Do women find the concept of alpha men and beta men silly and dumb?

[Barbaric]

It's not. It exists. Many people argue against the existence of alphas and betas by claiming that we're not animals, but we are. We're just highly intelligent animals (some at least).

Another argument people make is that the guy who came up with the term was talking about wolves, and that he later disavowed his own theory realising that it only existed in captivity and not in the wild. That's a counter-argument many people parrot without much thought but it makes no sense. It's a strawman argument.

Firstly we're not wolves, so the fact that the creator of that theory amongst wolves disavowed it is completely irrelevant.

Secondly there are alphas and betas in most species of apes. If we're going to be compared to any animal species, we're most comparable to the apes.

But then you might say that we're not apes, but our mating behaviours are actually similar. Chimpanzee females for example go into heat, otherwise known as oestrus. When they do this, they seek out sex with the alpha males while largely ignoring the beta males. However, when not in heat they will have sex with beta males in exchange for favours and food. The beta males will groom them, bring them food, and even take care of their children in order to try to have sex with them.

Human females, particularly the young ones on Tinder, have casual hook-ups with typically more masculine men. They look for tall good looking men with muscles as I've seen a few put it here. When it comes time to settle down however, they'll go for the more "sensible" option - the guy with a good job, who is likely to be loyal and stable. One of them they have sex for the sake of having sex. The other sex in exchange for resources.

Since the human female cycle is more constant, they behave in the same way as the female chimps only more regularly. For example during their ovulation phase many studies show that women respond sexually more to signals of high testosterone in men - facial features, signs of physical strength, dominance. Then during the luteal phase they seek out "softer" men.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/02/140214130907.htm

Married women with masculine husbands also self-report higher marital satisfaction at their peak fertile phase, for the same reason:

https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2016-52090-001

Women on the birth control pill trick their bodies into thinking that they're pregnant, and this also makes them more likely to choose "softer" men who they see as being better long-term partners.

https://www.cell.com/trends/ecology-evolution/fulltext/S0169-5347(09)00263-8

That's what alpha and beta really means. It's the traits which women find "sexy" vs not so much, and it's biologically ingrained. A lot of people I think create a ridiculous, exaggerated caricature of what an "alpha" male is vs a "beta" and people respond to those, but that's what it is.

[Dracuaw]

It always gets on my nerves when I hear of such concepts. This is none sense. Being alpha or a "bad boy" shouldn't be considered cool. We are tolerating and even Inciting people to be rude and make people who love them get hurt for no reason.

[Anonymous]

Yes! I do think it's dumb!

In practical life situations, an "alpha" guy is actually beta. Maybe even omega! Here's why.

The so called "alpha" guy has to be an extrovert to make up for something that is missing.

A "beta" guy has it all, so hangs in the background, as he has no reason to prove he has everything. He will be the best guy for a long term relationship. Happy to share everything with his partner.

So called "alpha" is like the peacock. Has to show off to get a mate!

[AmandaYVR]

I do, yes. I think it's way overused, it's ridiculously reductionist, and I don't subscribe to it at all.

[Bandit74]

So there is no objective quantifiable way to measure it but conceptually it exists even if called by different names. To some extent it is semantics and there are different contexts/definitions that overlap.

First way of looking at it is just dominance/leadership/courage which can be situational and dependent on who you are with but certain men will disproportionately fall into that leadership position more than others and those men can be viewed as more alpha.

Second way is a hierarchy of male physical attributes. For example certain traits like height, muscles, deep voice, big dick, masculine facial structure are viewed as more alpha qualities. However there are diminishing returns on some of these traits once you pass a certain threshold. The more traits you have that fall within the ideal threshold the more alpha/high value/attractive you are and the more traits that fall short of those ideal thresholds the more beta/low value, unnatractive you are.

Third way is how you are able to aquire sex. Under this definition a man would be an alpha if he can get sex from a woman based only on his looks and personality. For example, the guys women choose to be fuckbuddies with. These guys don't have to offer commitment, wait, pay money etc. All he needed for the woman to see him as worth having sex with was his looks and personality.

A man is a beta to a woman if he can't get her to want sex based only on looks/personality and instead has to compensate by offering additional things before she thinks he is worth having sex with. For example, waiting, paying for dates, emotional vulnerability , commitment, marriage etc. Once again a man could be viewed as alpha to one woman but beta to another. However certain types of men will disproportionately fall into the alpha category while other types of men disproportionately fall in the beta category.

[Brian___1731]

Probably because it's not real. Before it sure could be but nowadays there are also strong nerds and smart jocks. Such stereotyping won't get us anywhere because it's according to circumstance we decide what we have to be like. For example to be a good father you must be a beta male but to be a strong independent individual who stands up for himself one has to be an alpha. So a mix of sorts is what's more common. No one can be completely alpha or beta, at least in the modern age, cuz today strength isn't the only thing valued. Money smartness, intelligence, humour all matters

[DrunkAss]

I have no fondness of asskissers if we call them "beta". You can spot them a mile away saying whatever they think people who are important to them (women, bosses) wanna hear. But one problem I have with alpha/beta distinction is that there is such a thing as a noble follower: someone who watches people's backs takes care of them, takes responsibility... almost the same as the great leader except they're less insistent on doing things their own way and more willing to believe in someone else's vision. Those guys should be praised. They aren't doormats. If they have women, they'll look after them because they have a similar sense of responsibility as the great "alpha" leader.

