Flirting to Get What You Want – is It Genetic or Societal?

Some men and women like flirting a lot and will use it to get whatever they want at whatever time. They will flirt with strangers, friends and even relatives to get what they want. Is flirting genetic or do we learn it from our surrounding? It is present in all societies, and it’s present in nearly a third of women and a quarter of men worldwide.

What is flirting?

According to Wikipedia, flirting is a social interaction in which a person indicates a romantic or sexual interest towards another. It may consist of talking in a suggestive way, particular body language or brief physical contact.

Some individuals are more inclined to flirting than others. Some may respond positively while others may be offended. Is flirting genetic or do we learn it from the people around us?

Signs of flirting

Women use their smile, lengthy eye contact, licking of their lower lip, touching the lower lips with their fingers, touching their hair, blowing a kiss, or touching a man’s back or arm during conversation or even walking in a particular style in order to attract a man’s attention. Some women may be bolder and show more flesh than necessary to attract male attention.

Men on the other hand will more often than not stare at their object of interest, wink an eye, lean forward to accentuate their chests or biceps, repeatedly touch their ties or their belts, smile sheepishly, send suggestive notes and gifts or chat online.

There are many more signs of flirting aimed at attracting attention from members of the opposite sex. Both sexes may also use other suggestive messages to attract attention such as doing exactly what the other person is doing. If you are at a restaurant and notice a man or woman imitating your every move, it may be a sign of flirting.

Why do we flirt?

According to psychologists, flirting may suggest an expression of interest in forming either a long term or short term relationship usually of a sexual nature but may also be used in the short term to gain something like a lift from a motorist, a job at a firm or other material help. Flirting may also be used as an invitation for casual sex, sometimes known as a fling.

Is flirting in our genes?

The tools that we need for flirting are actually genetic traits. A man can only flaunt biceps and a chest that he already has, meaning that is genetic. A woman’s eyes or legs may grab attention across a room and make her stand out from the crowd but it must be remembered that these genetic traits on their own do not lead to flirting.

There are people who were born bold enough to flirt while many others learn from their surrounding. Is it genetic? Yes, but only to a limited extend. Friends influence us a lot while growing up and many other times, we use observation to inculcate behavioral traits into our lifestyles.

Like any other behavioral trait, flirting is both genotypic and phenotypic. We are at times born flirts while many a times we learn this from friends. 27% of women flirt to get what they want as opposed to 16% of men. Would you flirt to get what you want?