Guilty Pleasure: The Love Triangle Between the Alpha and the Beta

While binge watching Schitt’s Creek, I started to see the emerging love story between Alexis Rose, Mutt the bad-boy, and Ted the veterinarian. That was when I wanted to discuss one of my favorite comic tropes of the alpha male versus the beta male.

In Spiderman, Harry Osbourne is the likely alpha, he has natural good looks and confidence and Peter Parker gives off friendly, boy-next-door vibes. It is no wonder Mary Jane finds herself at the center of the two men.

There was an official scientific study that did a survey on which type of man women preferred depending on the time of the month, and when women are ovulating (looking for a prime mate), the stereotypical macho man with a sharper jawline and broader shoulders is more attractive, while a man who has more caregiver traits (aka a partner that looks like he will stay for the long haul) are more attractive when a woman is menstruating. It is for this reason that the alpha male/female/beta male love triangle trope is so popular. Both men are attractive to the female during different times of the month, but it really depends what time.

The closest comparison between an alpha male and a beta male that I can think of is how the taste of dark chocolate and white chocolate are preferred at different times of the month or even red wine preferences over white wine.

Of course, in the comic book world, there will always be fandoms that want a man who looks more like Thor followed by another following of fans that want a man like Loki. There is no scientific study of why certain people are attracted to alphas or betas besides set “types”.


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