Biological Differentiation, Determinism, and IWism
From Ladder Wiki
By Tollan
Biological Differentiation
It is generally known by most people that a male who is homely, short, and very skinny shall have great difficulty attracting women. It is also known that males who are above average in height, looks, and musculature are considered more attractive by most women as these males have differentiated themselves from other males to denote their genetic fitness.
In the context of biological differentiation then we see that these two “types” of males have biologically differentiated themselves to manifest unattractive and attractive traits respectively. Now this is intuitively known by many people, but it wasn't concretely understood why. But, with recent research, these previously intuitively understood 'facts' of male/female pair bonding have solid support from science.
On the issue of height for example, it has been found that those males who are taller than average are more likely to have more children1, and be considered by women as more attractive than those males who are shorter than average[2,3]. When it comes to looks it has been determined that those males who have symmetrical facial features are considered more attractive, and consequently have more mating opportunities4. On the issue of musculature its been found that women are far more likely to be attracted to males that differentiate themselves from other males by being more muscular than average5.
It has also been found that those males who possess deeper more resonant voices are considered more attractive by females6, especially when they're undergoing ovulation. Interestingly though it was found that more attractive women did not vary in their preference during their menstrual cycle, they preferred masculine men during the entire cycle. Its been found as well that women, during ovulation, prefer men who have faces that are more masculine, and also men who act more masculine by displaying personality traits such as arrogance and aggression towards other males7. This behavior, one could say, comports with the idea that women are selecting for short term mating traits (masculinity, dominance, and aggression) in males when they are most likely to conceive.
What we see then is a substantial amount of evidence indicating that those males that differentiate themselves from other males in a way that denotes genetic fitness (i.e., height, musculature, and looks) are considered more attractive by women. Which leads them to them having more mating opportunities and a more successful genetic legacy than a male that does not manifest qualities denoting genetic fitness.
Biological Determinism
On the issue of biological determinism, some may believe this to be an unnecessary phrase as it implies that a male who is of low genetic fitness is a 'lost cause' given that because of his biology he shall be much less successful with women than a male that has high genetic fitness. Well, it is not the intent of this essay to be quite so fatalistic, but I do think that if a male recognizes that he may have some biological limitations this may lead him to either changing them so they are no longer limitations or compensating for them with other things (i.e., financial stability, personality, and clothing style).
Now, as has already been ascertained, those males manifesting traits that denote high genetic fitness are considered more attractive by women. These males in society are often called “Alpha males” to indicate their superiority to other males. And because of their superiority these males can easily attract women and who, more often than not, are likely to be above average in those physical traits that denote genetic fitness as well.
So we see then that this male's biological traits have determined that he shall have a much easier time in attracting women, and thus have far more mating opportunities. Furthermore, it should be understood that not only are the number of mating opportunities affected by his manifested biological traits but also his personality which is to some degree influenced by the type of reaction he gets from women, which, because of his fitness, will be mostly positive. He will naturally learn that acting aloof, arrogant, narcissistic, aggressive, dominant, and disinterested instead of turning women away actually increases their attraction to him.
This is very much a situation of positive reinforcement, where the male acts in a certain fashion and women like it, thus he continues it. But, it should be understood that the male can only get away with this behavior because his level of genetic fitness is so high, if it was below average he might achieve some small success but would mostly be ignored, and if not that then mocked by women.
Now looking at the male who differentiates himself as having low genetic fitness we see at once why he suffers great difficulty in finding women to mate with. He more than likely will be shorter than average, have a low degree of musculature, and be below average in looks. Now, such a person would be known as “Beta male,”to denote his inferior position in relation to the alpha male.
And because this male would manifest fewer traits of genetic fitness he would very rarely be selected as a short term mating partner unlike the Alpha male. We see also then that this male's biological traits determine that he shall have a much more difficult time attracting women, which will also shape his interactions with women and affect his personality. Furthermore, it is understood that the categories of Alpha and Beta male, and how successful each type is with finding women to mate with, is primarily biologically determined.
IWism
On the issue of the Beta male, it is generally known that this type of male, beyond manifesting the aforementioned characteristics of low genetic fitness, will naturally learn that acting supportive, helpful, kind, generous, understanding, and patient towards women gives him a lot of friendships with them but few mating opportunities. Thus, he finds that his behavior is being negatively reinforced in stark contrast to the way the Alpha male is treated. But, many of these Betas instead of taking on the personality traits of the males that are successful only try more of the same behavior that was unsuccessful.
It is in this situation that we find the IW, and the root of their IWish behavior. Behavior that is determined to be that which a male manifests in attempting to get women, such as giving his time, energy, and in some cases money to them in the hopes that this will lead them to select him as a mate. Of course this type of behavior is rarely rewarded and the male only becomes more bitter and angry at the injustice of his nice (in his mind) behavior being rejected whilst that of a male who seemingly treats women poorly is rewarded time and time again.
What this male fails to understand is that there are two main things preventing him from having the success of the Alpha male: Personality and Physical traits. Now about his physical traits some work can be done in the realm of weight lifting and increasing his caloric intake (if he needs to bulk up) or aerobic exercise (if he needs to loose weight). He can also wear lifts in his shoes or get a bone lengthening procedure to increase his height depending on the degree that he is below average in height. And about one's physiognomy, plastic surgery could be recommended but the probability that surgery could give one above average looks is highly improbable and thus not worth the expense or risk.
Now on the issue of personality is where the mASF (Moderated ASF group) community comes in. Many within this group swear that looks are rather unimportant, that with enough routines, games, and seduction techniques that any man no matter his physical traits can get women. Well of course this is true, virtually any male if he puts forth enough effort can indeed get women. What should be understood though is that if one examines the issue in the context of return on energy expended one would clearly see that a male manifesting a lower degree of genetic fitness will have to expend far more effort to get women than a male who manifests traits denoting a higher degree of genetic fitness.
So if a male is looking to improve his success rate with women it would be more efficient and worthwhile to modify the physical traits he manifests to women via the aforementioned regimen than to modify his personality alone. Of course one could choose to change only their personality but the results won't be as impressive since one's behavior will be incongruent with one's physical traits and it would look absurd (i.e., a short skinny male acting aggressively). Thus, it can be concluded that those males who change both their personality and physical traits shall have far more success than the male that merely changes one or the other.
1. Pawlowski, B., Dunbar, R.I.M., Lipowicz, A., 2000. Tall men have more reproductive success. Nature 403, 156.
2. http://www.childalert.co.uk/absolutenm/templates/newstemplate.asp?articleid=153&zoneid=1
3. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2190461.stm
4. http://hss.fullerton.edu/sociology/orleans/symmetry.txt
5. http://www.medicineonline.com/medical-conditions/article.html?articleID=3308&articleSource=10
7. http://www1.umn.edu/umnnews/Feature_Stories/When_women_fall_for_Mr._Right_Now.html
