The following Freudian theory detailed by Sarah Kofman suggests that beta orbiting and simping stem from men relinquishing infantile narcissism as children, while culture lets women retain it into adulthood, which men then envy and live vicariously through women.

This description seems to capture an inner psychological mechanism that arose and grew more prevalent with the invention of romantic chivalry.

SOURCE: The Narcissistic Woman: Freud and Girard (1980) – by Sarah KofmanSee also: Cornelius Castoriadis: Infantile Narcissism Replaced by a Narcissistic Social Contract