Emily Chan
Chances are, if you’ve scrolled through TikTok at any time in the past year or so, you have probably come across all manner of videos starring Christian Bale in his role as Patrick Bateman from the movie American Psycho.
And the reason Patrick Bateman keeps popping up everywhere is that he is considered the embodiment of a sigma male. The number of men identifying as sigma males are rising, leading to the idolization of this particular film character.
If the alpha male is the leader of the wolf pack and beta males are the subservient followers, then where do sigma males fit into this social hierarchy?
Sigma male is a term used to describe a successful, good-looking man who is a lone wolf. He is also known as an introverted alpha male and operates outside of any social system.
He walks his own solitary path and isn’t influenced by any societal norms. Furthermore, he doesn’t care what other people think of him.
However, he tends to exude power and influences others without even trying to, although he does not take on the leadership qualities of an alpha male. His quiet and mysterious exterior just can’t help but be noticed, especially by women.
The term is originally attributed to Theodore Robert Beale, also known as Vox Day, and surfaced into existence in 2010. The description of the sigma male might sound innocent enough, but at its core, it refers to something much more unpleasant.
Beale was a far-right activist, and when he coined the phrase, he wasn’t just describing a man who’s a capitalist hustler, a lady charmer, and a crypto-obsessed gym bro, as is popularly portrayed on TikTok. In fact, ‘sigma’ has a lot of misogynistic connotations, including showing contempt toward women.
So is Patrick Bateman really a sigma male? He’s a psychopathic murderer who kills without remorse, and it’s alarming that so many men are identifying with him.
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
