Sigma Goes Mainstream
Wikipedia now has a page devoted to the Sigma Male
Apparently the Wikipedia page was created in February this year and already has hundreds of edits. It is also deemed a “contentious topic”, presumably due to its intrinsic connection to the Original Sigma. Interestingly enough, neither Gamma Male nor the Socio-Sexual Hierarchy have yet broken through to mainstream consciousness, although they can eventually be expected to do so in due course given their obvious utility.
Sigma male
Sigma male (or simply sigma) (/sɪɡmə məɪl/ ⓘ) is a term in internet slang used most often to describe archetype of a male who is a "lone wolf". The name is a product of the manosphere message boards in the 2010s, the term has gained widespread prominence within internet culture, and since the early 2020s, has become an internet meme. Commonly regarded as the "rarest" type of male, a sigma male is typically denoted as an archetype of a male who is similar to the alpha male. Unlike an alpha male, sigma males are more introverted and seek to dominate themselves, in other words "self-mastery". On social media, the term is often used to describe the idolization of masculine characters from films and TV shows, or celebrities.
Alternatively, the term has taken on an ironic and satirical meaning, mocking the concept of the manosphere and the sigma grindset.
In 2023, #sigma gained over 46 billion views on the social media platform TikTok.
Etymology
The term first originated in a 2010 blog post by American writer Vox Day. In 2014, California plastic surgeon John T. Alexander published the book The Sigma Male: What Women Really Want, and advertised it on social networking sites Twitter and Tumblr. Between 2017 and 2018, the term began to gain popularity on YouTube,[10] and has since included titles such as "Why Sigma Males are Highly Attractive to Women", "5 Habits of the Sigma Male", and "10 Signs You’re a Sigma Male". The term went viral in 2021 following a tweet by YouTuber Lily Simpson, stating "What the f**k is going on with men" alongside infographics of sigma-related content. According to Google Trends, the "sigma male" search term first appeared in 2021.
Usage
The term is often used to describe film characters. Actor Christian Bale's portrayal of the character Patrick Bateman from the 2000 film American Psycho is most often cited as an ideal representation of a sigma male, both through memes and unironic discussion. This includes Tommy Shelby, the protagonist of the crime drama Peaky Blinders, and Canadian actor Ryan Gosling. It is also used to describe celebrities, for instance, journalist Robert Crampton, who writes the Beta Male column of the The Times Saturday magazine, describes the controversial social media personality Andrew Tate as a sigma male. The term is also used to describe other notable figures, including politicians and businesspeople, such as Russian president Vladimir Putin and Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs.
Many brands on social media such as Nestlé's Drumstick also use the trend as a form of advertising.
The contentious topics procedure applies to this article. This article is related to gender-related disputes or controversies or people associated with them, which is a contentious topic.
Wikipedia will over time nudge the definition of Sigma to match the definition of Gamma. It's baked into the cake there.
There's a deeply humourous irony in the fact that the cool kids identify Patrick Bateman as "the cool sigma male guy" rather than a serial killer violently obsessed with how everyone else percieves him.