I love the girls' responses to this.
But yeah there's a lot wrong with the "alpha male" narrative. Though it can be manipulated for the better.
But like, if you are going with the chimp one, it really is nothing like those PUA books will tell you.
For one, the "alpha" who has exclusive sexual access (thus doing so mostly at the expense of other males) is what you would call an anti-social alpha. They usually achieve power through being the first to conflict in a group that generally avoids it. If you're wanting to punch someone because you bumped into them, and they are willing to let the bump slide and not make a big fuss, you will appear dominant because you are asserting yourself, and they will appear submissive because they are trying to back down. An alpha like this achieves power through fear.
The thing is, the females in a group led by an anti-social alpha are not exclusive to him because "he's the highest status" and that's so dreamy. They are exclusive to him because they are afraid of him. In baboons, the females will often have missing eyes, cuts and bruises, because of establishing dominance, or because he caught her trying to sneak away with one of the lower-ranking males. The females don't WANT this guy at all, and often go to great lengths to sneak behind the bushes with another male.
The opposite is the pro-social alpha. They don't take power, it is given to them because people generally like them. They tend to form stronger bonds with the rest of the male coalition as well as the females. They might still get first access to the food, but they share it more which is how they boost their rep. The thing is, the sexual hierarchy is a lot less strong in this case. They'll often play matchmaker for the other males in their coalition. Basically they achieve power by getting on everyone's good side.
And speaking of the male coalition, the use of "beta male" as an insult is hilarious to me. An alpha coalition consists of an alpha male and his "possey" of betas. The betas are the second-highest ranking males and are able to get the benefits of high status without others trying to supplant them. If the president is the alpha, the betas are not the homeless or working class. They are the senators and the executive cabinet. "Beta" is more or less the best position to be in.
But the thing is, we know from studying hunter-gatherers that humans have a long history of avoiding these hierarchies. Take "insulting the meat". If the hunters come back with a kill, the guy who brought it back is expected to downplay it by saying it's wasn't much of a score, it lacks meat, it wasn't best one, etc, and then wait for social approval to follow. If he doesn't insult the meat, the group will insult him.
Humans also have a strong autonomy response. We'll refuse to do something we want to do, simply because someone demanded it, to assert our own autonomy. We will also insult those with big heads, and complement those who seem down on themselves, which further reduces social hierarchies within these groups. When you sit down with a group of friends, does one friend grab everyone's food, give it to his pals, and then tell everyone else to shove off? Because that's what an alpha Chimp does.
When we mapped our genomes, we discovered that Chimps are missing a gene associated with empathy and bonding that humans and bonobos share. Chimps are the odd ones out. This is likely because they are largely herbivores that share territory with Gorillas. The scarcity rewards aggression. Bonobos didn't have to compete with Gorillas, and Humans are crazy omnivorous and nomadic.
The "alpha male" rhetoric plays out in many species, and yes it showed up a lot once early societies got too big. But for the most part, applying the "alpha male" rhetoric to human sexuality is just a shtick to prey on men's insecurities in the exact same way women's magazines are covered with photoshopped bodies.
Most Helpful Opinions
It’s an utter load of bollox and it’s hysterical when people buy in to it.
utterly pathetic.
might sound great on paper, in the real world does not work.
yeah you have people that are very confident and sure of themselves, however that’s it, there is no letter bollox lol.
Believe in them? What, like god or UFOs, that they exist? Sure they exist but they're totally busy with themselves and getting off on having women tell them what super sex machines they are to ever be content with one woman or even three women telling them that. They feel obliged to deliver orgasms far and wide, and they are good at what they do, just that there's really only so much of what they do that a girl can take and still feel like doing it again and pretending that her life and self-esteem aren't taking a hit from giving up so much time for what ends up being so little, in the wider world of what makes life feel good.
It gets to be so that it's not as sleazy as paying for sex but it's not far off because as soon as he's done, he's gone, just like that. And there always is a lingering worry about infections and such, given that he likes to get around, like he does all the damn time. And yet, there are times when I get lonely, until I remember that that is exactly what he can't fix, and even then I put myself through the will I, won't I spin, and then make the call and get no answer, which is doubly bad because not only am I not getting what I didn't want to beg for, but, now, it's all over on his side and the call will come out of the blue, and, well, I think that you get the picture.
So, really, the proper answer to the question is yes, they exist, but, no, I do not believe in them.
I believe in Alpha Males in Human Society because I’ve met one in real life. This was at my old job. He was like a manager, all the women went crazy for him, and all the pretty young girls would “bang” him. He was 25 and he had already 2 kids. Everyone knew that he would cheat on his baby-mom and even his ex Girlfriend. He was a serial cheater because he was in high demand. He had large veiny hands… he had a deep thunderous voice, he had black thick eyebrows, his jawline like an Army Soldier, his Lips almost like an African American’s lips, of Latin decent, Latin American, Accent of a NewYorker, muscles all over him, behavior of an angry/serious soldier. Certain Tattoos over his hands. Walked like he was a king.
And because he was manager all the other males followed his commands to the dot. Every man was intimidated by him. But he would treat women like princesses. I was considered a Tomboy all my life, I’ve always been unamused, and I didn’t really find any man appealing. Until I too met this man.
Truly one of a kind. It’s a rare find. Extremely rare find. But the Alpha Males still exist somewhere.
What Girls & Guys Said
Opinion
11Opinion
Check the animal kingdom in particular the mammalian order and you will find that the vast majority do have alphas. The if you narrow done to apes which we closed to you will find that all apes have alphas this isn’t a bad thing and you can change where you fit with hard work and discipline. Or you can accept being beta this doesn’t especially in today’s society mean much. Especially for a young person that has lots of growing to do as alpha types are typically dicks.
If you believe in the societal structures where there is an Alpha and Beta, then you should research Delta, Gamma, Sigma, and Omega archetypes as well. There are slightly different structures for females using the same name.
CheersI believe there are guys who want to pretend they are wolves and doggies and think themselves alphas. It's pretty pathetic though.
Sure, there was some study on wolves about it. There's an alpha male in the pack, who was the father.
I believe in dudes who think they're special because they're loud and say retarded crap.. for whatever the fuck that means to you.
It’s a made up concept to help immature men deal and make excuses for rejection
I believe in Alpha male but more than physical attributes. Different situations make different people alpha.
100 %...
yeah without sugarcoating it to save feelings its pretty obvious.
Alpha is just a term that describes a set of personality and behavioral traits. Some people get really butthurt about it for some reasons.
I believe that there are guys that believe they are alpha males. Lol
I don't believe alpha males exist in the most common definition of them no.I think it is a myth.
Lol no that whole concept is just weird to me
There is, interestingly women deny it
No, it is all make-believe bullshit.
Haha SIMP
They do exist in chimps
Learn more
We're glad to see you liked this post.
You can also add your opinion below!