Many women are looking for their "Knight in Shining Armor," and many guys are looking for their damsel in distress. However, many damsels distressingly seem to erroneously believe they've found their knight, but instead, they've really only found a jester wearing the knight's armor. Sometimes they find their true knight but don't know it or outright reject him because he isn't in his armor. Many times, the guys are at fault, too. There are two parts to being a knight in shining armor: being a knight and wearing the shining armor (looking good externally and looking good internally). It seems there are actually few real knights anymore, those who combine heroism and looks, but there are a lot of posers.

I'm not making a claim that anyone or any group is shallow. It's just an element of our design. Human beings are naturally attracted to looks. This makes sense to me. Take our cultural obsession with cat videos on the internet, for example. In my experience, all throughout high school and even beyond, I would see someone who looked good on the outside ride off with the damsel only to find that the knight was anything but honorable. The relationship eventually turned sour, and usually, it would end with the knight laughing and riding off with someone else while the damsel was boo-hooing, watching some soap opera, and eating ice cream. It was either that or they stayed together, both miserable. It always disturbed me to see how some man could continually abuse some girl, mentally and physically, but somehow still be preferred over someone who would do anything but that. That's why I chalk it up as a point for the looks department. The shining armor, or looks, seems to be either more important to the damsels or amazingly deceptive. I'm not sure which it is. These jesters or posers in shining armor are typically the "players."

On the other end, there are the knights that don't look like knights. They don't wear the armor. Some can't and some just don't. Being a knight is about character and characteristics. These secret knights exude good qualities: friendship, intelligence, and compassion. They may not be the toughest or strongest, with the most chiseled bodies, as magazines and movies make seem like the norm, but the strength of their character and compassion is stunning. Yet, this generally doesn't make up for lacking the armor, because without it, the knights are often forgotten about or swept under the rug, becoming friendzoned, maybe, or simply just ignored as if they don't exist. This is why I believe that Beauty and the Beast is just a fairy tale. I have very rarely seen relationships like that between Belle and Beast happen. I will acknowledge, however, that the ones I have seen have lasted.

Then, of course, there is the dying breed that most guys in the latter category want to be and the damsels want to find: the Knight in his Shining Armor. He has qualities of both. He physically and spiritually looks good. Unsurprisingly, these individuals seem to have the least problem in this area. They look good outwardly and are also good inwardly.

Many choose looks, both male and female. Some people are good at seeing past the shining armor, becoming attracted to ones who are good inwardly, instead of just outwardly. The combination of both is exceedingly rare. I recognize that I'm rare, but for a different reason. I see it like this: If someone looks good, but her heart does not, her beauty is hollow and vain. Truly, a woman's beauty is in her heart, and that matters more to me than looks. Looks are no indicator, to me, of beauty, and of course, the most beautiful thing to me is someone who's heart is devoted to God. Essentially, the problems with the Knight in Shining Armor are these: people tend to focus on the shiny armor and ignore the character of the person who either wears it or doesn't, and many people who look good outwardly aren't necessarily good on the inside as well. Not everyone can live up to such a trope of the ideal person.