What is an 'alpha male'

Quote by ToshLoveCC
Well, I may differ from what others think.

My PERFECT vision of an "alpha male" in my mind is a muscular man, tall, chiseled face, strong hands, well endowed. His personality would be strong willed, a bit stubborn, courageous, faithful, leaderly, selfless, attentive, but ultimately submissive to his female partner (considerate of her wishes, a big softie basically). He has the libido of a monster and the passion of an animal in desperation too... 100% man

However, there is no clear definition of an "alpha male," because humans have been tweaking the playing field every two hundred years. It is in 2014 that the United States is seeing a huge influx of single working mothers (or women in general) that have no male present period, but are easily maintaining and providing for their household. Its almost become a norm here. On the other hand, there are some societies in the world that maintain 100% male dominance. Some places even have a mixture of both. Hell, some tribes in Africa are strict matriarchies where women run the show!

My REALISTIC vision of an "alpha male" would be the husband of the family who is the sole breadwinner for the family while the wife takes care of the kids and the house (stereotypical household). On an animal standpoint, he claimed the female, mated and produced offspring with her, protects his mate and offspring, provides ($) for said family, and typically has the upper hand in decision making. However, the alpha male has consideration and gentleness for his female, treating her with respect and remembering that SHE raises his kids and hunts too. He's willing to stick around through the good, the bad, and the ugly. He does deeds without any expectation of anything in return. He satisfies her needs without being asked. He's sensitive to the ones he loves and senses when something is wrong.

"Happy wife...happy life!"

Quote by Dancing_Doll
Subject to interpretation but basically the leader, not the follower. For 'character-purposes' - he usually exhibits traits that make him stand out from the pack - confident, masculine, charismatic, intelligent, dominant to some degree, the guy that sets things in motion, and is seen as 'powerful' whether by status, looks, chemistry-vibe or a combination of these. Basically the guy that other guys want to be and that girls want to be with.

Attributing things like "he's an asshole, or manipulative, or unfeeling or a hero or a white knight" are all wrong because theoretically there can be alpha males who are villains and those that are heroes. The most intriguing ones, in my opinion, are a combination of both.