There's No Such Thing As An Alpha Male

Eric Trump recently suggested that when his father, Donald Trump, bragged about grabbing women's genitals without consent, it was an example of "two alpha guys in a thing."

In addition to shedding some light on how Trump's son views his father and manhood, it's also interesting because "alpha males" aren't actually a thing.

As the writer Saladin Ahmed pointed out, the concept of "alpha male" wolves that assert dominance over their pack through aggression comes from a debunked model of lupine social groups.

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Saladin Ahmed 

✔@saladinahmed

a reminder that the scientist who coined the term 'alpha male' to describe wolves abandoned it as useless years ago http://www.davemech.org/news.html 

8:32 AM - 12 Oct 2016

 
•  3,1073,107 Retweets
 
•  3,3743,374 likes

David Mech introduced the idea of the alpha to describe behavior observed in captive animals. Alphas, he wrote in his 1970 book "The Wolf: Ecology and Behavior of an Endangered Species," win control of their packs in violent fights with other males.

But, as he outlined in a 1999 paper, he's since rejected that idea in light of research into the behavior of wolves in the wild.

In nature, Mech writes, wolves split off from their packs when they mature, and seek out opposite-sex companions with whom to form new packs. The male and female co-dominate the new pack for a much simpler, more peaceful reason: They're the parents of all the pups.

Mech writes on his website (with the lovely title Wolf News and Info) that his original book is "currently still in print, despite my numerous pleas to the publisher to stop publishing it."

Another Twitter user, Mike Westphal, pointed out another paper on the misuse of the phrase "alpha males" to describe breeding roosters.

12 Oct

Saladin Ahmed 

✔ @saladinahmed

a reminder that the scientist who coined the term 'alpha male' to describe wolves abandoned it as useless years ago http://www.davemech.org/news.html  pic.twitter.com/MeaFZG4Yei

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Mike Westphal @mfwestphal

@saladinahmed @GreatDismal...and let us not forget that the alpha concept was first applied to female chickens, not male wolves pic.twitter.com/ZE5Goy70Ny

12:09 PM - 12 Oct 2016

 
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In the 2003 book "Sexual Selections: What We Can and Can't Learn about Sex from Animals," the biologist Marlene Zuk points out that social groups of hens do have "pecking orders." That is, hierarchies among the females with dominance asserted through pecking.

But roosters are not part of those social groups, Zuk writes, and the idea that the top hen is somehow an "alpha male" bizarrely misgenders the dominant bird.

All of which is to say: Humans who enjoy the idea of "alpha males" might want to keep in mind that there isn't really any such thing. And to the extent the term has any meaning at all, it describes the behavior of captive, lonely creatures.

Why We Need Alpha Males

Somebody has to fight the wolves.

My colleague, Annie Holmquist, discovered some statistics concerning the decline in masculinity that have troubled Pine Tree State since the instant I looked over them. Here’s the key a part of her piece:

“In recent years, a gently trending topic of debate has been the question, ‘Where have all the lads gone?’ whereas there ar variety of theories on the solution, a British survey simply free by YouGov might shed some light-weight on the problem.

Among different things, the survey asked participants concerning their impressions of the word “masculinity” and located a shocking people gap:

‘Both young men and young ladies have a lower opinion of 'masculinity' than older individuals, however young men ar harsher critics of the thought than young ladies. In distinction, the bulk of young men (58%) have a positive impression of 'femininity', as do the bulk of young ladies (55%). Overall 'femininity' encompasses a internet quality score of +56 compared to +44 for 'masculinity'.’”

And the chart: 

For those who believe the patriarchy is the root of much evil in the world, these numbers are probably cause for celebration. But perhaps not. While young men are giving up on their manhood, women still seem to want it.

As Annie asked, “Where have all the good men gone?” Well, they’ve been beaten down. Many of them lack a strong father at home, having been raised by a single mother. The education system does little to nothing to help boys grow into good men. On TV, in movies, and in commercials, when do they see a strong, virtuous male? Only two come close to the traditional portrayals of strong, men. One is Captain America. And even he is a super hero, not a real man. Yet we can see just how much things have changed by how his mannerisms and language stand out compared to a Tony Stark or any other male character. He is both refreshing and an anachronism. Chris Kyle of American Sniper is another. But he, too, strikes the modern senses as a relic of a different age. 

Even fashion is doing everything it can to make young men effeminate with skinny jeans and clothing that purposefully minimizes the male physique. We’ve come to live in Garrison Keillor’s Lake Wobegon, “where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average."

While it may be clichéd, there’s a lot of truth in the opening monologue of the father in American Sniper. There is evil, there are wolves, and a society needs strong, virtuous men – masculine men – to keep order and protect the weak. And it, too, seems to be an affront to today's culture. 

While we like to pretend things are different in the 21st century and we’ve progressed, the truth is that we have not. Human nature is still human nature. World War II won’t be the last world war. Hitler, Tojo, Stalin, Mao, ISIS, and the rest won’t be the last bad guys. Just like in the past, as we see in the Middle East and Africa today, the wolves are often quite powerful, raping and pillaging, enslaving and conquering.

But even when we’re not confronted with these great battles of the ages, we are challenged by the wolves in our daily life. There are, of course, the temptations of the heart, but there are also those will always prey upon the weaker. If the good are not stronger than the wolves, what will stop them?

Democracy on its own certainly won’t. If we’re honest, democracy – like all societies – requires alpha males to keep order and to enforce the values of the society against those who would act on their own “wills to power”. Vote all you want, but if no one follows up the laws with force, they are meaningless.

Of course, it’s also important to note that when we talk of needing masculinity and strong men, we not only recognize biological reality, but that we also call for virtuous behavior. We need strong men who hold to their duties to their families, to support and protect their wives and children, who act with honor to those around them, who pursue truth, beauty, and goodness.

Alas, to have such men, we must get back to thinking about and celebrating such things. Save for a few examples, don’t look to Hollywood, the media, or the education system to do so. If we want strong men, then virtuous men and women will have to take it upon themselves to do the job.