The Science of Relationships

so, i was busily reading laura zigman's Animal Husbandry, and i just had to take a break and share an insight. there is a quote at the beginning of each chapter, and i started really thinking about this one:

"The female chooses not the male which is most attractive to her but the one which is the least distasteful."

~Charles Darwin (a very smart man), The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex (which doesn't refer to sex, like the act of sex, but the concept of sexual selection, i.e., picky females and horny males that'll pretty much attack any chick that crosses their path)

this is a very insightful quote. i, and i think most females will agree with me, think that most men have a pretty screwed up way of thinking. and the more i learn (from my husband) how guys really think, the less i like them. chad is really into the show Cheaters...and judging by the commercials aired during the show, a lot of men share his taste. anyway, when i watch the show, i always ask why the cheating bastard featured (sometimes, the cheaters are women...but mostly they're men) didn't just break it off with his significant other if he didn't want to be with her anymore. and chad always tells me that a guy will not break up with a girl if he doesn't have to...especially if she's still sleeping with him. or, he just wants to have someone else lined up before quitting an established relationship, even when he is truly out of love and sick of his current girl. not cool. i wouldn't do that. if i don't want to be with a guy, i'm not going to cheat on him. i'm going to dump him and then find someone else, not the other way around. i know, i know. it's not only guys who think this way...it's just seems like typical guy thinking.

so chad has a theory about women and relationships. he says that when they're young, girls want a bad boy - someone who is cool, aloof, and probably not that into her. the typical high school relationship. but when they get older, or grow up if you will, girls realize that the bad boy thing will never develop into anything and want someone a little steadier, a little safer - a good guy. however, some girls don't realize that they don't want the bad boy until they've married him, then they're stuck. chad tells me i am a freak - i skipped the bad boy phase and went straight for the good guy. really, i think i was into my share of bad boys, i just never attempted a serious relationship with any of them. i learn fast - bad boys are bad news.

now, let's think about chad's theory in relation to the darwin quote. so, before a girl is thinking ahead, she wants what is attractive to her - the bad boy. no relation to the darwin theory. but, when a girl is thinking about her future, she realizes that the bad boy is no good. he won't make a good life partner. he won't make a good father. he probably can't even take care of himself. so she turns to a steadier, safer man - the good guy. but what exactly is a good guy? someone with a steady job, good personality, protective instincts, who won't run off and jump every hot girl who comes along? actually, yes. but do we know these things about a guy when we first meet him? nope. so really, what are women looking for in a man, according to chad and darwin? we don't really like the workings of the male mind. we may like they way they look - some eye candy is always nice, but looks cannot make a relationship. there will always be something that drives us crazy. no one is perfect. the perfect man does not exist. once you accept that there will always be something distasteful about any man, you realize that darwin is absolutely correct. females choose the least distasteful, not the most attractive, male. because women are often attracted to men for all the wrong reasons.

the inherent pickiness of women compared to men is biological. the same in almost every species. females invest more time and energy in children than men do, therefore they are pickier when it comes to choosing potential fathers than males are in spreading their seed. natural selection has made us this way. without it, we couldn't have survived as a species. we women can't help the way we are. and neither can men. but once they've committed, they should honor that commitment. it's hard to find a man with a brain that can overcome his biological programming, and that unfortunately causes women a lot of grief. so keep searching ladies, i swear there are good guys out there...and remember darwin. don't look for the most attractive male. instead, think about all of a guys qualities and choose the least distasteful package you can find. you'll be happier that way, i swear.