Curious to hear from strangers online, Redditor XqueezeMePlease asked:
"What are your immediate thoughts when you hear a guy refer to himself as an 'Alpha Male'?"
People shared their interpretations to hearing a guy declaring himself an alpha.
Self-Granted Permission
"Translation: 'I am going to be an unapologetic a**hole.'”
–darkwulf1
Moving Forward
“I can’t take anything from him seriously from now on.”
– YourLocalOrangePeel
"It's a real life cheat code to make your reputation go to 0%."
– AstronomerNo556
Being A Male
"try to explain to them how much of a bitch they really are for having to boost their self importance by telling others how great they are....instead of actually BEING great."
"i will never forget my father telling me 'being a male, does not mean your a man.'"
– tokikain
What is he really saying about himself?
Hiding Insecurity
"That he’s deeply insecure."
– ButternutSnuggleButt
"Narrator: he wasn’t an alpha male."
– Yellowmellowbelly
The Thing About Actual Male Confidence
"The entire sub-culture around 'Alpha Males' is centered around men being insecure. And I say this from personal experience. In middle school, high school, and even early college I was a very insecure guy and I’d watch videos constantly on 'how to be an alpha' and it would only spiral into me hating myself more for not amounting to the standards of an 'alpha'.
"Confident, secure men wear what they want, do what they want, and are comfortable being themselves regardless of what society or its standards say. I mean take Harry Styles for example, that man can wear a dress, put on makeup, and be himself confidently AND he still is more of a man than any self-proclaimed 'alpha.'"
"Manliness and masculinity isn’t about looking like a lumberjack, drinking whiskey, and working out 24/7 (though it’s okay if you do any of these things because that’s what you genuinely enjoy), its about being confident in who you are as a man whatever that means for you. People fail to realize, if you are a man and you do something, anything, that in and of itself is inherently manly regardless of what society says."
"I’m so happy that I was able to come to these realizations and deal with the real underlying issues I had of low self-esteem but it’s so sad to see so many young men fall prey to “alpha” bs and base their entire existence on the concept of trying to be 'alpha' all because instead of talking through their feelings and mental health they let their insecurities dictate their life."
– ccalicich32
Measure Of A Man
"Small dick energy."
– NeoWarriors
You want to stay away from these types of men.
Self-Aggrandizement
"Translation: I’m extremely insecure and need to feel superior and also think woman are property."
– TwistedFate21
Potential For Abuse
"My girlfriend has bruises she lies about"
– AsperaAstra
Code
"'Alpha Male' is just code for I think I can beat up most people around me so I want to be treated as special and not be forced to obey social niceties and laws."
– anon
Public Threat
"Like an alpha of a program or videogame, highly unstable and should not be available to the public."
– Whismurr_
Let's face it. No one using the phrase "alpha male" to describe themselves is going to be likable.
Unless you are desiring to be dominated by a superior alpha under erotic pretenses, you're better off keeping your inner circle exclusively without complete morons.
Redditor vjts87 wanted to hear about what everyone feels they deserve to brag about, so they asked:
"What’s the weirdest flex you have?"
I brag about nothing.
Except that I can sing word for word every Whitney song.
The Win
Tired At Home GIF by IKEA USAGiphy"I work the overnight shift and still get eight hours of uninterrupted quality sleep every day."
ITookAPooInTheICU
“Love Shack”
"I’ve been booed by 10,000 people at once. I know athletes and celebrities have been booed by more people, but I’m neither. I was randomly picked out of the crowd at an NBA game to attempt a 3-point shot, to win everyone a free pizza. I bricked it."
Shonuff8
"At least you had a task that only lasted like maybe 10 seconds."
"I was at a radio concert in a venue that size with 6 big acts on the bill. In between acts, they had fans do karaoke. A mother-daughter team got tasked with 'Love Shack' and sh*t the bed hard. One of the DJs told the crowd to give them a round of applause and they got hit by a massive wave of boos."
patrickwithtraffic
Gross
"I got picked up in a white van as a child by a stranger to get a lift to somewhere 5 mins away, I was in the back off the van for half an hour, then they opened the door at the place I was trying to go. To this day I'm not sure but I think he changed his mind. The guy seemed nice enough at the time but, it was just such a strange experience to think back on, I was about 12ish I think at the time too so definitely old enough to have known better."
WhatAmI111WhatAmI111
Genius
Hungry Labor Day GIF by BounceGiphy"I can always pick the exact right size container to put leftovers in."
Money_Pomegranate_51
Knowing how to portion leftovers is a MIRACLE gift.
The Gift
Giphy"I can get rid of hiccups on demand. Like without fail if I have hiccups I can just think about it and they go."
DoIReallyNeedAnAcc
Trauma
"A tree fell on me in 2021 and broke all my ribs, my spine, and popped both my lungs. I dragged myself out and survived long enough slowly drowning in my own blood (and internally bleeding out) to be found and get airlifted to a trauma ward. So I got almost as much metal grafted to my bones as wolverine though I don't flex much because I got so much metal making me rather stiff and rigid."
Setantaoceillaigh
Kevin! Come back!
