The Myth of the Alpha Male.

BusyRaeNOTBusty

Good read:

http://www.sixpackabs.com/the-myth-of-the-alpha-male/

SGM_Adonis

Next thing you're going to claim is that unicorns aren't real.

BusyRaeNOTBusty

Next thing you're going to claim is that unicorns aren't real.

Of course they are real. You can make bacon out of them. If "turkey bacon" is real, "unicorn bacon" is real.

Cranquistador

:drinker:

Mischievous_Rascal

TL;DR

SapiensPisces

Good read!

msf74

Good read:

http://www.sixpackabs.com/the-myth-of-the-alpha-male/

Yup.

ElliottTN

It's Friday.....is there a cliff notes version available?

RaspberryKeytoneBoondoggle

This article is terrible on so many levels. I don't even want to re-read it to make any points. It's just full of broad generalizations about men, I think it's hateful, and I am appalled that the writer is taking a tragic event and blaming an entire gender for it. We all need to step up and realize that mental health issues don't just go away when we ignore them. I think I know what he is trying to say, but this issue is not as simple as he makes it out to be.

greeneyes0809

"that btch got my promotion just because she has a uterus" :laugh:

Very interesting article!

SaintGiff

I read that same article, better written, on Jezebel three times a week.

the_great_beyond_

While I understand the article's premise, I'll have to respectfully disagree. Dominance hierarchies are a critical part of our subconscious. They have played a critical part in our evolution and in our continued survival.

The article seems to misunderstand the concept. Being an "alpha" isn't a permanent title but rather a kind of outcome of dyadic interactions between men in social situations. It changes in each context as one pack member takes the lead from another when the facts on the ground change.

Without an alpha, social animals (which humans are) would lose critical capabilities as the group frays. We see it everyday when we look at dysfunctional organizations - they lack leadership and consequently lack focus.

BusyRaeNOTBusty

It's Friday.....is there a cliff notes version available?

Y Chromosome Community: women are sluts and *****es and targets and conquests and notches on bedposts. And feminists are just a bunch of man-hating *kitten* and you should just go out and take what you deserve in this life. Take it back because those damn feminists have taken it all away from you. Those *****es.

Deconstructing the Alpha

This isn’t so much a community as it is a marketing gimmick. It’s a bull**** title used to sell books and programs.

These books seek to “redefine what it really means to be an alpha male.” Really, it’s not just a bunch of ****-sure, arrogant and self-entitled *kitten*. It’s a gentleman. A leader. A strong and worthy man blah, blah, blah. They’re putting lipstick on a pig, trying to convince you that you’re either the leader of the pack, or you’re a beta who won’t get what you deserve in this life, and they pretty it up with all kinds of nice-sounding terminology and definitions, but at its core the idea of being an alpha male is bogus.

Diversity. Men and women are diverse creatures with diverse talents and abilities and attractiveness and financial resources and status. It can’t be simplified down to alpha and beta. Overall, we’re more cooperative and community-oriented than not. That’s how we’ve succeeded as a species: by working together as a team.

LadyFlexible

Thank the lord! All these men who talk crap about being Alpha's don't even know how the F'ing system works. They are unrealistic and have unrealistic expectations because they take a fact and twist it beyond recognizability and make pseudoscience out of it. Yes!!

BusyRaeNOTBusty

While I understand the article's premise, I'll have to respectfully disagree. Dominance hierarchies are a critical part of our subconscious. They have played a critical part in our evolution and in our continued survival.

The article seems to misunderstand the concept. Being an "alpha" isn't a permanent title but rather a kind of outcome of dyadic interactions between men in social situations. It changes in each context as one pack member takes the lead from another when the facts on the ground change.

Without an alpha, social animals (which humans are) would lose critical capabilities as the group frays. We see it everyday when we look at dysfunctional organizations - they lack leadership and consequently lack focus.

He isn't attacking the "real" idea that some people are leaders and some are followers (there are also more dominant women, it's not just a male trait). He's attacking the fake idea that all these 22 year olds spout that you are either "alpha" or "beta" and that you have to do certain things to become "more alpha".

the_great_beyond_

Overall, we’re more cooperative and community-oriented than not. That’s how we’ve succeeded as a species: by working together as a team.

