Alpha males are all over Twitter these days, proclaiming their superiority over beta males.
The rise of self-proclaimed alpha males may not necessarily be tied to Elon Musk completing his purchase of the company late last month. But since then, there seems to be a rash of accounts with “alpha male” in their screen names and posts about the subject.
Some people love the resurrection of alpha males; others view it as recycled toxic masculinity.
Those who favor men behaving in ways society considers “alpha” tend to reject behaviors they deem unmanly, such as being solicitous to one’s partner. The hordes of self-described Twitter alphas skew heavily toward heterosexuality, wanting to dominate their (female) partners.
A tweet that recently went viral promotes such behaviors.
“Beta Male: ‘So, where do you wanna go?’ Alpha Male: ‘You’re going to have the best night of your life. I’ll see you at 9 pm. Wear that tight red dress,’” wrote @BecomeAManAgain.
Most people read the exchange as if the two are going on a date, which was clearly not @BecomeAManAgain’s intention.
https://twitter.com/DahliaZahava/status/1590026079775133697
That tweet may have been widely (and intentionally) misinterpreted, but it’s just one of many encouraging such behaviors.
@MessiahOfMan recently posted a thread of “10 laws” on how to be an alpha man.
These laws include: “Speak with integrity. It’s feminine to gossip,” “Mean what you say. Say what you mean,” and a decree to be rich, work out, and have a happy family, among others.
The thread garnered hundreds of shares and likes.
Conservative author Nick Adams may have kicked off the whole trend recently, offering a more light-hearted description of the difference between an alpha and beta male.
“Alpha males eat wings and drink beer at Hooters with the boys. Beta males nibble on tapas at Spanish vegan cafes with their wives,” tweeted Adams, whose screen name includes “alpha male.”
His point seems to be that a group of men dining on deep-fried chicken and beer served by scantily clad women is a masculine trait while having a healthier meal with one’s wife is not.
Adams, though, was checked by a former Hooters waitress, who told him his behavior was viewed as beta by anyone who worked there.
The exchange went viral.
In the wake of Adams’ being severely dunked on, a number of accounts were demanding Musk suspend him for “impersonating” an alpha male.
Many are now putting alpha male (parody) in their bio in mock solidarity with all the alpha males flocking back to Twitter.
Other alpha males were pushing for Twitter to become more alpha in its content policies in the wake of Musk’s takeover.
One such account, replying to Musk, said that they “don’t trust” Yoel Roth, who was until recently Twitter’s director of safety and integrity. Their issue was that he previously tweeted about feminism and the patriarchy.
Roth left Twitter last week.
Other alphas boldly declared they’d even copulate with Musk.
But the funniest moment of the “alpha males” new reign on Twitter was sparked by a video game.
PlayStation Australia’s official account tweeted a GIF of Kratos, the protagonist from the game God of War Ragnarök, replicating a clip of Jason Momoa making a heart shape.
It’s unclear if playing video games is alpha or beta, but a god of war showing love was undoubtedly unmanly.
Some felt bizarrely affronted to see the fictional warrior make the heart shape. One accused PlayStation of committing the sin of “babygirlfication” of Kratos. Another complained, “Wow thanks for ruining Kratos for me.”
When former President Donald Trump emerged on the scene in 2016, it was a revelation for the manosphere, as their most toxic traits got more and more attention. With Musk taking over Twitter, they perhaps feel more inspired to push their takes into the world.
Don’t let them know that being afraid to tweet for a few years is pretty weak.
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*First Published: Nov 14, 2022, 10:42 am CST
Claire Goforth
Claire Goforth is a staff writer at the Daily Dot covering all things politics and technology with a focus on the far right and conspiracy theories.
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