Alpha male, you've had your day. I doubt I belong to the category (I'm a little pleased about it, a little sorry about it, but I'm not here to talk about dosages between the two things), but it seems that the world belongs to another type of male. The Sigma male. Have you ever heard about it? Let's put some order into this trend which is not new, but has found an unthinkable "vigour" in recent times.
The origin of the Sigma Male: between myth and pseudoscience
Unreal models
Here's one thing you can't (yet) blame theartificial intelligence. The models of the "very rare and irresistible" Sigma male reach our collective imagination not only through the "alternative" places of comparison on the web. They are put into people's heads through film and television storytelling. The problem is not imagination, obviously, but culture. The problem, in short, is that we think such personalities really exist. Many men try to make them adhere to their character, they want to conform to these models no less than women try to adhere to absurd physical standards, in the belief that this makes them irresistible.
Don Draper, the womanizing advertiser from the series “Mad Men” is an example of the category. John Wick, the “sensitive” killer who has been causing hundreds of deaths since it began his film series, with the added factor of carrying around Keanu Reeves face and body. Tommy shelby, the protagonist of the series “Peaky Blinders". Have we more or less understood the type? Silent and infallible men? Do not? Then I make a more detailed portrait.
The concept of “Male Sigma” seems to have been created in early 2010 by the far-right activist and writer Theodore Robert Beale. According to his theories, sigma males would be at the top of the socio-sexual pyramid, but outside of it, and this would make them irresistible to women. In the so-called "manosphere", a populated region of the web that I spoke about some time ago of the incel phenomenon, terms such as “Alpha”, “Beta” and “Gamma” are widely used to indicate a man's position within a social and sexual hierarchy. I do not find any scientific studies that confirm the existence of these categories: on the contrary, these labels can lead to toxic behaviors and harmful stereotypes. So why has this "theory" moved more than a meter?
The portrait of an irresistible man?
These are some characteristics that are often attributed to the “Sigma male”:
- Independent and nonconformist: The sigma male acts autonomously, is not dependent on others, and does not readily adhere to social norms.
- Reserved and introspective: The sigma male is mysterious, difficult to read, and prone to reflecting on one's internal thoughts and feelings.
- Intelligent and self-taught: has above-average intelligence, thinks critically, and learns largely through self-study.
- Adaptable: The sigma male adapts easily to different situations and environments, integrating into different groups without attracting too much attention.
- Skilled strategist: The sigma male has a natural talent for strategy and planning, which he uses to achieve his goals.
Pirandello would say “One, none and one hundred thousand”. Anyone could find themselves (or fool themselves into finding themselves) in one or more of these categories. Who knows if there really is someone who embodies them all.
Male Sigma, a phenomenon to be taken with a grain of salt
The phenomenon of "Sigma Males" outlines a society in which men are constantly competing with each other to assert their superiority. This may not be too far from the truth, but civilization has created superstructures and mediations. Checks and balances that make people something more complex than a series of labels that seem to have emerged from the classification of energy classes. Not even wolf packs have these hierarchies.
This type of narrative risks fueling misogynistic attitudes and hindering the possibility of building healthy and balanced relationships. Instead of focusing on labels like “Alpha”, “Beta” or “Sigma”, it would be more useful for men to try to develop their self-esteem, empathy and communication skills, qualities that are much more appreciated and useful in interpersonal relationships. At the moment.
Irresistible women, irresistible men... Still for now, those who cling to these labels try to create an alternative reality in which to feel safe and special, but end up reinforcing harmful and limiting stereotypes for both sexes. And in the future? The hope is that society does not become saturated with these models to the point of considering "misfits" those who do not consider themselves a letter of the alphabet, or those who do not resemble imaginary characters.
Quite a problem, in a world where reality and imagination will be increasingly merged with each other.