While I agree that, as a species, we're fairly cooperative and collaborative, we gravitate towards a hierarchical model... this is especially true when we look at self organizing social systems.

Ihatecoldsoup

The examples in his article aren't true examples of an alpha male. An alpha doesn't have to prove anything to anyone.

Slacker16

(...) I am appalled that the writer is taking a tragic event and blaming an entire gender for it. We all need to step up and realize that mental health issues don't just go away when we ignore them. I think I know what he is trying to say, but this issue is not as simple as he makes it out to be.

+1, he's also very wrong about dominance plays among humans.

I will agree with him on one thing, though, namely that centering your life around conflict and dominance (in one way or another) is counterproductive... if for no other reason than that it's a completely unattainable goal (fact : if you pay taxes and aren't directly involved in deciding how that money gets used, you aren't dominant).

the_great_beyond_

While I understand the article's premise, I'll have to respectfully disagree. Dominance hierarchies are a critical part of our subconscious. They have played a critical part in our evolution and in our continued survival.

The article seems to misunderstand the concept. Being an "alpha" isn't a permanent title but rather a kind of outcome of dyadic interactions between men in social situations. It changes in each context as one pack member takes the lead from another when the facts on the ground change.

Without an alpha, social animals (which humans are) would lose critical capabilities as the group frays. We see it everyday when we look at dysfunctional organizations - they lack leadership and consequently lack focus.

He isn't attacking the "real" idea that some people are leaders and some are followers (there are also more dominant women, it's not just a male trait). He's attacking the fake idea that all these 22 year olds spout that you are either "alpha" or "beta" and that you have to do certain things to become "more alpha".

No, he really is attaching the real idea:

"But it’s based on bad science. "

Except... its not based on bad science.

devil_in_a_blue_dress

The examples in his article aren't true examples of an alpha male. An alpha doesn't have to prove anything to anyone.

So tell us what a "true" alpha male is.

msf74

This isn’t so much a community as it is a marketing gimmick. It’s a bull**** title used to sell books and programs.

How dare he!!!

Deny me of my revenue stream....

I also have a book on clean eating available from all good book stores right now folks.

Go grab yourself a copy *winning smile*

BusyRaeNOTBusty

This article is terrible on so many levels. I don't even want to re-read it to make any points. It's just full of broad generalizations about men, I think it's hateful, and I am appalled that the writer is taking a tragic event and blaming an entire gender for it. We all need to step up and realize that mental health issues don't just go away when we ignore them. I think I know what he is trying to say, but this issue is not as simple as he makes it out to be.

He's not blaming an entire gender. He's making a connection between this man's mental illness and this community of men (websites, books, etc) that push this random, untrue idea of "Alpha Males". I've seen these people on this website (I was never aware of them until recently). The "pick up artists", the guys who think that all feminists are evil, etc.

SunofaBeach14

(...) I am appalled that the writer is taking a tragic event and blaming an entire gender for it. We all need to step up and realize that mental health issues don't just go away when we ignore them. I think I know what he is trying to say, but this issue is not as simple as he makes it out to be.

+1, he's also very wrong about dominance plays among humans.

I will agree with him on one thing, though, namely that centering your life around conflict and dominance (in one way or another) is counterproductive... if for no other reason than that it's a completely unattainable goal (fact : if you pay taxes and aren't directly involved in deciding how that money gets used, you aren't dominant).

+2

It's mental health

msf74

While I understand the article's premise, I'll have to respectfully disagree. Dominance hierarchies are a critical part of our subconscious. They have played a critical part in our evolution and in our continued survival.

The article seems to misunderstand the concept. Being an "alpha" isn't a permanent title but rather a kind of outcome of dyadic interactions between men in social situations. It changes in each context as one pack member takes the lead from another when the facts on the ground change.

Without an alpha, social animals (which humans are) would lose critical capabilities as the group frays. We see it everyday when we look at dysfunctional organizations - they lack leadership and consequently lack focus.

