I have an agenda. Does that make me an Agenda Girl?

I saw this little beauty at a Barnes & Noble today. I'm looking over the table with all the new non-fiction, and this title jumped out at me. I don't know if it was the bright pink or the jaw-dropping misogyny. Don't Be That Girl. Which girl, exactly? The author proceeds -- as far as I can tell -- to list out all of the "typical" behaviors of women that he finds pathetic and unappealing. And judging by this cover, he means women who let their makeup run, drink too much, and throw themselves at men. The level of disdain and condescension is staggering.

I read the first few pages in the store. He tells the story -- and I paraphrase, of course -- of working late at night in the ER. Yes, he is a doctor. A woman comes in with a badly swollen black eye. As he treats her injury, he asks her how she got hurt. She says she fell down the stairs. But, oh no, he knows something is up. He asks her what really happened. She confesses that actually her boyfriend hit her in the face with a shoe.

But why does he tell this story? What is he trying to convey? He explains that he was compelled to write this book because women are too insecure and they lack confidence -- and they allow themselves to be abused. He reasons, "if I could just show women how to be less pathetic, I would be doing them a service!" (Again, I paraphrase.)

"Don't Be That Girl cuts to the heart of what makes a woman cross into that girl territory and the red flags that tip guys off to the possibility that, yikes, they may be dating that girl. So who is that girl, exactly? She defies a simple definition. She may be the chameleon who turns into a completely different person the second a guy walks into the room. She could be the girl with the ironclad agenda that she's held to dearly since her first encounter with Modern Bride (and she'll do anything to make sure her plan materializes). Or she's the consummate "yes" girl who is always going along with his every wish. If she's not saying yes, she might very well be a drama queen who is always saying no because she can't seem to live without conflict. Then again, she might not be dramatic at all, just miserable inside, wearing her anger and bitterness as a badge of honor. In short, she's the girl who's trying fruitlessly to be someone she's not -- who's falling victim to the common pitfalls and patterns that lead to that girl behavior -- rather than believing in herself, following her passions, and maintaining healthy priorities." (from product description on Amazon.com)

But the icing on this cake is who the author turns out to be. I looked at the book and thought that the name looked familiar. Travis L. Stork, aka The Bachelor. I kid you not. I've spent my fair share of (wasted) time watching reality TV, and the Bachelor was one of my (extremely) guilty pleasures a few years ago. But like some sickly sweet candy that you gorge yourself on, ignoring everything you know about the evils of what you're consuming, until it becomes too much and you're left with nothing but a vomitous aftertaste -- I grew tired of the Bachelor a few seasons ago. But not before I saw this guy in action.

It is beyond ludicrous that Travis Stork -- the guy who went on a trashy reality TV show to "find love" -- is telling women how to behave rationally and develop mature relationships. And I've already spent too much time thinking about this.