"Alpha" and "Beta" are notions of the female worldview, corresponding to the duality of the female reproductive strategy. Briefly, you cannot "be" Alpha or Beta, you can only be perceived as limblicly desirable or not.

So even though there's no transference of these notions into the male world (e.g. men can have a team leader that is "Beta" with women but kicks ass when leading, while women can view a total shmuck as "Alpha"), they do operate and have very real effects in the female world. One such effect is very pervasive and we 've been discussing it but haven't named it yet. I'll call it The Alpha Reversal.

"Betas" are viewed as resource offerers. Women perceive themselves as posessing the right to be "fully human, fully alive", and even allowing a Beta to contribute to that miracle of nature that is female happiness, is a favour women do. Now when in the precence of a man that is comforable in his own skin, is in a flow state in his everyday life and is attractive, a switch flips and the Alpha Reversal happens inside the female psyche. Now the man is perceived as fully alive, and the woman draws vicarious pleasure from being his woman. When in that state, the woman enjoys and willingly supports his vitality. When in that state, the woman is willing to take up the Beta role, even to the point of providing herself.

The more unshakingly the man remains in that everyday flow state, the more that phase lasts - until, almost inevitably, everyday burdens pile up and there's a disillusionment in the woman, which may lead to a break-up with the (former) "Alpha".

I believe this framework can explain many phenomena.

For example: there is no "Alpha provider". Providing is by definition Beta. An "Alpha" man can do providing in the context of a LTR or Marriage, but the purpose of that providing is (should be) only to alleviate some of the burden of the woman, so that she doesn't get burned up. That providing doesn't create attraction, neither does in itself sustain attraction. It sustains attraction only implicitly, by allowing the woman to more freely connect with the flow of the man. That's why it is always wrong to overexcert yourself, when attraction is considered. And that's why "Alpha" men that overexcert themselves, e.g. for the sake of their children, are dumped by their wives, whose logical mind ("He's overworking for our children's sake") has no chance of competing with their limbic desires ("He no longer makes me feel alive.")

Adam