Gamma male

Gamma males in the animal kingdom

In the animal kingdom, the terms alpha, beta, and gamma male are commonly used to describe an individual’s position within a social hierarchy. In social hierarchies, alpha males are the highest-ranking males within a social group, followed by beta, and then gamma males.

Newsweek's article Scientists Discover Why Mysterious Arachnid Has Alpha, Beta and Gamma Males which focuses on a type of New Zealand spider notes:

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Alpha and beta males are large in stature and have big jaws, weighing up to half of their total body weight, that they use to compete with each other for access to the females. Alpha and beta males have differently shaped "weapons," with betas possessing longer and thinner jaws. Gamma males, on the other hand, are up to seven times smaller than the other males, and rather than fight, surreptitiously mate with undefended females.

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Gamma males in human hierarchies

According to the article Social-Sexual Hierarchy Revisited:

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About six years ago, Vox Day published his socio-sexual hierarchy. Alpha – The top of the hierarchy. President Donald Trump is an Alpha. He’s confident, boisterous, and handsome... Delta – The normal guy. Most men are Deltas... Gamma – These men would be low-end Deltas if they did not think of themselves as being secretly Alpha. They are secret kings in their own mind and believe themselves to be worthy of admiration, which is often undeserved... They are also on the unattractive side in terms of looks but don’t seem to understand or accept this. Of all people in this hierarchy, the Gamma needs the most improvement but often times rejects criticism or even helpful advice, instead believing themselves to be gods among men. Very dangerous if given any kind of power. Omega – The low-end of the tier. Omegas are usually unattractive, introverted, and unsuccessful with women.

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Gamma men tend to be: narcissistic egotists with delusions of grandeur (Gamma males often rage when you inform them that you have no interest in their "very important opinions"); passive-aggressive or aggressive; reluctant to admit faults; hyper-sensitive to criticism; stubborn; resentful; insist that the world is unfair and that they are a victim; jealous; engage in drama and gossip; habitually deceptive with others and themselves; often reject authority; lacking in physical fitness; unattractive to women; often fail in establishing romantic relationships with women due to failing to misunderstanding women; like being subject matter experts; gamma men tend to be low status and they are also concerned with status; lacking leadership skills; insecure; individuals who begin the process of reaching their goals, but fail to do the work to complete their goals due to the extra work or due to fear of rejection; overly obsessive about a hobby and clueless about life.

According to Day, gammas lack "self-confidence. This is a root cause in their very core and they try to cover up that existential hole in their soul with all manner of fakery. Be it money, status, recognition by the masses for their achievements (real or most often imagined or “manufactured”), it is never enough to really fill that essential lack of self-truth." People often laugh at gamma men for being girly. Although gamma males usually display passive aggressive behavior, sometimes they display alpha male type aggression. The reason they prefer passive aggression over alpha male aggression is because the fear being seen as the "bad guy" due to their craving of being liked, admired and respected. Gamma males who engage in relentless ankle-biting criticism of others hate it when the other parties don't care what they think.

At the extreme end of the spectrum, gamma males are toxic con men/frauds, stalkers, and psychopaths.

See also

• Beta males in human social hierarchies