Ponyboy Curtis

For the first time in 10 years, I'm watching The Outsiders, the movie based on the classic S. E. Hinton novel. The all-star cast makes up a group of tough young "greasers". Even though this movie is 27 years old and the actors are grown men now, I can't help but have a crush on the main character, Ponyboy Curtis. In fact all the characters have a certain (dirty?) sex appeal.
What is it about bad boys that attracts all women? Even in this movie a super pretty, wealthy young woman has a thing for the roughest guy of them all. Not only do bad boys exude confidence and manliness, they refuse to play by the rules which we all wish we could mimic but don't. Perhaps more importantly, It also feels like a magnificent sense of accomplishment when you "tame" a bad boy and make him your own. And no, I'm not talking about a stallion.
Ironically our standards seem to drop several notches when it's a bad boy - like him just acknowledging your presence is a major achievement. When a bad boy calls you on time or buys you flowers it's the equivalent of a nice guy building you a house or buying you a car. It's not fair, but that's the way it is.