Alpha Male

An alpha male is a high-ranking member of a group or pack. He is aggressive and dominates the other beta males, lower-ranking, weaker members of the group, usually through force and intimidation. Members of a group often defer to the alpha male, bestowing upon him authority, decision-making power, and privilege. The alpha male is often larger, stronger, and more intelligent than the other males in the group. As a result, he has the greatest choice of and success with the females. His size, strength, and status are often appealing to the female members of the group, as these characteristics are predictors of desirable genes that may be passed down to their offspring. The alpha male also denies the other males' access to the females. The alpha male is therefore more often repro-ductively successful, repeatedly spawning and caring for a greater number of offspring than the other beta males. From an evolutionary perspective, this ensures the “survival of the fittest,” as the stronger, more [Page 28]dominant alpha male attempts to guarantee that his genes are passed down to the next generation.

Alpha male is a term that describes a set of characteristics displayed by males within a particular group, characteristics that ensure domination over other males and access to the females' sexuality and reproductive capabilities. It is a term that is most often and more traditionally used to describe hierarchy along the lines of gender within a particular harem of the animal kingdom. However, alpha male has more recently been used within popular culture linguistics to describe the characteristics of and relationship between human males. It is increasingly applied as a descriptor to men who exhibit particular characteristics that correspond to a specific idea of model manhood in Western society. As a result, there is a pecking order or hierarchy among the males that grants one status and authority over the others. The alpha male man is most known for his strength, intelligence, wealth, and sexual prowess. As a result, the term is popularly used to describe high-ranking competitive bodybuilders, football players, businessmen, and the like. However, it is perhaps the sexual prowess of a man that most notably marks him as an alpha male.

Both animal and human alpha males derive status within their male peer groups from having access to and engaging in sexual intercourse with a number of females. However, whereas sex for the animal alpha male is rooted in reproduction and evolution, the alpha male man is interested in his ability to flirt with and persuade numerous women to have sex with him for recreational purposes. Women often find the alpha male attractive as a partner, and other beta males often do not attempt to challenge him. Sexual promiscuity reinforces his sexual desirability and status as alpha male among other men. These alpha men conform to a particular culturally dependent ideal of masculinity, one that is rooted in sexual promiscuity, female objec-tification, and emotional removal from intimate encounters and relationships.