Humans seem to be a special case in nature. Most animals have flashy appearances, vibrant colors, or are tall and muscular like males, while females are relatively ordinary. Look at the difference between a male peacock and a female peacock, or a male lion and a female lion.

Males typically need to display physical characteristics to attract the attention of females, while females choose partners based on these physical characteristics. Therefore, the more flashy and muscular a male's appearance, the better. Conversely, in humans, a woman's appearance is more important, and men's criteria for choosing a partner are largely based on a woman's appearance.

In most species, females do not receive any material benefits from males; the male's contribution to offspring is simply the sperm he leaves inside the female during mating. For females, male genetic quality is crucial. Therefore, in these species, males attract females by demonstrating genetic quality, and females base their choices accordingly.

Humans are an exception. Social media's rapid development has given everyone more exposure. Under this cultural dissemination, a person with an excellent appearance can indeed get more opportunities and perhaps a bigger share.Women can predict their future access to resources and status, as well as the extent of their contributions to offspring, based on men's genetic quality.

For humans, since men's contribution to offspring is high, it's not genetic quality that's important, but rather men's potential earning ability. Their genetic quality is important because it can predict their ability to accumulate material resources.

Therefore, when men want to attract women, they showcase their potential income and existing wealth, rather than genetic quality.

Unlike species like male grouse and antelope that attract females with their appearances, human men typically attract women through other means, such as luxury cars, expensive watches, and designer clothing. They also boast about their achievements in conversation and actions.

For example, in a study in the late 1990s, researchers observed customers in Liverpool's city center bars. At the time, mobile phones were rare items. Researchers found that men tended to put their mobile phones on tables where others could see them, but women rarely did. This tendency was more pronounced when there were more men or an imbalance in the ratio of men and women. The researchers' explanation for this behavior was that men, consciously or unconsciously, competed with other men to attract women's attention, showcasing wealth and income levels.

This is why we often see 'showing off men' in situations where there are more women.

Young men may also express their genetic quality and potential income through cultural displays.

This type of cultural display refers to measurable, public, and expensive activities, such as music, art, literature, and science.