Shine OnNot only men stare at women’s breasts – women do it too
A new study shows women stare at other women's breasts as often as men do – but for different reasons.
The research, published in the journal Sex Roles, suggests that the motivation for these stares are different for each gender. Women do it to compare their bodies to other women, while men do it to assess a woman's sex appeal.
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln researchers used eye-tracking technology to monitor 29 women and 36 men as they were shown 30 images of the same 10 women. Each woman had three images – one untouched, the second altered to look more curvaceous and the third changed into a less-curvaceous body.
The results show the participants focused more on the women's sexualized body parts, such as breasts, hips and waists when asked to evaluate their appearance than they did on the women’s facial features.
"We do have a slightly different pattern for men than women, but when we looked at their overall dwell times – how long they focused on each body part – we find the exact same effects for both groups," says researcher and psychology professor Sarah Gervais.
Interestingly, what men and women deduced from the visual assessment differed. When asked to assess a woman's personality based on her looks, men rated women with hourglass figures (narrow waists, full breasts and larger hips) more favourably than less voluptuous women. The ladies, on the other hand, rated curvy and straighter women similarly.
Gervais suggests the explanation may be partly evolutionary since men may be drawn to more shapely women for childbearing.
This objectification of women can be harmful, she says, as women who feel they are being stared at can perform less effectively at work.
"It can undermine (women's) work performance. It can cause them to self-silence and it's related to increased perceptions of sexual harassment," Gervais says. "If you think about all of the negative consequences, figuring out what's triggering all of those consequences, that's the first step toward stopping it from happening."
