What is it about alpha males in sci-fi and fantasy novels that we love so much? You know, the confident, muscular heroes who always save the day (or try to destroy the world – one or the other)?
Those guys. Why do we love to root for them sometimes and against them at others?
That’s what we’re going to explore today. But first, let’s see what makes the alpha male the alpha.
What is an Alpha Male?
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Alpha is the first letter in the Greek alphabet and is used to represent the number one. The alpha male is the number one male at the top of any given social hierarchy. Or, in the case of a woman at the top of her social hierarchy, the alpha female.
To get to the top of any social hierarchy (work, school, or even a relationship, to give a few examples), a guy’s got to display dominance through both power and leadership. This doesn’t necessarily imply physical dominance through violence, though in the context of science fiction and fantasy, it almost always does.
So, who are these alpha males? These are your heroes (protagonists) and villains (antagonists). The guys you love to root for and the guys you love to hate.
Leadership, confidence, and courage are all alpha male qualities.
Villains almost always exist at the top of some sort of social hierarchy. It may be an entire army, a few loyal henchmen, or just a sidekick, but they’ve always got somebody under their leadership. And they’re confident, driven, and powerful – all qualities of an alpha male.
Heroes quite frequently don’t start out as an alpha male, but they almost always end up as one. Many sci-fi and fantasy novels are about the hero’s transformation to the alpha position. Awakening dormant confidence, unleashing some new power, or leading others into battle are all common themes in science fiction and fantasy.
Alpha Male Qualities
There are a number of qualities that often go along with being the alpha male. You’ll find most or all of these qualities in alpha males, to varying degrees. They are in no particular order.
- Confidence
- Assertiveness/Aggressiveness when necessary
Quick decision making- Persistence
- Courage
- Dominance
- Good posture
- Strength/Muscles
- Leadership
- Ambition/Drive
- Protecting of women and children
Not all alpha males will have every one of these qualities (though some may). But they’ll have several of them, at least.
Some sci-fi and fantasy stories focus on just one of these qualities that the hero may lack at the beginning and have at the end. A story may focus on courage, for example, where the hero has to gradually build up the courage to defeat an evil wizard or something.
These type of stories are incredibly common in the science fiction and fantasy community. The hero goes from being weak and fearful to strong and courageous. These are alpha transformations and we all can relate to them.
Beta-to-Alpha Transformations
We love it when the main character goes from being weak and meek to strong and confident. Usually, through some long and challenging process, he transforms himself from being passive and people pleasing to assertive and unafraid to pursue his goals.
Beta-to-alpha transformations are common in sci-fi and fantasy.
Why do we love these transformations? Because we identify with them. We all wish – at least at times – that we could be more dominant, assertive, and confident. We fantasize about going around kicking ass and taking out anyone who tries to get in our way. In other words, about being the leader, the hero, the alpha male.
Nobody fantasizes about being the vice president. No one wants to be Robin: Everyone wants to be Batman. Nobody fantasizes about being a beta male because, if you’re not the alpha, by definition you are a beta male.
You can further break down human social leadership hierarchies into other groups besides alphas and betas (sigma-and-omega males, for example), but that’s beyond the scope of this post. However, I do think looking at behavior in this way can be a useful framework that goes a long way to explain social dynamics.
We all want to become the top dog. We all wish we could tap into some hidden potential and become the heroes we sometimes imagine ourselves to be. That’s why we love beta-to-alpha transformations in science fiction and fantasy novels. We identify with the heroes and root for them to do what we wish we could do ourselves – become more alpha.
Why Men Love Alpha Males
In a nutshell: Because we want to be them. Alpha males are hyper-masculine, get all the girls, and are envied by other men. They do what they want to do and make no apology for it. And they have the power, control, and respect that lesser men dream of.
That’s why we’re so drawn to powerful male heroes in sci-fi and fantasy. They’re overflowing with masculine qualities – qualities that have been steadily decreasing in men for years. Men have never been less masculine (or more feminine, in many ways) at any other time in history than they are right now.
Testosterone levels in men have been steadily declining decade by decade. That’s the main hormone responsible for giving us guys our masculine traits. Inactivity, poor nutrition, and societal factors all play a role in the demasculinization of men.
We crave the power and respect that comes with being an alpha male in our fiction because we feel it so rarely in our everyday lives. In a society where phrases like toxic masculinity and mansplaining are becoming common, we’re taught that it’s wrong to be a strong, masculine, alpha male.
There’s just one problem with that: We’re guys! We (almost) all want to be masculine, alpha males. But, in reality, it’s getting harder and harder to. That’s why we love dominant, powerful alpha males in our fiction.
Why Women Love Alpha Males
Have you ever noticed how most women say that they want a nice guy, yet often end up with assholes? I first picked up on this in my teens and didn’t understand it for a long time.
I’d always see sweet, gorgeous women going out with total assholes while all the nice guys I knew were single. For a long time, I believed women were attracted to assholes. Now, I see things differently. Now, I understand the way things actually are.
Women aren’t attracted to assholes because they’re assholes. They’re attracted to them because assholes often display a number of alpha male qualities. Confidence (cockiness), aggressiveness, dominance, and other alpha qualities are commonly seen in assholes. That’s what women are attracted to.
The main male characters in romance novels are almost always an alpha male.
So, why do women find these qualities to be utterly irresistible? Because, whether they like it or not, they’re biologically programmed to find them attractive. Hundreds of thousands of years of evolution have made women seek out alpha males to mate with.
Imagine being a woman thousands of years ago looking for a man to father your children. You’d want someone with good genetics (muscles, good posture) so your child would be healthy, the ability to provide for you and your child (confidence, aggressiveness, drive, courage) through hunting and foraging, and the ability to get along in your community (leadership, being a protector).
All throughout human history, women needed to mate with strong, alpha males to ensure their safety and the safety of their children. The last thing a woman would want was a passive, meek, nice guy.
It’s only been in very recent history that women have had the ability to provide for themselves. They no longer need an alpha male to take care of them but their biology still tells them they strongly desire one.
That’s why women are attracted to assholes, bad boys, billionaires, and other powerful alpha males. It’s ingrained in their DNA. They want a man who is strong, confident, and possesses other alpha traits.
That’s the way it is in reality and it’s often reflected in science fiction and fantasy books. In the end, the alpha hero always gets the girl.
Conclusion
We love alpha males in our sci-fi and fantasy stories. They’re not afraid to take charge, step up to the plate, and do what they need to do to defeat the dragon, save the girl, or lead the army to victory.
In a world where masculinity is often discouraged, we crave it in our fiction. We identify with the alpha male heroes and, on some level, wish we could be more alpha in our own lives.
If I had to pick a favorite fictitious alpha male character, I’d go with Fox Mulder from The X-Files. While he doesn’t possess every single alpha male quality (he’s not particularly muscular or dominant), he regularly displays many of them (confidence, persistence, decisiveness, ambition, etc.).
Agent Mulder is a man on a mission and will go to any length to fulfill that mission. He’s got the courage to pursue his goals, the confidence to believe in himself when no one else does, and the persistence to chase little green men all over the globe. Those are all alpha male traits.
So, who’s your favorite alpha male hero (or villain) and why? Or perhaps you’ve got a favorite alpha female heroine or villainess. Who is she and why? Please leave your answers in the comments section at the bottom.
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[This article was originally published on August 21, 2018. Updated November 6, 2021.]
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