Now you and your significant other have one more thing to bond over whilst roasting chestnuts over your faux fire and wearing matching Burberry slippers this season: new research has found that seeing pictures of beautiful models actually make the men folk feel badly about themselves, just like it does to us women! Porn purveyors everywhere hang their heads in shame.
To come to this conclusion, researchers recruited men for three different groups. The first group (a.k.a. The Lucky Ones) got to flip through Maxim, FHM and Details for an hour, focusing on pictures of objectified and sexually idealized women. The second group (a.k.a. the Not As Lucky Ones) paged through pictures of well dressed male models. I’m imagining there was a lot of David Beckham being thrown around. The last group (a.k.a. The Bored Ones) got to read technology articles. The men then completed a survey about their self esteem. Surprisingly the group least affected was the men who had to stare at Beckham’s Armani for an hour. The group most negatively affected? The group with the lad mags.
At first this conclusion surprised Jennifer Aubrey, the lead researcher, as similar studies have shown that it is the same-sex models that make women want to slit their wrists with a $2,500 diamond-encrusted letter opener. But for men it was the models of the opposite sex that caused self-hate. Eventually she concluded that “the exposure to objectified females increased self-consciousness because men are reminded that in order to be sexually or romantically involved with a woman of similar attractiveness, they need to conform to strict appearance standards.”
So basically the men knew that they, the average joes, would never have a chance with a woman like that because they’re still wearing their button-down jean shirt and braided belt. This effect was mitigated though if the hot models were pictured with average looking “boyfriends.” (No word on if having the average-looking boyfriends holding large fake food added to the emotional punch.)
Two things struck me about this research:
1. This is just more evidence that men consider a woman’s attractiveness her primary selling point. I mean, did any of them men think to themselves, “Sure, she’s smokin’ hot but will she discuss The Simpsons with me or buy me hemerrhoid cream?” And that makes me depressed.
2. I’d be interested to know if the effect on men was as marked as it has been shown to be on women. Were the men in the study motivated to change themselves? Get surgery? Be bulimic? Or was it just a little uncomfortable?
The girls over at Jezebel summed up my thoughts exactly, “Models make women feel bad. They make men feel bad. So who exactly are they supposed to be appealing to”
Photo Credit: W magazine is the source of these supremely ironic photos of skinny models with gigantic food.
Having been forced to sit through a 2 hour, very hungover breakfast with my 2 brothers and their 3 closest friends, all single males who could use a little bit of “fine tuning”, I will say that men will feel uncomfortable, but not enough to force themselves to change. In fact, I left breakfast with the idea that these guys think they are quite a catch and any model type woman would be lucky to have them (which is definitly not the case). Gosh, I love those boys though.
I met up with a friend last night who had just come back to Ireland from San Francisco and was clearly missing his adopted home terribly. He showed me numerous photos of his friends there, all beautiful girls, one of whom is an international model. I was so happy for him, but when he showed me the photo of her billboard I felt a shot of jealousy akin to violent nausea. Everything about that photo reminded me of everything I’m not, and will never be. I would not have said I was anti-model, I watch ANTM, CNTM, BNTM and Project Runway! I think it was just that realisation that the model was real, a genuine person and not just someone on tv or in a magazine that really hit home for me.
love that line from jezebel…is it each other?
tyra banks??
I always liked that line from Woody Allen about how when he became famous, he started striking out with better looking women!
For me? It’s been like baseball. I only need to hit one out of three tries to be a star 🙂
I was irritated by the guys all of a sudden feeling better when there were articles and quotes from the models talking about how they liked average guys more.
And I agree with toots about the guys. I think that it also ties in with the “guys in gyms” post a while back: you’re willing to take them to bed or you’re a fat lesbian bitch, because they’re obviously a “catch”.
Per your comment 1:
I’m not sure I agree that it’s depressing that all they look at is a woman’s attractiveness. I mean, that’s really all they have to look at in the magazines, right? That’s what the models are there for, because they’re attractive. They didn’t actually do the study about real people (by that I mean, women guys could get personality from). I think when women look at men in magazines, we’re totally looking at their yummy-factor, and not whether they’d be good boyfriends. Because they’re on paper, it’s not realistic to consider them that way (ok, fantasies excluded from that).
I didn’t actually notice the gigantic food at first. I was too busy trying to figure out what was going on with her leg… that IS her leg, right?
Interesting study!
I love the pictures that you featured for this post. They were spot on and very ironic. As for the study, I agree with you 100%. Yes, it drew some good conclusions, but didn’t really answer any questions.
My BF has this picture of soccer girls from a guys magazine. (This one actually: http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g244/roccanova/other/3600bd85.jpg) On his computer and when asked I told him that I liked the 3rd girl in the picture of the goal tender on the end. He on the other hand liked the 2nd girl… who I thought didn’t look nearly as toned. Strange indeed.
Dr. J – you are the best!! And OMG, I love those pictures – too funny!
I believe it. Guys never approach the prettiest girls in the room because they are scared of being shut down- seeing photoshopped even MORE gorgeous women has to remind them of that feeling.
Now i want potato chips. THANKS.
Kelly Turner
http://www.groundedfitness.com
It’s not that surprising: both men and women are taught to view other womens’ bodies as objects, to be either admired and envied or laughed at and despised.
If someone, particularly a guy (not a MAN, but a GUY) wants to insult a woman, the first thing he’ll go after is her looks (followed closely by her sexuality).
LOVE the quote from Jezebel!!!!!!!
You know what else makes me feel bad? The nonstop onslaught of weight loss ads everywhere – like the one that google ad sense chose to post right below your blog. The irony!
I was just today contacted by someone who is working with the Centers for Disease Control on a project for American called The Healthiest Nation. Suddenly I felt inspired that there might be hope for America with regard to well-being. It seriously made my day. Forget those dumb ads! We can change the world one bike ride and one healthy body at a time.
I’m not surprised that the guys were depressed after reading FHM and Maxim. Those magazines are complete and utter garbage.
Perhaps the researchers should have realized that magazines that feature unrealistic and hyper-sexualized images of women tend to be crap – and feature articles about situations few of us are likely to find ourselves in.
I’m not really sure when Marlboro became a food, probably when my grandma was smoking them for “lunch” (anyone wonder why smoking makes you thin?) but personally I prefer the chips. And the hot dogs. And the pudding. Crap, you made me feel bad. Or they did! Or you did by posting these photos, don’t you know I’m on a diet?!
Boys notice, but like Toots said, not enough to DO anything about it, or worry excessively.
I just asked my boyfriend if he felt any pressure to conform to the unrealistic standards of beauty portrayed in glossy magazines, and he just said, absoluteley and sincerely:
“No. I’m HOT.”
TA x
WHAT is up with the model’s leg in the Marlboro pic? it grows right into her lungs!
This study is way interesting and extremely validating. Satisfying in some wrong way.
the dumbest photos i have ever seen.
I’ve seen a lot of them too–I subscribe to Vogue (until it runs out this month). After years of looking at magazines like Vogue for perspective on how to take better photos and international fashion–it’s gotten to me. I can’t read the articles anymore because their priorities are totally out of wack in the position they take AND now the pictures make me feel bad. I always used to think I had a choice in it–they can’t MAKE me feel bad. And that may be true–but, I realized my real choice in the matter is to cancel the subscription and ban these images (to the extent I can) from my life.