He isn't attacking the "real" idea that some people are leaders and some are followers (there are also more dominant women, it's not just a male trait). He's attacking the fake idea that all these 22 year olds spout that you are either "alpha" or "beta" and that you have to do certain things to become "more alpha".

No, he really is attaching the real idea:

"But it’s based on bad science. "

Except... its not based on bad science.

I think he maybe referencing the fact that the behaviour of the alpha wolf as shown in the wild is often incorrectly displayed in these types of discussions as a basis for how human beings interact as social pack animals,

IronPlayground

He isn't attacking the "real" idea that some people are leaders and some are followers (there are also more dominant women, it's not just a male trait). He's attacking the fake idea that all these 22 year olds spout that you are either "alpha" or "beta" and that you have to do certain things to become "more alpha".

#YOLO

Derpes

The examples in his article aren't true examples of an alpha male. An alpha doesn't have to prove anything to anyone.

So tell us what a "true" alpha male is.

He-man

BusyRaeNOTBusty

While I understand the article's premise, I'll have to respectfully disagree. Dominance hierarchies are a critical part of our subconscious. They have played a critical part in our evolution and in our continued survival.

The article seems to misunderstand the concept. Being an "alpha" isn't a permanent title but rather a kind of outcome of dyadic interactions between men in social situations. It changes in each context as one pack member takes the lead from another when the facts on the ground change.

Without an alpha, social animals (which humans are) would lose critical capabilities as the group frays. We see it everyday when we look at dysfunctional organizations - they lack leadership and consequently lack focus.

He isn't attacking the "real" idea that some people are leaders and some are followers (there are also more dominant women, it's not just a male trait). He's attacking the fake idea that all these 22 year olds spout that you are either "alpha" or "beta" and that you have to do certain things to become "more alpha".

No, he really is attaching the real idea:

"But it’s based on bad science. "

Except... its not based on bad science.

But it is. Sort of. Yes, some people are natural leaders. These type of people have been important in human society, culture and evolution. But there isn't just ONE male that is dominant in every group. There isn't a physical struggle for this dominance, etc. It's much more complex than just a "wolf pack".

LadyFlexible

While I understand the article's premise, I'll have to respectfully disagree. Dominance hierarchies are a critical part of our subconscious. They have played a critical part in our evolution and in our continued survival.

The article seems to misunderstand the concept. Being an "alpha" isn't a permanent title but rather a kind of outcome of dyadic interactions between men in social situations. It changes in each context as one pack member takes the lead from another when the facts on the ground change.

Without an alpha, social animals (which humans are) would lose critical capabilities as the group frays. We see it everyday when we look at dysfunctional organizations - they lack leadership and consequently lack focus.

I don't think he is arguing that. I think he's arguing what is has become now which doesn't even match reality. It isn't black and white. It isn't assholery or entitlement which some men and women think it is. It isn't just something you claim or earn to gain false privilege and entitlement. It's being a leader for the sake of community and being leader whether your democratic or I forget the world. You have to be cooperative with others, it can't be all about you because it's making sure a goal is completed long term or not. You can't strangle hold power like these fools do and be an abusive dictator because eventually people are going to get tired of that crap and get a hold of you and rip you a new one.

Slacker16

The examples in his article aren't true examples of an alpha male. An alpha doesn't have to prove anything to anyone.

So tell us what a "true" alpha male is.

There is no such thing as an absolute alpha anymore, but any group of humans will have one member that coordinates how people's various talents are used. He or she does derive, in general, a number of advantages from it.

This is mostly achieved through deference and competence, but (subtle) intimidation and physical presence are definitely a part of establishing who that person is.

wheird

The whole "alpha male" thing is a bit annoying.

SGM_Adonis

Who really cares about alpha & beta? I give two $hits about that. I do what I want, when I want, how I want. I couldn't go through the entire article.

I have never been one to compare myself to the person to the left or to the right of me. I measure myself against myself. Is that beta or alpha? It doesn't matter. I find this type of stuff is for the weak minded.