Posted on 05/07/2015 5:36:44 AM PDT by BJ1
For an army of women, Mr Right is simply not there, no matter how hard they look for him. And the reason? When it comes to marriage, men are on strike.
Why? Because the rewards are far less than they used to be, while the cost and dangers it presents are far greater.
‘Ultimately, men know there’s a good chance they’ll lose their friends, their respect, their space, their sex life, their money and — if it all goes wrong — their family,’ says Dr Helen Smith, author of Why Men Are Boycotting Marriage, Fatherhood And The American Dream.
‘They don’t want to enter into a legal contract with someone who could effectively take half their savings, pension and property when the honeymoon period is over.
‘Men aren’t wimping out by staying unmarried or being commitment phobes. They’re being smart.’
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
“Unusual? There is an alpha male AND female, and sometimes the female is the true monarch.”
Yes, the situation with wolves is unusual, not in the fact that there is an alpha female, but because the alpha male of the pack only mates with the alpha female. In most of those type of social arrangements, the alpha male mates with ALL of the females in the group.
“Are you saying she does not exert her authority and choose her mate, just as the male does when his queen dies?”
No, that’s absolutely not how it works. The status of “alpha female” is only conferred on her because she is the mate of the alpha male. If the alpha male dies, then the alpha female is no longer the alpha female. The new alpha male’s mate will become the alpha female.
“This is all news to me. That it might happen is not shocking, but normal? I really have my doubts.”
It’s quite normal. The biological imperative number one is to ensure the continuation of your genes. Not the genes of your fellow species mates, but yours specifically. So there is no compelling reason for a male to support another male’s offspring after they die. That’s why many species engage in this kind of infanticidal behavior, killing the offspring of competing males. Among humans, we do things for non-biological reasons, like morality, or social good, but the animals are operating according to their instincts.
I have been searching a bit on line and I still cannot see any discussion of either males being the absolute monarch, nor that another male might step in and kill cubs without the permission of the queen and other packmates. I see zero mention as if females are at the discretion only of the male alpha, nor that if said male dies another will barge in. Most indications seem to be the female will pick another mate, just as the male would.
I do see lots about packs really just being family groups, so there may not really be all these power struggles tradionally believed due to a scientist studying captive wolves in the ‘40s. Just parents, not power.
Well, and then there's the whole 1/2 American Indian, 1/2 Pole thingee... LOL! :)
Perfect!
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