Gendernomics

1. The Sexual Marketplace Operates Like Any Other

Thus, a market is any situation wherein 2 or more people interact in order to exchange goods, services or something else in order to improve their own situation.

Market dynamics. Just like job, financial, or food markets, the sexual marketplace involves individuals interacting to exchange "goods" (traits, status, resources) to increase their marginal utility. Each party views what the other offers as more valuable than what they possess, leading to a trade. This foundation of subjective value theory, as outlined by Ludwig Von Mises, applies directly to mate selection.

Amoral system. Markets are inherently amoral systems designed for efficient resource management, producing outcomes that can appear "unfair" based on competency. Being competent in the sexual market isn't just about being "good" at dating; it's about being competent at the task and task-adjacent skills like social intelligence or self-presentation. This often clashes with moral dimensions people impose, leading to frustration when outcomes don't align with perceived "fairness."

Beyond conscious choice. While mate selection isn't always a conscious, explicit chain of reasoning, observable patterns of preference exist. Concepts like "having a type" or innate preferences (e.g., the 0.7 hip-to-waist ratio) demonstrate underlying market forces. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for men who, without this knowledge, are "a blind man in the land where the one-eyed man is king."

2. Sexual Market Value (SMV) is Subjective, Contextual, and Dynamic

Every SMV valuation is subjective, yet tends to conform within a range, meaning that a woman who is 10 to eight men will also be in the top percentiles of SMV for other men.

Defining value. Value in the sexual marketplace isn't a fixed, objective measure like a product's cost of production; it's largely subjective and in constant flux. While a "1-10" scale is commonly used, it's an aggregate of subjective valuations. What one person values highly might be less important to another, and the same person's value can change over time and context.

Context matters. The perceived value of an individual is heavily influenced by context. For example, a woman might be a "10" in a small town but a "6" in a major city with a larger pool of attractive individuals. Social proof, or the perception of value communicated externally by a social group, can temporarily inflate or deflate one's perceived value, but it's often transitory.

Tangible vs. intangible assets. A person's value is a mix of tangible (physique, health) and intangible (personality, ambition, intellect) assets. While tangible assets might be objectively measurable (e.g., medical records), intangible assets are harder to quantify and often the focus of "vetting" discussions. These assets, like a company's brand recognition or patents, contribute to overall value and can act as "barriers to entry" against negative influences.

3. Male and Female Value Trajectories Differ Fundamentally

Whereas male sexual market value is more similar to a blue chip in that it takes a long time to rise but tends to be more sustainable over time.

Distinct trajectories. Female sexual market value (SMV) is often compared to a "growth company" stock: it rises and falls quickly, heavily weighted towards youth and beauty as proxies for fertility. In contrast, male SMV is more like a "blue-chip" stock: it takes longer to rise, often peaking in the mid-to-late thirties as men accumulate social, physical, and economic value, and tends to be more sustainable.

Hypergamy's role. Women's mate selection is influenced by hypergamy, a drive to "marry up" or optimize mate choice for higher value relative to their own. This manifests in two levels:

• Level 1: Seeking mates with higher value within a given bound (the "hurdle rate").
• Level 2: Optimizing the trade-off between high-value genetics and long-term security/provision ("Alpha Fucks/Beta Bucks").
  This filtering mechanism naturally excludes low-value men.

Male value drivers. Male value is built through demonstrations of competence in valued hierarchies (business, military, social, artistic). A man's overall value is a composite of his position in these various hierarchies, reflecting his "objective value" to society. However, this differs from his sexual market value, which is specifically women's valuation of him as a mate.

4. Honest Self-Assessment is the Starting Point for Change

It doesn’t matter if you’re in the middle of a 24 month slump, or if you kicked a girl out of your house to continue reading this book, what matters is being honest with yourself about your current situation.

No self-delusion. The first and most crucial step in any self-improvement journey is brutal honesty about your current state. Self-delusion, often fueled by ego, is the biggest enemy. Whether you're a "good boy" who believes he's doing everything right despite poor outcomes, or someone struggling with imposter syndrome, an accurate self-valuation is non-negotiable.

