Alpha males

cromulent_weasel · 2019-12-03T21:53:43+00:00

How is that with humans, who stand very close to chimps (and bonobos, who are sexually not selective at all and semi-matriarchal)?

We are genetically equidistanct both Bonobos and Chimps. So I think it's as valid to draw conclusions about human sexual behaviour from one as it is from the other.

Now theories about it sound like we're just any mammal, but every mammal has a different strategy.

Right. One of the things which I think is very different between humans and great apes is that our society is essentially a coalition of the weak. We AREN'T ruled by the biggest thug with a stick. We band together to expel those anti-social people from the group or put them in jail.

The concept of 'alpha male' was popularised when Rudolf Schenkel published an article on grey wolf behaviour looking at wolf packs. But he subsequently realised that what he had THOUGHT were all adult wolves with a dominant male and female was actually a family.

What he called an 'alpha male' was actually a 'dad'.

The whole concept of alpha males is specious.

Faulgor · 2019-12-03T18:41:58+00:00

Humans are similar to chimpanzees in the regard that instead of outright dominance hierarchies, male social relations focus on coalitions, negotiation, reciprocity, etc. Maintenance of social cohesion is very important. However, in contrast to chimps, I don't know of any human society that has restrictive breeding, i.e. reserves reproduction for only select members of the group.

I don't know what female chimps find attractive, but for humans it is often postulated that status is an attractive trait in males. I'm not sure this is the appropriate term, though. Status is commonly associated with a one-track hierarchy divided into different ranks, and especially egalitarian foraging societies seem to abhor such a system. I think - and I can't quite recall where I read this, but I didn't come up with it myself - prestige would be a more fitting term. Whereas high status is reserved for the few, everyone in a group can have prestige. And as humans value a lot of different traits, this usually means that different individuals are valued and esteemed for different things - one might be a skilled negotiator, a nurturing parent, a strong warrior, a masterful archer, a wise shaman, a kind teacher.

Through the lense of evolutionary psychology, it seems reasonable that women would value highly prestigious mates. A man that has good relations with other men (and women) is less likely to create conflict, be expelled from the group or harmed, more likely to continue contributing to the group and to get shared resources from other members. Moreover, the particular skills can benefit the group and potential offspring directly.

In such an environment, it becomes clear that "alpha males" don't have a place.

Title	Alpha males
Author	Blauwpetje
Upvotes	7
Comments	12
Date	December 3, 2019 3:59 PM UTC (6 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/LeftWingMaleAdvocates
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/LeftWingMaleAdvocates/comments/e5j4ej/alpha_males/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/LeftWingMaleAdvocates/alpha-males.1064345 https://theredarchive.com/post/1064345

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