The Toxic Male Gaze Can’t Be Averted
A new study published in Psychoneuroendocrinology revealed that conservatively dressed women are no safer from some men than those who dress sexy, particularly if he has high testosterone.
Cultural Assumptions Can Lead to Harmful Consequences
It’s a well-known cultural assumption that scantily clad women are less intelligent and more promiscuous than those who dress modestly — thus making them common targets of harassment, according to study authors who wondered whether a man’s testosterone levels had anything to do with it.
Dehumanization and Testosterone
“Given these harmful outcomes, it’s important to understand the mechanisms that lead to the dehumanization of women. We were interested in contributing to this effort by investigating whether physiological factors, such as increases in testosterone levels, play a role in men’s dehumanization of sexualized and non-sexualized women,” said study author Francesca Luberti of Nipissing University in a statement for PsyPost.
A Study on Testosterone and Dehumanization
Researchers enlisted 20 men between the ages of 18 and 38 with healthy testosterone levels to participate in two experiments, during which volunteers were given supplemental doses of the hormone or a placebo. Then, they watched a video featuring a woman dressed conservatively or provocatively but behaved all the same. Finally, the men completed a series of tasks to demonstrate their impulse toward the dehumanization of women.
Test Results
Test results showed that men who took extra testosterone were more likely to dehumanize even conservatively dressed women when compared to men who did not receive hormones.
No Significant Effect on Sexualized Women
However, testosterone levels had no significant effect on a man’s view of a woman in revealing clothing and were just as likely to dehumanize her regardless of hormones, confirming previous assumptions of society’s negative view of female sexuality.
Conclusion
“We were definitely surprised to find that testosterone did not further increase emotion-based dehumanization toward a sexualized woman, as we had predicted, but instead led to the emotion-based dehumanization of a non-sexualized woman,” Luberti said.
“Based on these results, the takeaway message is that sexualization leads to emotion-based dehumanization toward a target woman, but heightened testosterone levels can trigger this type of dehumanization even in the absence of sexualization cues,” she concluded.
FAQs
Q: What is the dehumanization of women?
A: To dehumanize someone means to ignore their capacity for human qualities, such as the ability to feel sad, scared, or behave morally.
Q: How do testosterone levels affect men’s behavior?
A: Testosterone levels are linked to social behaviors in men, including sexual aggression and impulsivity, which can stem from a dehumanization of another person.
Q: Does the study suggest that some men are more prone to dehumanization?
A: Yes, the study suggests that some men with high testosterone levels are more likely to dehumanize women, even if they are conservatively dressed.
Q: What are the implications of this study?
A: The study suggests that sexualization is one factor that can lead to dehumanization, and that testosterone levels can contribute to this dehumanization even in the absence of sexualization cues. However, testosterone is just one factor, and more research is needed to understand the intersection of human physiology and social conditioning.
