There's been some talk about this lately, and I want to find out from PPDers what an average man is. And I've been hashing some of these things out with u/sublimemongrel and u/Guitarsaregettingold.

What is an average man?

I am talking here about most men, the wide middle of the SMV curve where most men reside and will be all their lives.

These are the men who get some sex, sometimes. These are the men who have a GF or two, a ONS or two and maybe a little bit of experience with an FwB. They have an average job and support themselves living with a roommate. These are also the men who get married around ages 27-33 or so to women with similar or slightly higher partner counts, and end up having sex maybe a couple of times a month, just shy of a dead bedroom.

They had enough attractiveness to have been able to get and keep a girlfriend for at least a few months. They have just enough Game for that, but then the beta/flaws show through and the relationship ends. Their game is overall below average and they have major deficits in understanding their flaws and how they present to most women. If you called it Game or pointed out to them what they're doing and the effect it has, they would have no idea what you're talking about.

They have a couple of friends they keep in regular contact with, who are similar in life achievement and outlook.

These are the guys who have maybe one or two things going for them, but the rest of their lives are kind of a shambles. One guy has two college degrees and a job that pays well enough to support a family; but he's out of shape and facially unattractive. The next man has above average looks, but has a low paying job and is self conscious about it; and sometimes gets uncomfortable in social situations.

Yet another man has a great personality, but is also out of shape, underemployed, and just not living up to his potential. A fourth man is just smack in the middle on everything - his own job, his own apartment, average looks, out of shape but not fat, does OK for himself, but doesn't really go anywhere or do anything because not a lot other than his job really interests him.

That, to me, is the "average" man.

From talking with several people, not just here, but in real life as well, many folks have a concept of the "average" man looking something like this:

He holds a bachelor's degree and has a job where he can support himself comfortably. He has sartorial style in hairstyle and clothing. He is not jacked/shredded but not fat either. He's not model good looking but he's not ugly either. He has middle class tastes in food, drink and entertainment (leans toward craft beers). He lives in an urban metro or a suburban center. His lifetime N is around 6 and has some, but not a lot, of sexual and relational experience, slightly more than the average man. He has a circle of male and female friends he socializes with on a regular basis.

He is a member of at least one club, organization or association with a common, well known interest that most people don't consider eccentric. (I.e. a social club like a country club, a professional service fraternity like Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions or Chamber of Commerce; or a local professional organization for lawyers, physicians, small business owners, etc. Eccentric would be model railroading, live action role play, cosplay, remote control modeling, collecting unusual items, anything related to Protestant church membership, etc.)

Questions for discussion/debate:

Is (1) or (2) closer to the "average" man?

Are there things that should be added to or deleted from either description?

Is "average" a function of geography, SES and/or culture/religion like u/smurfesmurferson described in her recent post?

What in your experience/observation is the "average" man?