Definitions of a hero; is Daniel Jackson an Alpha Male?

On a Stargate list I frequent we've been talking about the definition of alpha males, and whether Daniel is one. The problem has hinged on just what the definition of an alpha male is, and numerous suggestions have been offered. I was so intrigued that I asked the question 'Is Daniel and Alpha Male?' at 'Our Stargate' Forum. The link below takes you to the thread, and it is well worth a read. Our Stargate -- All Team, All the Time! #1536.1

Pursuing definitions on the web, I've come across these:

Alpha hero: Think "Alpha Male," the archetypal hero of the romance genre. Alpha is meant in the biological sense, as in "alpha male" -- top dog, captain, kingpin. Strength, courage and innate nobleness are his main attributes, which reveal themselves in his chivalrous code of defending the weak, protecting the innocent, and unswerving loyalty to his family and his mate.

Beta hero: By contrast, the Beta hero is the nice, funny, tender, supportive and sensitive guy often featured in romances with a gentler or comedic tone. For example, one in which long-time friends fall in love. (I'd suggest that this definition does not really cover the qualities of the beta hero).

Gamma hero: One who doesn't fit the image of the macho Alpha male, or the easygoing Beta either. He's a combination--a mutation--of both types of man. Gammas are outside the loop. They don't fight with the males. They certainly don't compete for leadership. The other males accept this and pretty well leave them alone. What they do is more exploratory such as arts and science. They also hang out with the women a lot and are accepted comfortably.

I thought this was fascinating, then I came across yet more definitions by people who disliked the use of alpha, beta and gamma:

Warrior Poet hero: The man who is strong when needed - so strong that he never has to bully anyone to prove his strength. So strong that he dares show the sensitive, loving side of his nature. He may well be a wounded hero, but he doesn't punish innocents because he is suffering. He has the courage to walk away from an unnecessary fight - and the toughness to win the necessary battles. He likes women and children, and isn't afraid to show it.

Rogue male hero: He challenges authority, often by breaking his society's rules and/or defying the alpha male (king, commander, father). He's been ousted from society (family, community, armed forces, police force) as a result. His reasons for challenging the status quo are often excellent (like the captain of police is on the take) but the important factor to note here is that the rogue is not the alpha, he is not allowed back into the society from which he's been banished until he can usurp the current alpha or become reconciled to the alpha. He isn't leading anyone. He's egocentric and ruthless and aggressive - because if he weren't he'd be content to remain quietly malcontent. The rogue is an outsider, a dark horse and an unknown quantity.

I thought I'd probably found sufficient, but no, I was next directed to an article entitled All About Romance- We Need a Hero - A Look at the Eight Hero Archetypes by Tami D. Cowden The author listed:

• The Chief, the quintessential alpha
• The Bad Boy or the rebel
• The Best Friend, the quintessential beta
• The Charmer
• The Lost Soul
• The Professor
• The Swashbuckler
• The Warrior

I decided that enough was enough by the time I came across The Thinkers, The Lovers, The Rulers and The Loners, and refused point blank to even contemplate The Duke, The Laird, The Golden Boy, The Lone Wolf, The Warrior, The Brain, The Libertine, The Black Sheep and finally The Sorcerer.

Criticism has been levelled at the use of the word alpha male to describe human behaviour. It has normally been used to describe animal behaviour such as the alpha male and females that run wolf packs. That accepted, I think on the whole we know what we mean by the alpha man. The one in command, the leader, the one who 'walks the walk and talks the talk'. Good people to deal with, and they make great heroes because they are usually brave and fearless. I do like such men, very masculine men usually, and I think we need people like them.

However, my favourite hero tends to be the man who does not display these outward alpha male characteristics. Part of Dr Daniel Jackson's charm for me is that he is NOT an alpha male according to any of the definitions above. While Daniel is fearless and brave, and most certainly masculine, he has never worried about showing the gentler side of his nature. If he cries then he cries, he will not apologise for it. He doesn't so much lead as facilitate leadership. He doesn't tend to confront, he challenges your thinking and mind set. He doesn't automatically go for the quickest or easiest solution, and violence is his last option. In fact Daniel can appear to be a very non-threatening and easily intimidated man. Those who have assumed that have found, to their cost, that Daniel Jackson must be one of the most stubborn, tenacious and determined men on the planet, well the universe since this is Stargate we're talking about! I adore this man, and I think much of his charm is that he is so confident and assured in himself that he will not and does not conform to any preconceived expectations about male behaviour, even in the middle of one of the most male orientated and testosterone spiced environments; the military. 

What he is I still don't know, but I think this wonderfully humorous fairytale called:  "Survival of the Prettiest" (or "Why I Think Daniel is Way Too Smart To Be an Alpha Male") by Lori, might go some way to defining him as a very clever beta male. (Reproduced with permission)

"Survival of the Prettiest" (or "Why I Think Daniel is Way Too Smart To Be an Alpha Male") by Lori 

Two alpha males and a beta male walk through a forest and approach a bridge across a stream, on the other side of which is a big pavilion filled with beautiful scantily clad women. An alpha male from the pavilion side of the stream (Alpha Male #3) approaches and tells the three travellers they can't cross the bridge as he is protecting his women. Alpha Male #1 challenges him to a fight. Alpha Male #2 goes in search of a big axe so he can cut down the mightiest tree in the forest and cross the stream and reach (and impress) the women that way. Beta Male goes off to find a non-confrontational way around the problem.

