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Is the online concept of 'alpha male' designed to prey on men's insecurities?

I have been advised to keep reciprocation in my own thread minimal, but feel free to post, I am interested to hear your opinion and knowledge. :smile:

I especially like the more detailed scientific replies, more of those would be great please.

example of alphas:

Chris Hemsworth

Viggo Mortensen

Daniel Craig

there.

Wait this is stupid I'm depressed because I'm not a super-hot celebrity that millions of men around the world also are not? wat.

(edited 9 years ago)

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Yes

Only if they let it - good evolutionary reasons for "alpha male" but we do not have to live inna Darwinian society and can forgo our "selfish genes", I am very glad about that.

Reply 3

Cremated_Spatula

It is simply a delusional ideal, it may not have been intended to prey on men's insecurities but it definitely does.

Reply 4

zKlown

Kinda

An Alpha male these days is a guy who looks like he lifts weights and gets a lot of women.

When really an Alpha male is a leader, a protector and a kind male who looks after the vulnerable.

Reply 5

DiddyDec01

Society is setting unfair standards for men.

Reply 6

Smash Bandicoot

Original post by jaffacake111

Only if they let it - good evolutionary reasons for "alpha male" but we do not have to live inna Darwinian society and can forgo our "selfish genes", I am very glad about that.

whoa whoa is that what Dawkins' 'The Selfish gene' is about? I have it on Kindle but have not read it yet :tongue:

Reply 7

MagicNMedicine

I don't think its very controversial that in a social set up there will be leaders and dominant individuals that others naturally follow. Online there's a particular concept of an 'alpha male' thats a bit weird though and features behaviours that most people would think were cringy.

There are lots of confident, successful men out there that are popular with women and successful in studying/career etc but they don't tend to be the ones that are obsessed with going on about 'alphas' and 'betas' all the time.

Reply 8

Smash Bandicoot

Original post by MagicNMedicine

I don't think its very controversial that in a social set up there will be leaders and dominant individuals that others naturally follow. Online there's a particular concept of an 'alpha male' thats a bit weird though and features behaviours that most people would think were cringy. can you explain the difference with this concept?

There are lots of confident, successful men out there that are popular with women and successful in studying/career etc but they don't tend to be the ones that are obsessed with going on about 'alphas' and 'betas' all the time. well, can it not just be said that they are naturally 'alpha' and the ones harping on about it are beta? :tongue:

see bolded

Reply 9

Fidus Achates

Original post by zKlown

Kinda

An Alpha male these days is a guy who looks like he lifts weights and gets a lot of women.

When really an Alpha male is a leader, a protector and a kind male who looks after the vulnerable.

It's rather easy to be all of those things.

Reply 10

jaffacake111

Original post by Smash Bandicoot

whoa whoa is that what Dawkins' 'The Selfish gene' is about? I have it on Kindle but have not read it yet :tongue:

Nicely noticed! Admitedly I did it, at least in part, in a vain attempt to sound learned and to see if anyone would pick me up on it! I love tech but am old fashioned when it comes to books and have paperback myself (the 30th anniversary edition). Is perhaps a little hard to get into but well worth it. What was it Bertrand Russell said? 'There are two motives for reading a book; one, that you enjoy it; the other, that you can boast about it.'

Reply 11

A5ko

I thought the Alpha Male in this day and age, was simply the loudest and most brash of the pack of chavs hanging outside Argos.

Reply 12

Smash Bandicoot

Original post by A5ko

I thought the Alpha Male in this day and age, was simply the loudest and most brash of the pack of chavs hanging outside Argos.

no my definition of Alpha Male is Thor, Aragorn, James Bond, etc. on the extreme end of the spectrum.

Reply 13

A5ko

Original post by Smash Bandicoot

no my definition of Alpha Male is Thor, Aragorn, James Bond, etc. on the extreme end of the spectrum.

So, fictitious?

Reply 14

TurboCretin

I've never heard of the alpha male concept outside TSR.

Reply 15

Etomidate

It's a concept invented by insecure men for other insecure men to anthropomorphize and externalize their mental anguish/depression.

Yeah, pretty much.

The alpha male at my school failed his BTEC while my nerdy friend is doing law at Cambridge. It doesn't work in human society

Reply 18

A5ko

Original post by therapiststeve

The alpha male at my school failed his BTEC while my nerdy friend is doing law at Cambridge. It doesn't work in human society

A real Alpha, would be sleeping with the guys wife whilst he works, then taking his wage at the end of every month.

Reply 19

SmashConcept

Original post by jaffacake111

Only if they let it - good evolutionary reasons for "alpha male" but we do not have to live inna Darwinian society and can forgo our "selfish genes", I am very glad about that.

There aren't actually very good evolutionary explanations for "alpha males." Human beings have often tended to have a fairly fluid social structure. That's actually part of our adaption and is more natural than having a "pack leader."

Original post by MagicNMedicine

It is controversial that the same people would be leaders and dominant in every situation.

Original post by Super Cicero

No men are "alpha males" because humans are not animals. Its a load of rubbish, just like the false religion of Darwinism its built on.

Humans are animals, but even most animals don't have such simplistic social structures. The term came from grey wolves, but it turned out that it was only an artifact of their being kept in captivity. A few species of primates follow the structure, such as gorillas and internet pickup artists.