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[Long Run]

Gaze-tracking Study Apparently Confirms Everyone Really IS Staring At Your Chest
October 29, 2013 11:53 AM
By Chelsea Karnash

LINCOLN, NE (CBS) – A new study has confirmed something women have been complaining about for years.

The research, out of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and published in the Springer-published journal Sex Roles, essentially corroborates the belief that people tend to focus more on the breasts and figure of a woman when analyzing her appearance than they do on her face.

According to researchers, the study was the first ever to use eye-tracking technology to examine the glances of men when the “ogle” or “check out” women, whereas previous research had used only women’s self-reported experiences.

After monitoring how the gazes of 29 women and 36 men from a large Midwestern university reacted to images of the same group of female models with various body shapes, scientists concluded that participants focused more on the female’s chests and figure when asked to evaluate their appearance than they did on the women’s facial features.

Unsurprisingly, women with narrow waists, full breasts and larger hips – the classic hourglass figure – were rated more favorably than their less voluptuous counterparts, even when men were asked to assess a woman’s personality (rather than attractiveness) based on her appearance in the photos.

But perhaps what’s most interesting is that women also tended to objectify other females in the same way that men did. They, too, spent more time focusing on figure than face.

“Generally speaking, people are more positive towards a more attractive woman than a less attractive one,” lead researcher Sarah Gervais said. “However, attractiveness may also be a liability, because while evaluating them positively, ‘gazers’ still focus less on individuating and personalizing features, such as faces, and more on the bodies of attractive women.”

[Big RR]

I'm really surprised that large beasts and hips were rated as most desirable, but then that's what the strip clubs have been telling us for years, so maybe they're right.

[MajGenl.Meade]

How the heck does one evaluate "personality" by appearance? If it means that a plug-ugly man or woman is more likely to feel undervalued, that's probably true - I know I do. But I think this study speaks well for men - we're not put off by the surface appearance of a face; not even plug-ugly is ruled out if one just looks a little deeper.

Not "large" Big RR - "full" and "larger". I don't see why ogling an attractive face should be any better or worse than ogling an attractive set of Eve's apples actually. Oglng itself is of course a noticeable activity and generally frowned upon - surreptitious glances on the other hand..... ( oh, there's a coincidence).

The usual male technique (so I'm told) is to note the attractive lady, predict her likely walking direction, then fasten one's eyes on the predicted arrival point. Then the lady walks into one's vision and who can be blamed for that - she did it, obviously!

Which reminds me - didn't Bill Clinton win a Fulbreast Prize for International Relations?

As Jake Thackray famously wrote and sang

I love a good bum on a woman, it makes my day.
To me it is palpable proof of God's existence, a posteriori.
Also I love breasts and arms and ankles, elbows, knees;
It's the tongue, the tongue, the tongue on a woman that spoils the job for me.

yrs
Bumadict Arnold

[oldr_n_wsr]

Oglng itself is of course a noticeable activity and generally frowned upon -

I find wearing sunglasses helps.

[Big RR]

Not "large" Big RR - "full" and "larger".

Thanks for the correction; never use the indicative when the comparative will suffice. Or should we use the superlative, "largest"?

In any event, I'm still surprised at that observation, strip clubs notwithstanding.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Yes to the degree you mention, I'm with you. I wonder though if it isn't a function of having been given the task in the first place a bit? Guess I can only speak for myself. Sighting one attractive woman doesn't call into question issues of 'largeness' - there's not an absolute mental comparison vs. an ideal. That must be true because don't we find a great variation in ladies that we would term "attractive"? I think there is variety even in strip clubs (IIRC). But asked to rank say a dozen ladies on a scale of 1-10, it's unlikely we'd say they were all 8 (or 9 or 10). We would feel compelled to put them in some kind of order from most to not-quite-most.

I guess at that point, the men and women who did the exercise, tended to assign a higher 'value' to women with fuller breasts, narrower waists and larger hips. Perhaps that's not so surprising. Rubens would disagree of course.... it's perhaps all time and place and culture related.

A thorny subject
Meade

[Big RR]

Well Meade, I guess it can't be argued that some people like larger breasts; indeed, breast enhancement is one of the most performed cosmetic surgeries. I'm just surprised that the research said this was not surprising; I wouldn't have thought this was universal. Now you're right, they did say full, not large, so maybe they're not referring to the second coming of Carol Doda, but I'm not sure.

ETA--here's a You Tube of Carol in case you are not familiar with her; as I recall she had silicon injections to enhance her breasts http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwzOIx7Petw

[Lord Jim]

It's the tongue, the tongue, the tongue on a woman that spoils the job for me.

Well, I suppose that really depends on how it's being used...

[Big RR]

Or what kind of job it is

[Lord Jim]

And with that kind of job, it's generally the teeth, not the tongue, that can be the spoiler...

[dgs49]

I am guilty as charged. I think more favorably of a woman who has some version of the classic "hourglass" figure, even if her face leaves much to be desired.

Then we have Miley Cyrus: ugly face, no boobs, bad hair; No thanks.

The article above says that other women "objectify" women with good figures; it conspicuously does not say that they react to them more favorably. Read anything into this?

[Econoline]

Then we have Miley Cyrus: ugly face, no boobs, bad hair; No thanks.

"...the tongue, the tongue, the tongue..." also too.

[Lord Jim]

"...the tongue, the tongue, the tongue..." also too.

There's that to be said...

Miley has a tongue that could lick the chrome off a bumper...

[Joe Guy]

The article above says that other women "objectify" women with good figures; it conspicuously does not say that they react to them more favorably. Read anything into this?

Yes. Many women look for flaws in other women because they are always comparing themselves to other women.

To those women, a beautiful woman is seen as competition or a threat and they decide she must be a slut.

It's human women's nature.....

[Guinevere]

Speak for yourself, Joe Guy.

As for the OP, well duh.

[Andrew D]

The research, out of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and published in the Springer-published journal Sex Roles, essentially corroborates the belief that people tend to focus more on the breasts and figure of a woman when analyzing her appearance than they do on her face.

So what?

If her appearance is what matters, so what?

Isn't the important issue that people -- men and women -- are judged on their appearances in circumstances in which appearance ought not to matter?

[MajGenl.Meade]

Oh I know these days there’s a fashion amongst a certain kind of woman to declare that physical beauty is entirely the wrong standard to use in judging the worth of a person. I dare say they may be right in some circumstances – I’d rather have a Susan Talbot standing betwixt me and flying bullets than I would an Annette Mandeville for example – and I’ve never been one to hold additional weight against a woman. In fact, there’s times when a little extra weight provides a useful hold. But you could make the same argument about landscapes and I have.

Show me a woman, I cry, who given the choice between a picnic on a gentle green hillside; beflowered in Spring and all ruffled by a gentle warm breeze; overlooking a joyous waterfall, cascading into a sparkling pool where birds and fishes disport themselves in the dappled sunlight – given that choice, I say, which of them will insist instead upon spreading their blanket on a Welsh coal tip in order to admire the runnels of filthy water dribbling down through the detritus of industry, no matter how valuable mining may be? I exempt Welsh women from this for they are accustomed to it. Show me a man, if he be a man, who’d enter an elephant in the Derby rather than a horse. Show me! I shout it as they hustle me from the club and show me the door. If this trend continues, they’ll end up barring me and letting women join instead. Mind you, I’m not against equality – not entirely anyway. The sooner women get the vote the better – all the horse-faced, overweight, under endowed creatures will get into Parliament where they can do the least harm to anything that matters. You’ll see if I’m not right. Thank God I won’t.