Neuroticism vs. narcissism. Self-valuation exists on a spectrum. Neurotics often depress their self-worth, magnifying weaknesses, which can either drive them to high achievement or paralyze them. Narcissists, conversely, inflate their strengths and ignore weaknesses, leading to a large gap between perceived and objective value if not coupled with achievement. Both extremes hinder accurate self-perception.

Update your software. Many men, especially those who've undergone significant positive changes, fail to update their internal self-perception to match their new reality. This "imposter syndrome" leads to a persistent fear of being exposed as a fraud, undermining accomplishments and devaluing continued effort. Affirmations and consciously acknowledging progress can help "force a software update" to align self-perception with objective reality.

5. Apply Business Strategy to Your Personal Self-Improvement

This is based on a model that I’ve often used in business to create and implement strategy across complex organizations in a way that ensures a solid foundation, makes sure that the actions taken are effective and that outcomes can be measured.

Beyond effort. Many men focus solely on putting in "effort" without tracking "efficacy"—the relationship between inputs and results. Going to the gym five days a week for two years without visible changes indicates high effort but low efficacy. Effective self-improvement requires a strategic approach, not just brute force.

Strategic framework. The book proposes a business-like framework for personal transformation, moving from defining your desired future to implementing measurable actions. This structured approach ensures:

• A solid foundation for change.
• Effective actions that lead to desired outcomes.
• Measurable results to track progress.

Common pitfalls. Men often fall into three traps on their self-improvement journey:

• Consistency: Failing to maintain efforts over time.
• Desired Outcome: Lacking clarity or honesty about what they truly want.
• Tracking Results: Not designing systems to monitor progress effectively.
  This framework aims to address these common failures by providing a clear roadmap.

6. Your Past Informs, But Doesn't Dictate, Your Future

Our past decisions are the reason for why we find ourselves in our present state.

The weight of the past. Your current situation is a direct result of past decisions and actions. Many men enter the "manosphere" because they're dissatisfied with these outcomes, yet they can become trapped by past choices, unable to envision a different future. This often manifests as a constant vacillation between past regrets, present desires, and future visions.

Breaking the cycle. To change your future, you must make different decisions in the present than you did in the past. This inherently means breaking comfortable habits and embracing discomfort. It's easy to choose a better state in theory, but harder to consistently make uncomfortable choices when immediate results aren't visible.

Congruence is key. When you make significant changes, it takes time for your internal self-perception to catch up with your external reality. This can lead to feeling "fake" or like an "imposter." The goal is to integrate your past, present, and future selves into a congruent whole, owning your journey without letting past mistakes define your potential. The woman you're hitting on doesn't care who you were 10 years ago; she cares about who you are now.

7. Define Your Vision and Mission for Clear Direction

Your vision is the ideal state that you want to be in when it comes to your life.

Vision: The ultimate ideal. Your vision is a broad, enduring statement of your ideal future self or life. It should be aspirational and long-lasting, serving as your ultimate guiding star. For example, "To be the most complete man I can be."

Mission: Concrete purpose. Your mission statement makes your vision more concrete by defining your highest-level objectives and limiting the scope of your efforts. It specifies the key areas of your life where you aim to apply your vision (e.g., "To be the most fulfilled man I can be, physically, psychologically, intellectually, sexually and professionally").

Filter for action. These two statements act as a crucial filter, helping you decide what activities to pursue and what to avoid. Without a clear vision and mission, it's easy to get sidetracked by activities that are fun in the moment but don't contribute to your long-term goals, much like businesses straying from their core purpose.

8. Conduct Thorough Internal and External Analyses

The idea of a GAP analysis is pretty simple, you wrote down your vision and mission in the last chapter, now you need to figure out the distance between where you are now and where you want to be.

