The trophy wife phenomenon highlights another universal constant: No matter what your milieu, for a man to be seen with a beautiful woman adds to his standing. The converse, however, does not hold true: While a woman graced with physical beauty can trade this capital for a high-status mate, a woman doesn't benefit as much from being seen with a beautiful man (Demi Moore excepted). In fact, the female rules of attraction are much more complex. While a prosperous, socially integrated mate who is able to provide security for her children is powerfully attractive, so, too is the "bad boy" who, arguably, possesses status in his own, more primitive way (as well as alpha-male genes that will produce more successful offspring than Mr. Mild). Of course, everything's a trade-off: Those who find that Marlon Brando-types turn their cranks often find themselves complaining that they can't find a guy who they can settle down with.

While physical attractiveness is probably the single most important factor that determines what status of mate a woman can land, the most important for guys is social integration and leadership status — as any Washington, D.C. intern can tell you.

In the end, creativity is what triumphs.

This works with the Brando-types, as well as guys who get paid six figures: That bass player who you think is so hot even though he doesn't have a day job has social capital in their own community. Everything depends on context: It's no coincidence that one of the few times in my life that a woman tried to pick me up was in an Edinburgh pub after I had successfully entertained a large group of friends by reading selections from B-grade fantasy novels in a Brooklyn accent.

So, while all of this sounds extremely cynical, the fact is that it works in the favor of folks like you and me. As a great man once said, "culture is something the guys who sucked at hunting wooly mammoths came up with in order to get women into bed." (To which we could add "or the girls who weren't popular in high school used to get their revenge at the ten-year reunion.") Our cultural symbols are able to be endlessly manipulated. This is why we go to college, move to big cities, get interesting jobs, and bone up on mumblecore. The infinite mutability of human culture means that, in the end, creativity is what triumphs. This, of course, shouldn't be news to the Nerve reader. We know exactly what it is to hack the mating-dating system. That's why we read this site in the first place. And in the end, Steve wound up with Miranda, didn't he?  n°