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WOMEN want it ALL: study reveals what women want

Channel: Orion Taraban
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFe5MGaQrGo

The speaker's core claim, built on a 2008 study: attractive women want every desirable trait in a man, but rate intelligence, loyalty, and kindness as the most dispensable, so men should not over-invest in those at the expense of fitness and money.

Key points

  • Riffs on the paper "Attractive Women Want It All," Evolutionary Psychology, 2008, vol. 6 issue 1.
  • Study method: ~100 men rated women on attractiveness; the most highly rated women were then surveyed at length about what they wanted in a man (handsome, rich, family-oriented, emotionally available, committed, etc.).
  • Result: attractive women wanted essentially everything on the list, which surprised the researchers.
  • But they did not want everything equally. The three traits they cared about least, and which were not even statistically significant, were: that he be intelligent, that he be loyal, and that he be kind and understanding.
  • Upshot per the speaker: men aiming to be viable options for very attractive women should not pour energy into intelligence, loyalty, and kindness at the expense of higher-value attributes like being physically fit, earning a lot, and providing a house.
  • Presented as part one; continued in a later episode.
  • The central claim rests on the one cited 2008 paper; the speaker's interpretation and advice are his own.

Reception

  • Largely agreeing and bitter; a common refrain is "the problem isn't what they want, it's how little they offer in return," and that the takeaway is to stay single.
  • The finding that intelligence, loyalty, and kindness rank lowest hit a nerve: several commenters note these are exactly the qualities they value most in themselves ("quite depressing"), and others theorize attractive women undervalue kindness because they are always treated well.
  • Multiple thrice-married men offered their own lists of what wives wanted (a provider, control of the relationship when convenient, status), framing it as lived confirmation.
  • Recurring cynical summaries: "a man loves a woman, a woman loves what a man can do for her"; women want looks, money, status; "never let them confuse your kindness for weakness."
  • Some pushback and nuance: commenters insisting intelligence and loyalty are vital in any person, and one self-described unattractive but intelligent woman found the study "oddly comforting," happy to cede shallow men to the beautiful crowd.