In Part II of my relationship dynamics series I talked about the many male archetypes and subtypes and how great it is that masculinity can be expressed in a variety of ways. Just as we use the female archetype terms pretty regularly on this sub, my hope is that we can make discussion of male archetypes a regular feature moving forward. I'm going to reshare the different types and then a couple of discussion questions!

Some RP specific terms describing different types of alpha men:

  • Dark Tetrad - Many of you know the term “Dark Triad” refers to a man with a high amount of narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy. The fourth trait is sadism, but most people use DT to mean the first three.

  • Caveman - this descriptor is used when talking about a man with a more primal masculinity. He is untamed by society and extremely aggressive. This is not a man for low threshold women! They seem to be uniquely suited for HH women, since these ladies have stronger frames.

  • Patriarchal - There are two different ways that “Patriarchal” is used. The first is when they are describing what should actually be called a greater beta. There is however a more elevated/extreme type of Patriarchal alpha, and this man would embody the King archetype (more info below), with a little more alpha-ness mixed in. Tywin Lannister is an excellent example of this type of man.

  • Renegade - Renegade alphas are also known as sigmas. These men are outside of the male hierarchy but unlike omegas, their outsider status is a bonus.

  • Apex - These guys are all around awesome. They excel in every way, even if you can’t put your finger on it. A lot of professionals are Apex alphas whether its athletes, wall street execs, musicians, or politicians.

And now for the Jungian male archetypes:

Keep in mind that these are not personality types, they are behaviour patterns, and each man has elements of each category. Each archetype has two sub-types that are a result of different proportions of negative alpha and beta traits, whereas the main type is mostly positive alpha with just a small amount of positive beta.

  • King - The king is a leader. He is decisive, powerful, mighty, centred, practical, and wise. He is protective of those under his care and aggressive against his enemies. He establishes order and is magnanimous with those who please him. On one extreme, the King becomes a Tyrant - cruel, demanding, unreasonable, selfish, and exploitative. On the other end of the spectrum, the King is a Weakling - cowardly, passive, immature, and insecure.

  • Warrior - The warrior is strong. He has a raw masculine energy that cannot be contained. He is aggressive, energetic, purposeful, decisive, adaptable, skillful, unstoppable, and loyal to his values. One extreme is The Sadist, who delights in the misery of others, destruction, and pain. The other is The Masochist, who is powerless and unable to command respect.

  • Magician - The magician is “the knower”. He is adept at social situations, intelligent, cunning, and masterful. The original theory gets very new age with this. In my personal theory I labeled this type of man “The Politician” because of the way he can navigate the ins and outs of power plays and leverage other’s weaknesses to his own advantage. One extreme of the Magician is The Detached Manipulator; this would be a man who is Machiavellian, cynical, and withholding. The Innocent One is the weaker extreme, he is not willing to put in effort to attain the power he wants, and he denies any responsibility and agency for his life.

  • Lover - The lover is passionate. About women, and about life. He is sensual, charismatic, and understanding. He can read people with ease and seeks out life’s pleasures. The Addicted Lover takes this too far and burns through women and experiences quickly to the point where he does not enjoy them or feel fulfilled. The Impotent Lover is depressed, lonely, and lacking. He is unable to connect with others and overly strict with himself.

Just like the female archetypes, each man switches between the roles based on the situation at hand, in addition to having primary and secondary archetypes. Also these traits don’t have to all be at the same level - a man could be a Tyrant, Warrior, Detached Manipulator, and Lover.

Don’t get locked into thinking that only one of the archetypes is the true/best type of alpha. We can have our preferences but that doesn’t mean that the qualities we don’t like are lesser.

Feel free to answer any or all of these discussion questions!

  • Which archetypes are you most drawn to? Where do you see your husband falling on the spectrum? Don't forget that Greater Betas (and all men in general) are represented in the Jungian archetypes!

  • Which archetypes do you think are considered the most popular/aspirational today? Both on the left and on the right.

  • What are some things we have to take into account depending on our man's archetype? Share your experiences!

There is SO MUCH more we could discuss and I look forward to more posts on this topic. As usual feel free to share anything else that comes to mind not covered by the questions I listed <3