RE: Tricks of the Trade, Part I - This Might Sting a Little.
"...they may then make themselves available to a different kind of man, the buff, horn-dog bad boy who would make a terrible father, but might make for more robust offspring."
It is surprising how many women are unaware of hypergamy, and thus are unprepared for it, when they discover they are no longer sexually attracted to their mates, and find their needs sated elsewhere.
O. mykiss, the Steelhead, or Rainbow Trout, use an opposite strategy. While most Steelhead venture into the ocean, where plentiful squid and shrimp enable them to grow large and strong, and thus to compete for mates, some males do not leave the relatively safe natal streams. Neither do they grow big and strong, seemingly dooming them from a status/competitive standpoint.
However, when they reach fertility, which they do far more often statistically than their larger oceanic brethren, who suffer far greater predation at sea, they simply skulk about the breeding area, disregarding the competition for status and mates altogether.
When a mating pair commences egg-laying and fertilization, they dart in and contribute their milt, and dash back out, avoiding the vengeance of the cuckolded male, usually more than twice their size.
Need I point out that this is also another strategy people employ? I am sure it is kind of obvious that the
'back door man' and/or the 'pool boy' is a similar strategy in our strange and wondrous species.
Nature is such a wonderful teacher. So many positions.
I've experienced, though never consummated, hypergamy first hand. In my early 30s, as a high school dropout, I started a gardening service. Yes, I was the gardener. People who employ gardeners are either, too busy or too lazy or uninterested in gardening themselves. Being a gardener is a lowly position status-wise. I was mostly ignored and was always subordinate to their wishes and time constraints. Sometimes there were slight flirtations, usually from overripe 40-somethings, but nothing like the Hollywood depiction of that situation.
Though I loved gardening, I was dissatisfied. I went back to Hard Knox College and eventually elevated myself to chiropractor, a "hands-on" profession. What a difference a job makes! It was almost embarrassing. I was the same person but it was the rare woman who didn't flirt within the confines of my office. I never violated my marriage vows (or anyone else's), but the opportunity was nearly constant.
For this reason I take these recent "sexual harassment" charges against celebrities with a grain of salt. Needless to say, my opinion of people in general and women in particular has suffered greatly.
Understandable. I take allegations with great heaping buckets of salt, rubbed into my eyes.
Duplicity is a core functionality of our species, and specifically in reference to sexuality.
This is why I am immune to betrayal.