Contrast

Alright, well I've been thinking about this for a bit now and finally decided to give it a whirl. So here go the concepts: behind contrast, bait and hooks, the grenade hopper, and group-play.

As we all know contrast means: To set in opposition in order to show or emphasize differences. We are going to talk about contrast as it applies to dating and group dynamics.

Grenade hoppers are those individuals who jump on grenades in fox holes, saving the lives of all the rest.

Bait and hooks are instruments used in fishing to allow you to...well catch fish.

Disclaimer: Okay, this is generally used by girls more than it is used by guys and the ideas contained here-in are only still in proto development. Also, while it is a common occurrence, it is not always the case, and should only be taken as a general rule.

Let me tell a story. One day some buds and I were driving down the road just cruzing and enjoying each other's company. Well, we pull up to a stop sign and look over, sure enough there's a car full of girls that are doing exactly the same thing we are. We drag a few lights and then pull off into a gas station together to grab some slushies.

Well, somehow we manage to arrange to meet at a different location to watch a movie, as we climb back into our cars...we realize it. In a desperate attempt to survive the night I shout, "Not it!" To which is followed, four other "not it's" but one was just too late, and we all laugh and punch his arm. He has become tonight's lucky grenade hopper.

We proceed to the location and after the first five to ten minutes we've managed to select tonight's target and move in for the kill, each of us have been jockeying for the attention of Veronica. Chris the grenade hopper has moved in for his kill on Jessica. And the rest have managed to accept defeat over Veronica and have moved on to less attractive pastures. We'll say for sake of argument that I acquired Veronica. The night progresses a few date switches occur but nothing major, Veronica is still mine and Chris and Jessica are still together.

Why? What is it about the group that causes the need for a grenade hopper? Well, groups of girls are organized in such a way as to require the hopper. You see, each group of girls consists of three archetypes. The first, the highest, the best is the bait and hook. She is the girl that baits the group of guys, and then hooks them and brings the rest of the girls the catch. Now, why you might ask does the bait and hook hang out with lesser girls? Simple, contrast. Contrast is the girl that is vastly lower than the bait and hook; she is there to make the rest of the girls look better. The rest of the girls? They are the average (mean) members of the group.

What does everyone get out of this? The B&H gets her choice of the guys, the contrast gets a guy of higher quality than she could acquire on her own and the means get something in the middle. Why does this work? Because girls work in Compare/Contrast.

Men, on the other hand, use what is called group-play. Each member of the group is roughly equal (aside from the Alpha, but he usually isn't quite the discrepancy that the B&H is.) and they play off of each other to make the rest look good, cracking jokes, telling stories about the time they did ____ together. Basically we're there to sell the rest of the guys to the girls. It works great for everyone involved. Men will usually trade off being the grenade hopper so that no one gets the contrast too often.

Now you may say, "Well that isn't fair to the contrast!" But I say no, she's picked her spot, the ugly friend. If she wanted to she could hang out with girls of her own, or lesser "value," and become the mean, or even the B&H. The means could do the same, and the B&H could always move up and be the mean or even the contrast. But they've chosen there place in the group and they play it faithfully.

Now, to make me not sound incredibly shallow. Note that the B&H and the contrast are both switchable positions. In fact, the bait and the hook can be two different people, one to catch the eye and the other to bring it home with her personality. And contrast can only go surface deep, and be an awesome girl on the interior where the Bait may become contrast in mental categories. Either way, I've found that this system strangely seems to hold in place. Questions? Comments? Rude Remarks? Good, I can always use help refining my ideas.