Quote:
Originally Posted by nolla
So it comes down to nature? Male = strong, female = desirable. I'd like some opinions on this one...
|
It's probably a bit more complex. Males are about strong, maybe, but a lot more about being dominant (as defined as having selection of mates). Social status, money, resources... these are the basic things that determine their ability to secure high-value (and often, multiple) mates.
Course, then you get into circular issues, like having beautiful women around you implies high status.
But the other side of this is that women want to be desired by the high-value males. Since the ability to compete (at the genetic level) tends to decrease over time, and because fertility does as well, women have a lot more pressure to do it "now" rather than later. And of course, fertility - being young - is a major desirability factor for men.
Both want to be desirable, but their time preferences and mate selection differs.
Quote:
|
But, are you implying that while women need to seem like good child-bearers (beautiful means good genes) they also need to show that they are able to maintain a good household?
|
I like to generalise it. Women need to seem desirable, and whatever the high-status males want, they'll tend to try to be. And vice versa.
A good household runner was very useful before women's liberation, and it is still present in much of the world. Now there are other factors, including those that were commonly male (ie: good job, etc). The shift isn't absolute(and it works somewhat against the genetic preferences), but it is happening.
Of course, this is all under the surface. I could say that young/fertile/etc doesn't matter to me - I don't want kids afterall - but it still defines what I find attractive.