In experiments with more than 200 people, researchers discovered that when a female believes her body is being sized up by a male, she'll diminish her presence by speaking less. When a male believes a female is eyeing his physique, however, no such effect occurs.
The study, published this month in the journal Psychological Science, explains that our culture has so taught women that they're judged on appearance that they've come to evaluate themselves that way, ultimately self-objectifying.
Only a woman who has never attracted the interest of any men could come up with this howler (I laughed so hard when I read this, I almost needed medical attention):
Veronica I. Arreola, assistant director of the University of Chicago's Center for Research on Women and Gender, hopes this helps "dispel the myth that ogling women or staring at their chests should be seen as a compliment."
"Yes, we want to look nice and yes, we like to hear that we looked nice today," says Arreola. "But we also want to communicate our thoughts and ideas without wondering if someone is staring down our shirt."
That depends, of course, on whether there’s anything down the shirt worth looking at (or imagining). I have news for Ms. Arreola: Men are interested in what's inside the shirt, they're not interested in women's thoughts and ideas, and all the feminist indoctrination in the world isn't going to change that.
Meanwhile, this observation is positively Sherlockian:
"I'm often struck watching perfectly reasonable and attractive women hiding behind towels at the beach while men of all ages and sizes stroll up and down the beach smiling and looking happy in their skin," says Brennan, who studies gender equality.
"We don't teach men that they'll be judged on how their bodies look, and certainly there's much less emphasis on appearance in male socialization."
Another article on the same topic can be found here.
