Ladies, This Is Why We're All So Attracted To Lip From 'Shameless'

By society’s standards -- judging men on a "hotness" scale that begins and ends with Channing Tatum -- Jeremy Allen White, better known as Lip from Showtime’s “Shameless," isn’t the hottest guy on television, or the second hottest even. In fact, he’s probably down there with the Joseph Gordon-Levitts of the world. Yet, why do I continually find myself yearning to bang him?

Why would I pick Phillip Gallagher over Channing Tatum, were the theoretical choice to present itself? What is it about Lip that makes my insides tingle and my heart race? What is it about him that makes me wish I could just be Karen, choosing to live with Joan Cusack and inevitably get railed into by a car, for just a few moments with South Side’s most volatile Gallagher.

There's something there that can't be ignored, something that every woman who watches "Shameless" will vouch for when describing her unconditional love and attraction for the fictional character. It's a quality that accompanies mysteriousness and attitude, which Lip seems to have been dripping in since puberty (possibly birth).

He's that bad kid from the wrong side of the tracks we always imagined getting into trouble with. He's the man we yearned for in our high school days as we settled for yuppie boys in lacrosse pinnies and mommy issues. He's the genius who doesn't care and the bad boy who loves his family. He's everything you've ever imagined in your perfect man.

His Bad Boy Complex

The inevitable answer to the question of our attraction is that he’s got the bad boy complex down to an art form. Between his preference for Marlboros, tendency to f*ck over hot women and general disdain for authority, he’s that kid without a cause, the rebel without hope and the boy your parents would have never approved of.

He's rebellious by nature and will never let injustice prevail. Not to mention, he always manages to have blood on his clothes, usually from a fight in which he’s defending his family’s honor or his woman’s.

His Intelligence

There’s more to his charm than his tendency to jump fences and punch out security guards. Alongside his reckless nature is another quality that's always left women swooning: He’s a f*cking genius. A natural genius, Lip had a tendency for getting in trouble for his attitude, and getting out of it with his intelligence.

In the dawn of the nerd, Lip manages to perfectly balance brains and brawn to a point where there’s not a dry pair of underwear to be found. He pulls off the sexy nerd with a serious attitude problem, not to mention he actually doesn’t give a f*ck. We all know nothing’s sexier than a man who’s smart and doesn’t know it.

His Family Values

Of course, let’s not forget his family values. Is there anything hotter than a guy who takes care of his family? As the second oldest, Lip takes many of the responsibilities that Fiona can’t handle and assumes a protective role over the youngest of the clan.

It’s safe to say that we were all swooning when he came home from college to look for Ian after learning about his desertion from the army. Not to mention he’s always there to help Fiona make money, even if that means running from the cops or selling some grass. However, his most practical money-making ventures are the ones he hatches from his intellect.

His Way With Women

We’re not surprised that the hottest and baddest chicks on South Side are fighting for his affection. He loves them then leaves them, but will always be there if they really need him. He showed he has a soft side when Karen left then came back, and when she became a vegetable after his new girlfriend tried to kill her. We watched him bask in his broken heart and replace the void with Mandy, who he didn’t always treat with the utmost respect, but definitely made up for it in the bedroom.

His Discipline

He does what he has to do and knows what needs to be done in order to move on. He doesn’t mind working in the kitchen or clearing away the trash of his peers to pay off his student loans. When he has to study for the first time he wasn’t effortlessly first in his class, he buckles down and seeks the help and habits he needs to succeed in this new world of academia.This new season has brought on a new side of discipline we never saw from the rebellious teen, and it's safe to say it's just another asset.

His Solitude

He doesn’t follow the crowd or yearn for a lot of friends. He’s the lone wolf, the outsider, the individual. He’s the guy who only needs one or two friends and will always choose solitude over meaningless company. He can drink alone and eat alone and has never cared what anyone thinks of him. Ladies, is there anything hotter than a mysterious loner?

Photo credit: Shameless