How come it that, both in media and sometimes in real life, males are often seemingly more interested in females (eg always try to ask them out, are shy about it, etc) than females are in males?
In: Biology
There’s birth control available now, making this less important, but in general, with other animals too, it’s about reproductive potential and risk.
A male mammal can produce a LOT more offspring than a female while also carrying non of the risk of pregnancy and birth. The female has to be pickier to make sure they produce the most “successful” offspring possible. And in social or pair-bonded species, find a partner who will actually invest into the upbringing of the kids. Biologically there is some benefit for females in cheating. Find one partner who is a good provider, but mate with a more “attractive” male if the two qualities can’t be found in one partner.
With mammals it’s pretty uniformly the female who carries the risk, and the male who has to demonstrate its fitness. In birds it varies. You can tell by who invests more energy into offspring by their looks. If the male is colorful, behaving weirdly, and often physically smaller, and the female is drab, the female picks the male and also “pays” more to raise chicks. In some species it’s the other way around and the females compete for the attention of males who then do most of the brooding.
With birth control (and abortions) humans can circumvent the biological difference, but it’s not been that long that it’s widely available (and still isn’t everywhere). Social constructs take a while to change. And how people pick partners is still instinctual.
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