I’m a therapist… this is why women are attracted to ‘bad boys’

Women may be subconsciously attracted to the “bad boy” rather than the “nice guy” for a very simple evolutionary reason.

Marriage therapist David Perl has claimed that women are attracted to partners who could have the best chance of producing strong offspring.

The ‘bad boy’ is usually the alpha male; he has a confident and strong attitude that influences a woman’s taste in men during ovulation.

This is an evolutionary process that stems from a woman’s need to find the man with “the best sperm, the best DNA, the best chance of making a really strong, healthy baby,” Perl said.

Evolution has driven women to subconsciously strive to find the “most powerful man” for reproduction, which historically has been the alpha male, according to Perl, who co-owns the practice “The Marriage Therapist” with his wife Ruth.

This is part of the ‘good genes hypothesis’ which suggests that women chose their mates based on who had the best genetic qualities to produce children who would have a high survival rate.

Unfortunately, these types of men don’t stick around, causing women to move on to “the nice guy” because they “need someone who will give her offspring the best chance for success,” Perl said in a TikTok video. .

“I think this goes back to the way we have evolved in general and this is not something that women consciously do, but what women are looking for is the best chance of their eggs being impregnated and then surviving,” he added to it.

In 2012, researchers at the University of Texas-San Antonio discovered reported similar findings that proved that women’s ovulation period motivated them to find someone they wouldn’t normally gravitate toward.

“Under the hormonal influence of ovulation, women fool themselves into thinking that the sexy bad boys will become committed partners and better fathers,” said Kristina Durante, lead author of the study at the time.

“When I looked at the sexy guy through the ovulation glasses, Mr. Wrong looked just like Mr. Right.”

The researchers had women view online dating profiles of both sexy and trustworthy men during both her on and off periods of ovulation and asked them to select which man they thought would have a better paternal contribution.

During ovulation, women said the “sexy” man would contribute more to household chores, such as child care, cooking, grocery shopping and helping with household chores.

“When asked what kind of father the sexy bad boy would be if he had children with another woman, women were quick to point out the bad boy’s shortcomings,” Durante said.

‘But when it came to their own child, ovulating women believed that the charismatic and adventurous guy would be a great father to their children.’

This can be compared with an individual year from 2010 study which showed that women chose nice guys as long-term partners, ranked men who were altruistic as more attractive and revealed that they prefer men who are sensitive, easy-going and confident.

“Because (the bad boy) doesn’t stick around, (women) look for the better guy, which is the nice guy who generally sticks around for them,” Perl said in the video.

To provide and protect, to take care of the children and that’s just the way we evolved,” he continued, adding, “And don’t shoot me, I’m just the messenger.”