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Dark triad traits alone made Batman the most fantasized about superhero?
Henderson: "Justin Lehmiller, who's a sexual psychologist, wrote a book called Tell Me What You Want about sexual fantasies. And, he writes about how the most fantasized about superheroes among women — the most fantasized superhero is Batman which is an interesting contrast with the most fantasized superhero among gay men which are Captain America and Superman. And, I found that difference to be interesting, right? Because, like, Superman and Captain America are like these goody two shoes, boy scouts, you know, these are the guys that little boys look up to as like...the most pure and noble superheroes. And, I think Batman is often seen as like the sort of darker, edgier, you know, almost like he's like a villain, but he still does the right thing, but you could imagine him going to the dark side and this is the guy that women — of all the superheroes — that's the one that they seem to like the most."
Henderson says that it's because Batman embodies the dark triad traits more than most other superheroes that he became the most fantasized superhero by women (assuming the study he's referring to is accurate).
But, this reminds me of Lucio's thread, "Does seduction even 'count' when rich, attractive, famous?"
A woman who's choosing Batman is also a woman choosing Bruce Wayne, who's a handsome playboy billionaire that's already highly sought after by thousands of other women.
Similarly, choosing Superman would also be choosing Clark Kent, who's a rookie nobody that's on a reporter's salary.
It surprised me that Henderson didn't make any mention of Bruce Wayne's SMV playing a factor in the womens' decision during the study.
Quote from Ali Scarlett on March 28, 2022, 4:38 pmHenderson: "Justin Lehmiller, who's a sexual psychologist, wrote a book called Tell Me What You Want about sexual fantasies. And, he writes about how the most fantasized about superheroes among women — the most fantasized superhero is Batman which is an interesting contrast with the most fantasized superhero among gay men which are Captain America and Superman. And, I found that difference to be interesting, right? Because, like, Superman and Captain America are like these goody two shoes, boy scouts, you know, these are the guys that little boys look up to as like...the most pure and noble superheroes. And, I think Batman is often seen as like the sort of darker, edgier, you know, almost like he's like a villain, but he still does the right thing, but you could imagine him going to the dark side and this is the guy that women — of all the superheroes — that's the one that they seem to like the most."
Henderson says that it's because Batman embodies the dark triad traits more than most other superheroes that he became the most fantasized superhero by women (assuming the study he's referring to is accurate).
But, this reminds me of Lucio's thread, "Does seduction even 'count' when rich, attractive, famous?"
A woman who's choosing Batman is also a woman choosing Bruce Wayne, who's a handsome playboy billionaire that's already highly sought after by thousands of other women.
Similarly, choosing Superman would also be choosing Clark Kent, who's a rookie nobody that's on a reporter's salary.
It surprised me that Henderson didn't make any mention of Bruce Wayne's SMV playing a factor in the womens' decision during the study.
Adding to that Batman has the whole broken guy who needs saving vibe which women love.
(Gets their nurturing nature to kick in I assume, also its like they made small changes to something on the path of being perfect and now they have it)
Whereas Heroes like Superman are literally perfect and don't need much work from the women. They also lack the aspect of mystery that Batman has.
One must think why women has a thing for mysteries (so true for almost every women it seems biological)? Is it the relief you get after solving it? Is it the feeling of accomplishment you get the closer you get to solving it?
Quote from Growfast on March 28, 2022, 7:14 pmAdding to that Batman has the whole broken guy who needs saving vibe which women love.
(Gets their nurturing nature to kick in I assume, also its like they made small changes to something on the path of being perfect and now they have it)
Whereas Heroes like Superman are literally perfect and don't need much work from the women.
Totally agree with you, Growfast. (Though, I'd expect a note like that to come from a PU alumni, maybe Henderson would gain from joining too :).
Quote from Growfast on March 28, 2022, 7:14 pmThey also lack the aspect of mystery that Batman has.
One must think why women has a thing for mysteries (so true for almost every women it seems biological)? Is it the relief you get after solving it? Is it the feeling of accomplishment you get the closer you get to solving it?
I like to think it adds to the magic of the romance.
If we were to think of dating as a fun game, there's more mystery in a game where you don't know the cards the other players are holding. And, especially when the stakes are high, that can make the game all the more intoxicating/addicting. Or, maybe even "magical".
And yet, some people still aren't a fan of mystery. They prefer to have all of the cards flat out on the table and aren't interested in any games of hiding information.
Even so, with all of that said, I think it's mostly that the majority of women care about being truly seduced and romanced (not just "gamed and slept with"). And, mystery allows them to experience more emotions while also stimulating their imaginations.
I agree with your initial stance, Ali.
And it's not even a matter of personal opinions here: it's pretty much proven that (Batman's) other qualities besides dark-triad traits, including high-status, resources, power, drive, etc. etc. are all very attractive.
I'm not surprised though that they weren't brought up in that interview.
Most talk shows aren't about providing all-around, 360 degrees explanations of things, but they're more about getting clicks, eyeballs, and generating some hype and shares.
And saying that "Batman is attractive because he's a dark-triad guy" is certainly more "shocking", and hence more listening and sharing-worthy than providing the full explanation -saying that a dark triad poor, addicted, low-status, unattractive guy gets no woman wouldn't be as nearly as "shocking"-.
Finally, it's also entirely possible that many people who talk about these topics don't have the full picture clear themselves.
After all, people who go to the bottom of things are also a minority.
Even in the comics batman was wonder woman's bad boy. Which was pretty daring for DC but it had to compete against all the marvel characters who seemed about 90% angst which is probably smart marketing for their target audience of teenagers.
No hating for Superman, but he indeed gives me vibes of a gay boy-scout on steroids, so...
