In praise of the Gamma man

Ok, I did it, a week after my introduction post.

I’ve decided to start with an healthy scan of the male population out there.
Know this: this is not all my work, it was my friend Lanterna who put the idea of an “apology of the beta man” in my head. I immediately felt sympathy for this theory, it was a great way to explain what I felt.

alpha beta and gamma men

And what do I feel and think? Ah, a lot of things, but we can sum them up like so: we usually talk about the Alpha man, the breadwinner, who is in contrast with, without the need to name him, the Beta man, the opposite, basically.

Well, I’d take this a little bit further, maybe this is all because of and thanx to “Gods in everyman” by Shinoda-Bolen, it is reductive and limiting to think that there are only two kinds of men. Let’s make it three 😛

So, sticking to the greek alphabet (soooo intellectual-chic): Alpha, Beta and Gamma.
I vouch for the Gamma man.
But let’s proceed neatly.

Alpha man.
Bam! Just two words and you already know what kind of stereotype we’re talking about, you see it anywhere, it’s the business man, the breadwinner as I said, a natural born leader, always right, better, he always knows what’s best for anyone, he’s always moving forward and, if he picks the wrong path, he’s the kind of man that needs the big car and the trophy wife, ’cause women are but accessories, all they need to do is look pretty, stay home and bake bread or kids, that’s the same.

Beta man. Of course, if there’s an alpha there must be a beta, isn’t it?
It’s the simplest of contrasts, if the alpha man is the natural born leader, the beta man is the natural born follower, and so on. He’s considered a man that didn’t turn out so well, just like the beta-test version of softwares, the alpha version is always better and has no more bugs to fix.
AKA: you’re either a hottie or a looser. No way out.

Your honour, I object!

I want to introduce, at this point, my definition for the Gamma man, a third way of being man and male, outside that binomy that begets only conflict, far from those outdated schemes and stereotypes (come on, we’re way beyond Freud, even though Hollywood movies still didn’t get the memo).
Actually, the gamma man is a type of man that is soooo distant from that crap-magazine-stuff you read at your doctor’s, that we can eve call him the Zeta man. But since I do owe something to Gamma Ray (don’t worry, this is an inner joke between me and, maybe, my boyfriend, maybe just between me and myself, so go on and don’t laugh, it’s for the best), so let me keep the Gamma letter.

This type of man is real, he exists and, let me tell you, it’s a wonderful thing that he (they) does!

He’s the one who couldn’t care less of being the breadwinner, the smartest cookie, the hottie, the best player, the one who has the biggest-bestest-fastest-most expensive car, or the most thin-beautiful-subjected-fertile wife. Basically, he’s the one who doesn’t live with a ruler in his hands. AndIdon’tthinkIhavetoexplainanyfurtherthanthis.

The gamma man (or zeta, or D, or Perth, change up the alphabet, he’s so out of it) couldn’t care less for it all. Mind me, I’m not saying he doesn’t care for anything and has no interests at all, on the contrary, but he’s a guy that, to quote my friend, “Every six months reminds you exactly why you love him so damn much”.
First thing first he’s smart, dependable, with his own personality, his interests (from bonsai to ayurveda herbal teas, from rubick’s cube to VST plugins, from Sci-Fi movies to Gordon Ramsay’s recipes, etc. etc.), occasionally it also happens he’s a father, and he’s happy to be one, he’d also like to have time off from work to enjoy his family, without feeling castrated nor a hero for changing a diaper.
Basically, a person, a human being, able to accept people because of who they are: people. He has no unresolved pride issues, and his self esteem is based on things that he enjoys, without a care (actually, completely mindless) of other people’s opinion on them.

gammaman2

The best part? He usually ends up with women who are first and foremost person, because a woman IS a person, not a stereotype in an alphabet letter or a character stuck in a gender-roles game.

Well, of course, I’m with a Gamma man U_U

I know, I know, the Beta man part is quite scrawny, but it will be my excuse for my next post, on feminism. There, I said the big F word!

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8 thoughts on “In praise of the Gamma man

  1. Doc. B.

    Fiero di essere un uomo Gamma Ray e di essere cittadino della Land of the Free e di dedicarmi ogni tanto alla Rebellion in Dreamland e di guardare film di Men, Martians and Machines! u_u

  2. Lanterna

    Clap clap clap.
    Spezzo una lancia in favore degli altri tipi di uomini: così come io sono naturalmente Alfa, e non c’è niente di male, ecco che anche a essere naturalmente uomini Alfa o Beta non c’è nulla di male.
    Il male io lo vedo nel pompare la propria natura o rifiutarla perché negli ultimi millenni va di moda il vincente. Vincente de che?

    1. Euforilla Post author

      Assolutamente nulla di male, forse l’ho reso poco esplicito ma mi sembra di averlo messo da qualche parte nell’uomo alfa, un “se prende una brutta china”.
      Poi, ovviamente, ci sono i gusti personali 😛
      E poi, ovviamente, ci sarà la mia sbrodolata di parole nel prossimo post XD

  3. clara

    Tesoro gli uomini sono UOMINI puoi classificarli quanto vuoi ma restano sempre UOMINI
    l’unica maniera per sopportarli è amarli ……… con tutti i loro difetti !!!!!
    baci baci baci
    ziaClara

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