The Ladder Theory

I have seen a number of theories that interpret the interactions which occur between men and women. There appear to be many ways to explain the nature of attraction and the, for want of a better phrase, laws of the marketplace. It also seems popular to take pot shots at both sexes along the way and one of the most entertaining reads that has a go at this would have to be the ‘Ladder Theory’. I’ve got to say that I feel this theory takes a few more shots at women than men but its still a laugh.

The Ladder Theory is a (supposedly ‘scientific’) method for deconstructing female behaviour and identifying the purported rationale behind it. At its most basic, it describes the way in which women will place men on two separate ‘ladders’ as opposed to men’s single one for us. It outlines the differing ways in which males and females will decide at what level to place their acquaintances and how the various positions will affect the relationships between those involved.

Anyone who has watched When Harry Met Sally will be familiar with the phrase that men and women can’t be friends because the sex part always gets in the way. The Ladder Theory expands on this concept to state that a man will place every female he knows on a ladder. Depending on how much he wants to sleep with her however, will determine her position on this ladder, especially in relation to others. Women on the other hand, have two ladders apparently, one for people that they would (or would like to) sleep with and one for friends.

The theory also comes complete with statistics on factors, which ultimately help establish one’s place on a ladder (in other words, your relative shagability). For men, this rating is made up of 60% looks, 30% estimated chance she’ll pull out and 10% other. For women, its 50% money/power, 40% attraction (further broken down into 50% physical attraction, 20% competition, 20% novelty and 10% other) and then 10% things women say they care about but don’t. This last 10% is said to include things like intelligence, sensitivity and stability and was the author’s way of giving women the benefit of the doubt.

There are actually variables in the ladder such as religiosity, drunkenness, loyalty and desperation which the website touches on, as well as demystifying the money/power paradigm found in the women’s rating system. Unfortunately I just can’t do justice to the theory in this short entry. I will have to save the ladder disparity and manifestations for another post but in the mean time, if you get a chance, do check out http://www.laddertheory.com/ because its quite funny.