Completely anecdotal, but kind of along similar lines: I have heard from female friends and and other less personal sources that often times women feel more comfortable around men they don't know who have an observable female partner because it indicates (if even only on a near unconscious level) that this man is most likely "safer" than a man they don't know who does not have a partner. That is, the man's female companion has "tested the water", he's likely not a serial killer, by having a partner he's demonstrating right there and then that he can commit to more than a one night stand etc.
My experience confirms your point. (If I understood your point correctly...)
I remember when I was a student, going to parties with my homies, some of them genetically blessed indeed. Even though these guys were very attractive, it was still hard to get girls to feel comfortable around them. I conjecture that went on inside these girls' minds was:
"yeah, these guys are quite handsome, but if the market is efficient, then they should have girlfriends or flings accompanying them, and since they are in a group of guys, there must be something wrong with them."
I adopted a different strategy. I started going to these parties accompanied by my best friend only, and a bunch of stunning eastern european exchange students I knew at the time. Oh boy, all of a sudden, it was so easy to get engaging conversations going with members of the opposite sex :-))) [insert evil smile here] I guess what the girls were thinking was:
- couple of guys and 5 gorgeous foreign girls
- the girls seem to be accompanying them on a voluntary basis, so there must be something interesting about those two guys
- if girls of that caliber hang out with them, then they're probably not assholes.
Enough of theories. It worked wonders. "Using" attractive out-of-my-league female friends as "social validation" to flirt girls who were more in my league at parties was one of the coolest things I ever did in my life. Call it a "social hack" if you will.
My stunning eastern european friends had a great time, too. There were tons of guys asking for their phone numbers everytime. They received so much attention that they felt like princesses or something. And since I have traveled around Eastern Europe quite a bit, I know they're not that amazingly beautiful when compared to the beauty standards of their homecountry.
I knew about the cool "underground" parties. They benefited from my information. I benefited from their company. They met tons of guys. I met tons of girls. It was a win-win situation. I wouldn't call it a "mercenary way" (not that I am offended by that notion). I just think that in life there are positive-sum games to be played, and those are the games I like to play :-)
Yeah, fair enough. I'm sure your European friends wouldn't have stuck around if there was nothing in it for them. And I'm sure the women you met through your European friends also would not have stuck around if there was nothing it it for them.
I'm a big believer in free will. The idea of moral absolutes have always seemed quite odd to me. In my experience the world is very rarely black and white, usually more shades of grey. Only those who can't handle the complexity introduced by ambiguity seem to need moral absolutes.
