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Mentorship July 13, 2017
You might want to start taking notes.
Photo via Instagram / @beyonceSure, everyone’s heard of the alpha male. He’s buff and the most dominant one in the group. He doesn’t take shit from anyone. And he not only works hard but he is confident in his work. But a new term is taking the 21st century by storm: the alpha female.
When it comes to being an alpha female, there are plethora of issues to juggle that the alpha male would be scared stiff at.
And in case you’re confused, ENTITY is here to break down the specific traits that make an alpha female.
An alpha female isn’t the type of woman who can be kept hidden in the corner. And she isn’t the one hiding her curves, either.
This type of badass chick embraces her sex appeal. Like anything else about her personality, she uses it to her advantage. But don’t get it twisted, this alpha female isn’t hitting the makeup store to impress a man.
While beauty is arbitrary, science shows that taking that little extra time to pump up your personal appearance actually benefits you in society.
A 2011 study at Harvard University found that women who wore makeup were perceived as not only more attractive but also more competent and likable. But, wearing makeup also makes women feel better about themselves since the regular application of makeup can help a person’s self-esteem.
“Rituals can be powerful – performing them can actually change the way you feel,” Tracy Rohrbaugh, vice president of marketing at Revlon told PR Newswire. A study released by Revlon and Fordham University actually shows that when women perform a simple daily makeup ritual, this routine act can “enhance a woman’s emotional state.”
This is something the alpha female knows well.
She’s ambitious and she works hard. An alpha female isn’t the type of woman who settles for anything. She stays focused on accomplishing her goals. But this means she also isn’t the type to be confined to a cubicle for long. This fierce lady has her eyes set on the door placard that says “CEO.”
Which means, that alpha male better step aside.
In a 2015 Fortune article, they found that female CEOs outperformed men by driving three times the returns. And the two top female CEOs Mindy Grossman, who owns the parent company of the Home Shopping Network, and Debra Cafaro, who runs a healthcare and senior living real estate investment trust, increased their initial investment by over 500 percent.
If you’re an alpha female, you know playing dumb is not cute. And it’s not productive to impress some stupid guy either.
Alpha women aren’t interested in impressing men anyway because they’re too busy cramming for their math test. And your free time is mostly spent in traffic commuting to your university. Which actually makes sense because when it comes to college, the alpha females are outnumbering the males.
According to a 2016 article in the Boston Globe, women have outnumbered men on college campuses since the 1970s. But new studies show the gap is increasingly widening. And statistics show that while attending college, women get higher grades and have lower dropout rates.
Take that alpha males.
While your mom probably told you being sarcastic wasn’t very ladylike, an alpha female knows it displays some benefits of her personality.
A degree isn’t her only indicator of intelligence. This leading lady knows dry humor shows she is creative and has strong thinking skills.
In 2015, research by Francesca Gino of Harvard University showed sarcasm can be linked to abstract thinking. The idea is that both the sarcastic person and the person they are communicating with require greater abstract thinking skills to understand the difference between the literal and intended meanings of a phrase.
So if you’re able to handle this form of mental gymnastics, you’re considered to have high cognitive function, which means you also probably have a pretty high IQ.
An alpha female knows and embraces who she is, but that doesn’t mean she thinks she is perfect. She is aware of her flaws and what she needs to work on and she actively strives to better herself.
But she also doesn’t let anyone else tell her who she is. While she is open to suggestions and criticisms, she also trusts her own intuition and skills. She’s the head bitch in charge and her confidence is part of what makes this alpha female so successful.
A 2014 experiment by Patrick J. Carroll of Ohio State University found evidence that self-confidence is directly linked to career opportunities and success. His study came up with a hypothetical career program participants could apply for. The participants were unaware the program wasn’t real, and they were given varying levels of career advice based on their GPA. Some were told their GPA basically guaranteed them acceptance, while others were nearly guaranteed rejection.
Then he watched the results. Carroll found that participants who exhibited high self-confidence could overcome negative feedback. These people still applied for the program, despite being told they wouldn’t be successful.
The alpha female isn’t scared of rejection. She only takes criticism as a suggestion. Which means, she doesn’t let any opportunities slip by.
And that’s what makes us totally want to be her. She’s completely fearless. Keep doing you, alpha female. We’ll definitely be taking notes.
