Micca asked:

what is the "survival value" in and why do attractive talented intellegent women, given a choice, almost unerringly take up with the a**holes who will treat them badly and may be both physically and mentally abusive to boot!

Who says they do? Some few do, of course, but that quote implies that all or most "attractive talented intellegent [sic] women" choose masochistically. As the formal debaters used to say, "I deny your major premise!"

On another subject, remember that, at least as it used to be say sixty and more years ago, choice of a mate was in large part a career or professional decision. To a degree, it still is.

And remember, too, that "attractiveness" is a multifaceted, highly subjective judgment. Looks, social status, personality, income-producing potential, and maybe other aspects of a candidate go into that judgment. And for a woman with an risk-taking twist, the flashy go-getter, the "fun" scapegrace may tickle the woman's sense of on-the-edge adventure, and thus seem attractive. But not all or even most of them, Micca.

Dave Oesterreich