What does boyfriend material mean?
Boyfriend material describes a man who has what it takes to be a good long-term partner: he is reliable, kind, interested and consistent. The phrase is a judgement about character more than attraction. Someone can be very attractive and not boyfriend material at all.
What people mean by it
Material is what something is made from. To call a man boyfriend material is to say that he could be relied on once the excitement settles. It is the opposite of a situationship: his interest is clear and his actions match his words.
Signs that he is
The list is unglamorous, which is the point.
- He does what he said he would do.
- He asks questions and remembers the answers.
- He is kind to people who can do nothing for him.
- He can apologise without a speech.
- He makes plans and keeps them.
- You feel calm with him, not anxious.
Boyfriend material and attraction
The qualities that excite in the first weeks and the ones that last are not always the same. Many people find, after a few intense disappointments, that steadiness has become attractive in itself. The gentleman of fiction, older and unhurried, is boyfriend material written as romance.
Questions and answers
- What does boyfriend material mean?
- Having the qualities of a good, dependable partner, such as kindness, consistency and real interest.
- What is husband material?
- The same idea taken further: someone you could build a life with.
- Can someone become boyfriend material?
- People grow, but it is wiser to judge what he does now than what he might do later.