''Sigma'' ({{IPAc-en, ', s, ɪ, g, m, ə, audio=LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Sigma.wav) or called ''sigma male'', is an internet slang word defined as personality

archetype The concept of an archetype ( ) appears in areas relating to behavior, historical psychology, philosophy and literary analysis. An archetype can be any of the following: # a statement, pattern of behavior, prototype, "first" form, or a main mo ...

, primarily found in online discussions about

social hierarchies Social stratification refers to a society's categorization of its people into groups based on socioeconomic factors like wealth, income, race, education, ethnicity, gender, occupation, social status, or derived power (social and political). It ...

and

masculinity Masculinity (also called manhood or manliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with men and boys. Masculinity can be theoretically understood as Social construction of gender, socially constructed, and there i ...

. It is likely short for ''alpha'' or ''beta,'' and is often associated with

brain rot In Internet culture, brain rot (or brainrot) describes Internet content deemed to be of low quality or value, or the supposed negative psychological and cognitive effects caused by it. The term also more broadly refers to the deleterious effec ...

Background

The term has gained popularity among younger generations, especially on platforms like

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

, as a way to describe someone who is cool,

confident Confidence is the feeling of belief or trust that a person or thing is reliable. * * * Self-confidence is trust in oneself. Self-confidence involves a positive belief that one can generally accomplish what one wishes to do in the future. Self ...

, and doesn't conform to social expectations, with words such as the ''alpha sigma male'', being associated with the word ''

rizz ''Rizz'' () is an internet slang word defined as style, charm, or attractiveness. It is likely short for ''charisma,'' and is often associated with brain rot. Background The phrase was popularized by American YouTuber and Twitch stream ...

''. Instead of adhering to the traditional social structures of ''alpha'' (dominant leader) and ''beta'' (submissive follower), a ''sigma'' male or female is characterized by their

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

self-reliance "Self-Reliance" is an 1841 essay written by American transcendentalist philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson. It contains the most thorough statement of one of his recurrent themes: the need for each person to avoid conformity and false consistency, ...

, and preference for operating outside the established norms. They are often described as ''lone wolves''.

Popularity

''Sigma'' has thrown around the

internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

multiple times, and an association with a

character named ''giga chad'' is used to depict a male with a sharp jawline.