Internal analysis (GAP). This involves a brutally honest self-assessment of your current state versus your desired future state across all areas defined in your mission. It's about identifying the "gap" and your current capabilities (core competencies) to bridge it. Lying to yourself here only hurts you.

External analysis (Environment). This is an exhaustive analysis of factors outside your control that influence your ability to progress. It's like a business understanding its market, competitors, and regulatory landscape. Key factors include:

• Social realm: Conservative vs. liberal area, opportunities to meet people.
• Infrastructure: Access to gyms, dating venues, transportation.
• Demographics: Male-to-female ratio, age distribution in your area.
• Legal/Political: Laws affecting dating (e.g., consent, "cat-calling").

Market-first perspective. Just as a business tailors its product to a market, you must understand your environment. If your desired lifestyle (e.g., hedonistic playboy) clashes with your current environment (e.g., small, conservative town with few single women), you must either adapt your goals or change your environment.

9. Leverage Enablers and Mitigate Barriers for Progress

Both barriers and enablers can be external or internal, they can also be permanent or transient.

Barriers: Impeding progress. Barriers are anything, internal or external, that can hinder your progress towards your objectives. Examples include:

• Internal: Depression, addiction, poor social skills, self-sabotaging habits.
• External: Unfavorable demographics, lack of job opportunities, enabling family members.
  These must be identified and strategically mitigated.

Enablers: Facilitating progress. Enablers are advantages that can facilitate or expedite your goals. Examples include:

• Internal: Persistence, discipline, intelligence, good memory, natural talents.
• External: Access to a gym, living rent-free, local fame.
  These should be leveraged for maximum benefit.

Context-dependent nature. Something can be both a barrier and an enabler depending on context. For instance, extensive travel might be a barrier to consistent gym attendance but an enabler for practicing game in diverse locations. The goal is to design a strategy that maximizes enablers while minimizing the impact of barriers, focusing on general enablers that offer adaptability.

10. Focus on Critical Success Factors and Activities

A critical success factor is defined as those things that must go well in order for an organization or a group to do well, they are things that must be given continual and special attention throughout a process.

Critical Success Factors (CSFs). These are the overarching conditions or areas that must go well for your strategy to succeed. They are general in nature but profoundly influence outcomes. For any self-improvement, universal CSFs include:

• Consistency: Sustained effort over time.
• Efficacy: The ratio of inputs to results (effective work, not just effort).
• Self-interest: Not letting others' ego investments undermine your rational self-interest.
  Identifying these early is vital for successful implementation.

Critical Activities. These are the specific, actionable tasks that must be done to achieve your CSFs. They are the "last link in the chain" from your grand vision down to daily actions. For example, if "losing weight" is a CSF, critical activities might include "tracking calories" or "lifting weights 3x/week."

Troubleshooting and planning. By mapping out critical activities and their interdependencies (like a critical path map), you can identify bottlenecks and ensure that delays in one area don't derail your entire plan. If results are subpar, you can trace back through the chain (KPIs -> Activities -> CSFs -> Strategy -> Mission -> Vision) to pinpoint where things went wrong.

11. Design Systems and Processes for Consistent Results

The goal is to design systems and processes where it’s easier to do something in the more efficient way than it is to not do so.

Systems over willpower. Relying solely on willpower is unsustainable. The aim is to design your environment and routines so that the desired actions become the easiest and most natural choice. This means clearing out temptations (e.g., removing sugar from your house) and making positive actions frictionless.

Process design. Create processes that make it "easier to do it right than to do it wrong." For example, if you're trying to save money, set up an auto-transfer to a savings account, limiting your weekly allowance in cash. This reduces the need for constant conscious decision-making and minimizes opportunities for error.

Measurement and rewards. Integrate measurement metrics for both critical activities (e.g., frequency of gym sessions, accuracy of calorie tracking) and critical success factors (e.g., weight loss, body composition changes). Additionally, build in reward systems for short, medium, and long-term goals to maintain motivation and allow for necessary breaks, recognizing that 100% adherence is unrealistic.

Last updated: August 20, 2025