2026-04-18
47 分钟The Economist.
We begin today's documentary by listening in on a particular very social creature in the wild.
What's interesting is the way this species challenges what biologists call assortative mating.
Throughout the animal kingdom, mate selection tends to happen between creatures that share similarities.
Larger jumping spiders choose larger mates, and smaller spiders, smaller ones.
In humans, of course, this 'like likes like' phenomenon takes on social dimensions.
People seek mates of similar socioeconomic background, or status, or religion.
But the subject of our study today practices something more like disassortative mating.
Here's the sound of one now.
American women didn't want me, so I went to the beach.
Not a match. Hotter, actually, that does want me and looks way better.
This creature is the passport bro.
The species is native to the West, principally America,
but expresses its traits most clearly in the global South.
They have shunned the mating structures of their homelands.
Some women in the West are taught men ain't shit and masculinity is toxic.
At the same age, some women in other countries are taught the little things
you can do to help a man feel heard and respected.
They congregate online and share knowledge about their conquests.
Many researchers believe this information transfer can actually transform