Is Simon Cowell hot?

The other day, some of my female co-workers discussed the attractiveness of "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell.

He's not exactly physically attractive. Instead, he gets the majority of his hotness points through attitude.

Which is strange, since he's most commonly described with adjectives like "cocky" and "egotistical."

Women like that.

Make no mistake: We don't want a guy who worships his own image, or devotes dinner conversations entirely to the honors on his resume. But some self-assurance, and even a little bit of an ego, is definitely a turn-on.

To some extent, we're attracted to people who challenge us. When someone seems overly confident, there's a sense of intrigue in finding what makes him vulnerable.

And dating someone who's overly confident is a lot more appealing than dating someone who lacks self-esteem.

A little mutual encouragement is good, but few things harm a relationship more than a blurred distinction between girlfriend and therapist.

So go ahead, indulge me with your ego trip.

Just make sure you can back it up.

(Note: The official soundtrack to this post is Beyonce's "Ego." Listen to it here.)