The ladder theory is an attempt by a writer on an internet website to explain the ways in which men and women evaluate potential sexual partners and friends of the opposite sex. Though it has generated some interest in some online communities, it has not been considered by the sociology community, though it may resemble some more formal theories in some of its aspects.

According to the theory, men tend to view all women (within a certain age range and excluding close family members) as potential sexual partners, even those women with whom a man is "just friends."

A man evaluates a woman's desirability based on certain characteristics of attractiveness, especially physical appearance, and places her on a single mental "ladder". The higher up the woman is on the ladder, the more desirable she is as a sexual partner. A woman may be moved up and down on the ladder based on changes of her bevahior, appearance, and availability.

A woman, by contrast, categories men into two separate and mutually exclusive groups consisting of potential sexual partners and male friends. Upon first meeting a man, a woman will deem a man to be either a potential sexual partner or potential friend but never both. Each of these two groups has a separate hierarchy, or "ladder", in a woman's mind.

According to the theory, a man may be moved up and down on the particular "ladder" on which he has been placed, but he cannot, under most circumstances, change from one ladder to another. In particular, a man deemed by a woman to be a "friend" will never be an acceptable sexual partner to her, no matter what his subsequent behavior is.

The theory thus provides a explanation for why men will readily sleep with an attractive female friend much more often than a woman will sleep with an attractive male friend.

External link