roland comments on Pick Up Artists(PUAs) my view - Less Wrong
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This is one example of countless other objections that are leveled against PU that fall into the same pattern: an elaborate argument is presented that illustrates a problem with PU and yet at the same time it is overlooked that the same argument could be applied(yet rarely or never is) against women or against dating/mating in general. Specifically:
and:
The name of the game is mating, not altruism! In mating we are generally not concerned primarily about the welfare of the object of our desire. It doesn't matter if you are human, non-human, male, female, homosexual, heterosexual, PUA or not PUA. Is a woman who expects the man to pay for her drinks, or the boyfriend to help her pay the rent really concerned about the welfare of the other?
Doesn't sound nice, does it? But I didn't write the rules of the game. Actually it should be a big surprise if the mating game that came about through evolution conformed to our expectations of fairness or niceness. PUAs didn't invent the game, they analyzed it and figured out what the winning moves are. Don't blame them. This is actually what all the PUA hate is about: rationalized or cleverly packaged envy. Those guys who figured out how to hack the system imposed onto them and gain an "unfair" advantage, we can't let them get away with it, can we?
Yes you did. You choose your desires. Evolution built you while optimizing inclusive genetic fitness, but it didn't build you in such a way that that's what you optimize. You are quite capable of caring for others.
Of course, if you're just concerned about the welfare of women in general, it's probably best to focus on donating to good charities, since as long as it's consensual sex isn't going to make a noticeable effect on the net good you do.