There's Nothing Wrong With Wanting Men (w/ Magdalene Taylor)

Senior editor at Playboy, Magdalene J. Taylor, returns to Bad Faith to discuss her viral (and somewhat infamous) New York Times essay, "There's Nothing Wrong With Wanting Men." Responding to a trend toward "hetero-pessimism," or a cynical feeling that heterosexual relationships are beyond repair due largely to something 'wrong' with men, she offers a counter argument: There's never been a better time to be straight. Reasonable minds can disagree. You can read her opinion piece here: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/31/op... 0:00 Cold open on dating tensions 0:52 Guest introduction and article setup 1:33 Pride Month headline backlash 2:29 Defining heteropessimism 3:36 Is heteropessimism rational? 4:09 Decentering men as self-protection 5:18 Antagonism versus actual decentering 7:15 Why online discontent feels unproductive 8:55 What purpose does discourse serve? 10:44 Reversing “the personal is political” 12:41 “Having a boyfriend embarrassing” debate 14:25 Fear of seeming aligned with men 16:54 Gender polarization in modern dating 17:59 Hidden politics and ethical mismatch 20:49 Are women really flooded with options? 23:28 Filters, flexibility, and app frustration 25:29 Structural reasons dating feels broken 27:03 Old marriage incentives disappearing 29:12 Freedom, institutions, and mixed expectations 31:05 Optimism versus realism in dating 32:46 Manosphere and heteropessimism compared 36:19 Pushback on Tate comparison 40:01 Men’s parallel dating complaints 42:25 Phones, social media, and disconnection 44:30 Freedom, discomfort, and new standards 46:13 Relief from compulsory partnership 47:55 Offline community versus online anger 49:08 Women coping better than men? 51:57 Economics and men needing to adapt 54:00 Class, respect, and dating standards 58:22 Advice, luck, and intentionality 59:23 Can luck be cultivated? 1:01:35 Bad date stories and app trenches 1:02:22 Rethinking romantic success 1:04:03 Why real-life meetings feel fated 1:05:41 Openness, grace, and simple connection 1:07:53 Self-worth and final reflections 1:08:10 Romantic failure and self-esteem 1:10:06 Heteropessimism as self-protection 1:13:07 Guest plugs and young men’s crisis 1:15:19 Voice notes joke and outro Subscribe to Bad Faith on YouTube for video of this episode. Find Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod).