Alpha Male

[suetheslut]

to ask what this means, exactly? What is an Alpha Male?

[Glitterknickaz]

A Grade A Prick

[squeakytoy]

A domineering bully usually

[GollyHolightly]

Self serving morons with a massive sense of entitlement. Usually driving a BMW with no indicators.

[Glitterknickaz]

re my last response, bit like you, Sue
(just read one of your posts on another thread)

[KingofHighVis]

A gorilla

[suetheslut]

Thanks everyone. My question was a serious one. What is meant by this?

[EricNorthmansMistress]

In packs, the Alpha male is the leader who gets his pick of the females and fights the younger/weaker males, sometimes chasing them off when they reach maturity and keeping his pack of females for himself. For some reason some people think it's a desirable state to emulate in human men, and that calling a man an alpha male is complimentary.

[chirpchirp]

Errr, since you have access to MN I'm assuming you also have access to Google. Look it up.

[PigletJohn]

it is supposed to be based on studies of animal groups which have a dominance hierachy, the Alpha Male being the one at the top.

It doesn't happen just with males, or just with people. You might have heard of Pecking Order which was an earlier study of dominance hierarchy in chickens.

In humans, the Alpha Male tends to be treated with respect and deference but is usually widely disliked, if not hated. The same happens when it is a dominant female.

[yukoncher]

Wikipedia, srsly.

There's usually an Alpha male, if not a (female) Matriarch in any close knit social setting, in humans and other non human members of our great ape family.
They usually gain this 'crown', by beating their chests the loudest

[suetheslut]

EricNorthmansMistress

Thanks for that.

[suetheslut]

chirpchirp

I hoped for some help. Why so aggressive?

[AwesomePan]

hey.

[Takeresponsibility]

In my circle the alpha male is the natural leader, he is confident and self-assured enough to give advice to others and laugh at their jokes rather than belittling and putting others down. He commands respect through behaviour rather than rank and is often the centre of attention fromn both sexes.

DP is definitely an alpha male, it never occured to me this was a bad thing - but I am often described as an alpha female so it wouldn't occur to me to be intimidated by him.

Neither of us are disliked or hated, in fact we are the ones seen as most likely to know the answers and be prepared to help. All a matter of perspective I guess.

[yukoncher]

chirpchirp isn't aggresive in suggesting you look it up. Anyone should do their own research, as well as ask others, to help you learn and get better understanding.

[PigletJohn]

Takeresponsibility, IMO what you are describing is more the "village elder" role of being a respected and valued member of society, that we can all aspire to. Not the same as Saddam Hussein, Margaret Thatcher or Joe Stalin.

[OldMacEIEIO]

In the olden days, before Greece was invented, noone knew what an 'alpha' was, so they used to call them Cavemen. Or Billy Big Balls

[seeker]

takeresponsibilty, that's not a description of a Alpha male - that's a description of a mature grown up human being. Apart from the being the centre of attention/natural leader bit. It is possible that that is a description of a bit of a show off!

[Shakirasma]

I agree with takesresponsibility. My DH is definitely an alpha male, yet he is anything but a bully or a prick.

He does not care what other people think about him and therefore is a very confident person. I suppose he can be a bit intimidating if you don't know him, yet those who do look to him for help and tend to follow his lead.

He won't suffer fools and will tell them so, but can take it as well as dish it out.

I suppose he is a natural leader, people trust his decisions and feel secure when with him, but I would hardly call him a village elder. If you knew him you would laugh at the very idea.

[seeker]

Bet he barbecues!

[Punkatheart]

Yes Alpha was a biologist's term first used to describe the dominant member of a pack - primarily taken from observing wolves. It is actually no longer used in conservation terms, as the actual hierachy is more complex and flexible than first thought.

I think it has become a disparaging term for a chest-puffing, overbearing patriach.

[Planetofthegrapes]

Makes me think of a bullying lying Alastair Campbell type of man.

[lubberlich]

I have never perceived "alpha male" to be a derogatory term applied only to bullies and puffed up dickheads.

To me Alpha Male is more Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch in To Kill A Mocking Bird or Gary Cooper in High Noon.