Also yeah I think the deal is less that women want someone to protect them and more that they want someone to do just general physical tasks—needing to be protected almost never comes up in day-to-day life but needing to move a heavy object or do grimy repair work comes up all the time
Speculation: This is interesting. Suppose in a tribe it’s the strongest men most likely to be called on to defend others in the rare times it’s needed. In that view , the buff gym bro’s existence could be valuable primarily to less-buff men: he’s making himself less (or at least no more) attractive to women, while (being perceived as) reducing physical risk to other men in his tribe from outside threats. In contrast, it wouldn’t exactly be helpful for a woman to tie herself to the man in her tribe most likely to die violently.
Speculation: This is interesting. Suppose in a tribe it’s the strongest men most likely to be called on to defend others in the rare times it’s needed. In that view , the buff gym bro’s existence could be valuable primarily to less-buff men: he’s making himself less (or at least no more) attractive to women, while (being perceived as) reducing physical risk to other men in his tribe from outside threats. In contrast, it wouldn’t exactly be helpful for a woman to tie herself to the man in her tribe most likely to die violently.