Knowing that women don't like men to smell bad he decides to avoid getting sweaty, and from the neighbouring trees snaps off long fine branches that involve no real effort until he has enough to bind together with handy lianas making a perfectly competent bridge across the stream. While Alpha Male #1 fights with Alpha Male #3, and Alpha Male #2 still hunts for a mighty axe, Beta Male picks some flowers for the women, walks across the branch bridge and politely asks the waiting women if he could possibly have a drink of water and, oh here, these flowers are for them. The waiting women see at once that Beta Male is totally non-threatening and cute as a fluffy kitten so invite him into their pavilion where they give him not just water but wine and say he must be hot after making that bridge and would he like to remove his jacket? On removing his jacket they see that he has a much better body than they'd expected as he doesn't go around flaunting it the way their Alpha Male does, but it is really very toned and fit and attractive. They notice he has an infinitesimal tear in his pants and a tiny smudge on his shirt. They immediately suggest he gives them his clothes so they can mend/wash them. After a fitting display of 'oh no, I don't want to be any trouble and oh I'm so shy' he gets out of his clothes in a way that makes the women feel they are entirely in charge of the situation, revealing even more of his very nice body, unmarked by any of the unsightly scar tissue of their Alpha Male who is always getting into fights. The women suggest he stays for dinner, and feed him very nice food, give him lots of wine, then suggest a game of spin the bottle. Within two hours he has shed his boxer shorts (at their insistence and with lots of blushing reluctance on his part), has kissed every woman there, and had sex with several of them (with fitting displays of 'oh no, I couldn't possibly...I respect you far too much to...oh but I'm only human and you are so irresistibly lovely...'). 

Meanwhile Alpha Male #2 is still hacking his way through the largest tree in the forest with much manly rippling of muscles which none of the women are noticing, being far too interested in their unthreatening new toy, sweet (naked) Beta Male. Alpha Male #1 and Alpha Male #3 are still punching each other's heads in on the bridge, determined not to give way as the women are watching, despite the fact the women haven't been watching them ever since Beta Male arrived.

After several hours of punching each other, Alpha Male #1 and #3 have reached the kind of comradeship that only Alpha Males understand and decide they are now bosom pals. They praise the skill with which Alpha Male #2 has cut down the largest tree in the forest and all cross the bridge together only to be scolded by the women for their nasty vicious brawling and told to go away and not come back until they're sober. The three Alpha Males slope off dejectedly to get as drunk as they are already accused of being and to talk about how they will never understand women. As they drown their sorrows, Alpha Male #3 admits that the constant strain of having to defend his women against all comers is starting to affect his performance and he's afraid they may be getting restless. Alpha Male #1 and #2 say women can be so cruel sometimes and never understand the pressures they are under. They share a bottle of whiskey and cry about the girl they really liked in High School who broke their hearts when she married some skinny little dweeb.

Meanwhile Beta Male has had a nice bath in the women's sunken pool, been hand-fed fresh strawberries and slept with everyone else who fancies him (which is everyone), impregnating several thereby ensuring his genes will survive. He spends the night in perfume-scented sheets surrounded by beautiful women. The Alpha Males get to sleep in the pig pen.

In the morning, Beta Male wakes up first, puts on his pressed and mended clothes, kisses all the women goodbye, says he will miss them terribly and remember them always and skips away before the Alpha Males wake up. He then runs lightly back along his branch-bridge, pulls it after him and hides it in the undergrowth. When the Alpha Males stagger out of their pig pen with terrible hangovers to much shaking of feminine heads and disdainful looks, they find Beta Male sitting on the other side of the stream waiting for them, and feel guilty about leaving him there all night. He says it's okay and do they need some aspirin? He gives them aspirin and utters not a word of reproach about them waltzing off with their new Alpha Male friend and abandoning him. They resolve to be much nicer to him in the future, only noticing in passing that people who have spent the night in pigpens don't smell anything like as nice as people who have spent the night in the forest.

Lori finishes her amusing tale by saying that 'quite apart from the fact I have never any signs of alpha-ness on Daniel's part, I think he is just much too *smart* to be anything other than a Beta Male. And, of course, he smells much too nice as well. <g>'

As you can imagine I loved this explanation. It seemed to sum up everything that I so admire and love about Daniel. His behaviour as described above could be seen as sly, but I don't think he is consciously judging how he acts or performing to a predefined script, he is just acting naturally and by so doing charming his way in. Of course this behaviour isn't going to work all the time, but by his general air, his mannerisms, his hesitant speech, his avoidance of direct violence unless absolutely necessary etc. Daniel gives the impression that he is harmless and can be dismissed. Bad mistake, as we all know! Very non alpha behaviour, very clever, but it requires a person supremely confident in their own ability and secure in themselves to be able to be like this.

If you want to pursue more information on this fascinating topic check out All About Romance- Laurie's News & Views #63. 

If you want to look at Daniel and the rest of SG-1 in very different terms, Dr Meredith Belbin has distinguished Nine Team Roles  that give you a typical combinations of positive qualities and allowable weaknesses that add up to the propensity of the individual to fit one or other of these roles. I've been 'profiled on the BelBin Team Role Profile for my team at work, and have to say that I was impressed with the accuracy of the profile both for myself and my colleagues.

Thanks to Lori for allowing me to reproduce her 'fairy tale', and thanks to my list sibs on JackDaniels and the posters at Our Stargate forum for helping me define exactly what it is that I love about Daniel Jackson and directing me to some fascinating links. Lastly, thank you to the writers and ultimately Michael Shanks (with a great start from James Spader) for creating and portraying such a wonderful character.

09.05.03