plan," she says. "If I found out a guy spent $2,000 to learn this stuff, I'd be a bit wary."