"I had to take an IQ test when I was being evaluated for ADHD and apparently I am in the 99th percentile in spatial reasoning. I can’t do math or talk good but I can pack the hell out of a suitcase!"
yekirati
"This is actually an amazing skill to have! One of my old cooks was the same way. Quiet kid, very bright but not cut out for the restaurant industry. He loved being on prep for EXACTLY this reason. The fridge was never as organized, cleaned, labeled, dated, rotated and stocked properly unless it was he or I or one other person. I miss you Kevin! Come back!"
subtxtcan40
"I survived 9 heart attacks, before I turned 40. Have 4 stints following 3 angiograms and 1 open heart surgery with vein transfer... that failed... been in heart failure status for a year. But honestly I am healthier than I was a year ago. A year ago couldn't walk half a mile. Now can walk 3 miles without issue. Even survived covid this year after 2 years of isolating."
BadGenesWoman
Savior
Blood Donation GIF by Santander Brasil OficialGiphy"I have donated over 15 gallons of blood!"
DonkeymanPicklebutt
"As someone whose life has been saved due to a blood donation: THANK YOU! I love you and hope others will take after your example."
Friendly_Chemical
Life is always full of flex. Embrace it.
Do you have anything to share? Let us know in the comments below.
Redditor kyukale0310 wanted everyone to share about what life is like with a little more self-worth and asked:
"What do you do confidently now that made you feel weird in the past?"
For me, I'm better at life in general with confidence. Still a long way to go.
Gimme!
Pay Me Season 3 GIF by Good TroubleGiphy"Asking people to pay back money they borrowed."
macabre_irony
"God, back in my senior year of college, I used to dread asking my roommates to give me the money for the bills. No idea why, since that's what they agreed to, I just felt like such an a**hole for doing so."
Dahhhkness
Packaging
"Unwrapping a tampon in a public bathroom."
anonuglysimpleetc
"Lol. The differences in experiences here are great. I definitely used to pretend I was unwrapping a tampon so it didn't sound like I was just waiting for the other person to leave so I could poop."
churlishcurls
"Yeah so ironic how all the adverts talk about how 'small and discrete' their new tampon is, but still make the packaging the loudest sound in the world."
Amazon_river
I just love birds...
"Paint/draw and then share it with strangers. I did not grow up with art and had absolutely no confidence in attempting it. During our quarantine this spring, I taught myself how to watercolor and draw birds and am now selling prints and stickers and donating 100% of the profits to bird conservation groups. I just love birds."
bakedfish
Turn Around
"Walking down the street, realizing I was going in the wrong direction, and making a U-turn without pretending to have forgotten something."
jam_jj_
"Same here. My old tactic, since the cell phone era began, was to stop in front of some building, look around like I was waiting for someone, and pretend to call or text that person until I was certain that anyone who might've seen me was well out of distance before turning around."
Dahhhkness
All Wet
Pool Party Swimming GIF by Party Down SouthGiphy"Swim without a shirt on. My sisters made fun of how I looked without a shirt on when I was like 12 and it stuck with me for years. Just the other day I went to the beach and realized that I finally don’t care anymore."
eternalrefuge86
That shirtless swim is still an uphill battle for me.
Hear Me!
hear me what GIF by Rico NastyGiphy"Saying how I feel. I'd usually bottle things up because I didn't want to upset anyone."
Dining Out
"Going out for a meal on my own."
SnooMacaroons08
"Thank you for this one! You reminded me of the first time I did this when I was about 20 years old. Moved into a new neighborhood and really wanted to try this cute little place down the street from my apartment but was solo."
"Put it off too many nights to admit, until finally said screw it, grabbed a book, got a table and had the 4 course prixfix menu and I loved it! I was super nervous and embarrassed, but ended up having a pretty damn fine time, ends up I’m ok company!"
cookinmy**ckinassoff
All of It
"So many things! Getting older and caring less about what people who don’t matter to me think of me has been extremely liberating. I’ve also learned that most people aren’t actually paying attention when you do something stupid or embarrassing, people are usually off in their own little worlds."
"I was a very self-conscious and eccentric child, but adult me has fully embraced my weird side, and it’s wonderful. I am who I am meant to be, and I’m surrounded by amazing people."
BlackCaaaaat
Cinema Time
"Not really at the present, not since February, but going to the cinema alone. First time I ever did, back in 2016 it felt weird to be honest. Even had a mother ask me if I was waiting for anyone when I saw Kong: Skull Island, but now I actually prefer it most times."
"It means I don’t have to worry about scheduling with a friend on what day’s best."
"Don’t get me wrong, I have still gone with friends but 90-95% of the time I go alone, I can do whatever I want before or afterwards, whether to look around the shops or just go straight home."
comrade_batman
Proud
Speech Language GIF by jetlifebabyGiphy"ENGLISH! I used to be terrible and my accent still sucks sometimes, but after more than 20 years of practice and a bachelor degree from an English university, now I'm quite proud to be bilingual."
Sometimes it only takes a bunch of practice.
What do you now do with confidence that you wouldn't have done years ago? Let us know in the comments.
