The Contextual Alpha

Well, as is Roissy’s wont to do, he’s once again (most likely intentionally) put his foot in it and and flung the proverbial shit from his shoe into the great online fan of the manosphere. What am I referring to? Oh, you know, the ageless debate on what constitutes the most elusive of men’s aspirations – an Alpha state of being. If you haven’t already, you can catch up on the action here where the Chateau boldly nominates James Hooker as Alpha of the Month.

As expected the post’s comments get heated, but that’s not the end of it. The SoSuave discussion thread created by the (sometimes overly) passionate Naughty Ninja in response really gets down to the meat of the matter:

How “Alpha” will Mr. Hooker be seen by the general public?

How “Alpha” does the 18 Y.O.’s friends think he is? (If she has or had any at this point.)

What about new employment for the infamous Mr. Hooker? Will he take his ‘soulmate’ to work functions he may be required to attend?

There are probably loads of weird situations they will find themselves in. Or will they become a pair of social recluses?

Think about it. That dude isn’t Alpha he’s more of the Little Rascal’s Alphalpha. Pathetic nerd.

Before I launch into my take on this situation I feel it’s incumbent upon me to throw out this disclaimer; I do not condone Hooker’s actions. I have a daughter who will turn 14 in April and if there is any better indictment of the delusions of empowered single mothers and the inherent necessity of a strong, positive, masculine influence in a child’s upbringing, of either sex, I can’t think of it. Kids need the resolute, protective Fathers that far too many ‘strong, independent women’ emphatically resist, run off or covertly despise – only to further shame them for a lack of presence when an incident such as this occurs.

That said, I agree with the Chateau’s assessment – Hooker is an Alpha, but only contextually so.

From the 16 Commandments of Poon (emphasis mine):

XII.  Maximize your strengths, minimize your weaknesses

In the betterment of ourselves as men we attract women into our orbit. To accomplish this gravitational pull as painlessly and efficiently as possible, you must identify your natural talents and shortcomings and parcel your efforts accordingly. If you are a gifted jokester, don’t waste time and energy trying to raise your status in philosophical debate. If you write well but dance poorly, don’t kill yourself trying to expand your manly influence on the dancefloor. Your goal should be to attract women effortlessly, so play to your strengths no matter what they are; there is a groupie for every male endeavor. Except World of Warcraft.

As a teacher, James Hooker is afforded a default status authority. To students in a classroom, being the teacher confers a contextual presumption of mastery and thus a de facto social proof is conferred upon that person. In that theater, in that environment, the teacher is Alpha. A uniformed police officer is perceived Alpha in his given role, despite his personally being a chump when off duty.

As Roissy illustrates, Hooker was playing to his strengths. In virtually any other social setting he’d be perceived as a beta. Naughty Ninja and damn near every other casual observer peg this guy for the Beta-Symp he undoubtedly is, but in that classroom, to a 14 year old girl who gradually matures into an 18 year old woman, Hooker is Alpha, and probably the only Alpha she’d ever experienced.

How “Alpha” will Mr. Hooker be seen by the general public?

In all likelihood, he’ll be more publicly reviled than legitimate sexual predators when the genders are reversed. The great unwashed masses in the pop culture narrative don’t recognize the legitimacy of Alpha influence as it is. To them it’s psychological manipulation, and to a calculated extent it is, but the real question that nags them is WHY that manipulation is effective. They’ll blame it on the naivete of the girl, and her seeking a father figure, as well as the lasciviousness of Hooker, but what’s really uncomfortable is WHY the Alpha influence works.

What about new employment for the infamous Mr. Hooker? Will he take his ‘soulmate’ to work functions he may be required to attend?

It’s precisely because of Hooker’s subscription to the soul-mate myth that he reeks of beta. I have no doubt that he fluidly convinced himself of his noble intent narrative, casting himself as the savior for his adoring princess. White Knights are very prone to using their delusions of chivalry to rationalize good intent into the same behaviors they’d condemn in Players, PUAs or typical ‘other guys’ in general. To venture a guess I’d expect that Hooker buys his own bullshit, and because of this he hasn’t given an afterthought to how it will affect his career, his relationship with his family, his kids or any future social circle. As an extension to this, along with his teaching job, Hooker has lost his contextual Alpha cred. As his young chippy matures more, she’ll begin to see that contextual Alpha status erode with every progressive shit test he fails. And removed from the environment that made him Alpha, fail he will.

Alpha is as Alpha does

In context, James Hooker parlayed enough Alpha mojo to land a solitary 18 year old girl; one he had to invest in for at least 4 consecutive years to consolidate on. In fact, I sincerely doubt he had any idea that he was situationally an Alpha to the point that he thought he could intentionally manipulate this girl with it. There is a vast difference between the contextual Alphaness of Hooker and the subconscious Zen mastery of it in Corey Worthington – the Alpha Buddah. Both of these guys are an affront to the sensibilities of the “Alpha = Leader-of-Men” faction of Alpha definers, but both tap into a common root of Alpha energy that women naturally respond to. It’s discomforting to think that the brave Marine fighting in Mogadishu, commanding the noble respect from his country and peers taps into the same Alpha energy that makes a guy like James Hooker attractive to women. Same Alpha, different context. Hypergamy is a cruel mistress.

Jerry Seinfeld dated and married his wife when she was 18. And while it caused a brief stir in the press, Jerry’s wider Alpha appeal pushed this story out of the headlines. Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, both were banging and/or marrying underage girls, but were given an Alpha pass then and now. As I stated, I’m not condoning it, in fact I find it deplorable, but I do understand why it occurs.