I don't know what women think. Society doesn't place the same expectations on them. I'd hardly be surprised if many just think this is all dumb. But asskissers and doormats are real, and I've no fondness of them whatsoever. They're the bottom-feeding scum of the earth.

[SomeGuyCalledTom]

They find it silly and dumb when betas argue about whether or not they're alpha. But when they're actually in the presence of an alpha, they respond subconsciously as biological programming kicks in.

The tricky part is actually agreeing on common definitions of "alpha" and "beta". Personally I see it as a shifting continuum, you might wake up in a low energy beta-like state, but then you're kicking it with your mates and your alpha behavior starts switching on. It's a muscle you gotta train, especially around other alphas coz that's when betas really reveal themselves.

[Yaaten]

Isn't the whole idea based upon a misunderstanding of some study that a professor (L. D. Mech) conducted on wolves back in the early 70's?
https://knowledgenuts.com/2014/01/11/the-alpha-wolfe-is-an-outdated-myth/
Yes, I do believe it is! :)
It always was, and always shall be, utter nonsense. I've noticed that Jordan Peterson and his fans have accepted the idea, which says it all really.

[Brainsbeforebeauty]

Yes I do!! It's called good and bad, simple as that... People have so convoluted what makes a man strong or weak/nice guy vs bad boy... Simplify people there people that are just POS'S and guess what.. They come in both genders, male and female... A POS is a POS no matter which way you slice it 🤷🏼‍♀️ And now... let the downvotes begin 🤣

[taleswapper]

No, it's not real. Yes, it's dumb. Yes, most women see it that way too.

Look. Everyone wants things to be predictable, to have a good chance at knowing WTF is going on. It's comforting (if illusionary) to think you have a handle on things. So people keep coming up with these SWAGs (Scientific Wild Ass Guesses) in an attempt to explain why stuff happens. And the better it is at accurately predicting what happens, the more people like it.
Unfortunately, people are lazy thinkers, too. They like easy answers more than correct ones. That's the whole Alpha-beta-(pick your greek letter) thing; an easy but wrong answer.

[jennifer_bloom]

Would you classify Jesus or Gandhi as alpha men? They were humble and critical and alienating and weak and they cared far more about serving the world than they did about getting money or sex - I don’t think alpha is ideal - I think humility and meekness and modesty and pacifism is the ideal condition - to me hard headed alphas are losers cause they lack the humility and meekness of Jesus or King David or Solomon or Gandhi

[blondfrog]

Anybody with half a brain should. That shit is a bunch of rubbish and even if you believe in that whole alpha beta concept, you should know that those perspectives can easily change. Another issue with that is that its easy to persuade people you are alpha or even beta.

[nerdybutlazy]

Yes, in general I think it's a weird thing people use to shame men who don't fit into a stereotype that other men thing is better, in reality it doesn't mean you'll be a better person or partner

[OlderAndWiser]

I think of those two concepts as caricatures. Yes, there are some people to whom they apply, but most people are somewhere between those two extremes.

[Babygirl_S]

I find it dumb for sure. I have seen that's not how it works. Many attractive guys go unnoticed. Some ugly guy with money can be incredibly popular. Many attractive guys marry fat and ugly women. It is all so stupid!

[Don-__-Don]

I think the concept is useless to me, but I don't know about it being "dumb" and "silly".

[NamerOfStars]

It's based on an inaccurate and disavowed-by-its-creator study on captive wolves done in the 40's. It doesn't reflect real life at all for wolves, and betrays a denial of basic human psychology in people.

[Anonymous]

What we are talking about with the concept of alpha and beta are leaders and followers, aggressive and passive, dominant and submissive. None of them are silly or dumb. They are just different terms that describe the same human traits and behaviors.

[Anonymous]

Your image shows a omega and beta by the way.
Besides that the concept to use alpha male to classify males sound dumb to me.

[bannacookies]

I think it's silly that there is a name for every single thing out there. It just boils down to personalities I think.

[hi_it_is_me123]

It is extrem cringe. I really can't take someone serious who believe in it and call himself/herself an alpha.

[Unit1]

I find it to be one of the dumbest garbage society subscribes to (like they got nothing better to do).

[ILoveAnime]

Yes. By the way, that's an omega symbol not an alpha. The next (beta) is correct.

[AkshiJanjua]

There's no such thing as that women should realise that till now

[Beautyforeverybody]

No. I think it is pretty accurate but most men who call themselves alphas are usually not.

[Jersey2]

Because it is t real for humans. It’s just some dumb shit people say.

[zagor]

It's BS that is a gross oversimplification of the real roles people play.

[Anonymous]

girls go for alpha guys like crazy but after sex a few times they don't stay with them too long

[Cherokeehp]

Yeah it’s a dumb concept.

[Twalli]

It's real, although there are other levels than those two.

[OddBeMe]

As a personality, there’s alpha. But it applies to both genders.

[ask8request]

It is real but not to the extent some people think. Weak guys disgust me.

[WowwGirl]

Socially Dominant men are hot yes

[bamesjond0069]

No. Makes perfect sense.

[Agape93]

Yeap

[FairEnough]

Yes.

[Texaskid1]

Not at all.

[In_Trance]

All men are beta. All women are alpha

[Hispanic-Cool-Guy]

No. Alpha and beta males exist.

[Sabretooth]

betas definitely exist.

[Anonymous]

Yeah its silly.