Men see women sexually after alcohol, says study

New Delhi : Have you ever wondered what specific feature of a woman attracts a man? Well, the common answer might be her beautiful skin, complexion, killing eyes, rosy lips and so on. All these features might attract him till he is not under the influence of alcohol. A study reveals that most men see women as sexual objects after consuming alcohol.

Researchers conducted a Springer study where they found that men under the effects of alcohol tend to see women as sexual objects. The study involved 49 men in their twenties and was conducted in the safe space of a college laboratory. Of the 49 participants, 29 received two alcoholic drinks to mildly intoxicate them, and the rest received placebo drinks.

All were shown pictures of 80 undergraduate women, all well dressed up and were asked to rate the women on the basis of appearances and personality. The photographs were previously rated by an independent panel in accordance with the level of warmth, good-naturalness, friendliness, competence, intelligence, confidence, and attractiveness. 

By tracking the eye movement of the participants, experts observed which part of the women’s bodies men were looking at when they were shown the photos. They spent less time looking at faces and focused far longer on chests and waists. This was particularly true when viewing women who had been rated high in attractiveness. It happened to a lesser degree when viewing women who showed warmth and competence, especially when men were slightly drunk.

The findings suggested that whether a man will sexually objectify a woman depends on the alcohol intoxication of the man, as well as how attractive, warm and competent a woman is supposed to be. “The sum of these results supports the notion that being perceived as high in humanizing attributes, such as warmth and competence, or being average in attractiveness provides a buffer that protects women from sexual objectification,” said Abigail Riemer, study lead author.

“Environments in which alcohol is present are ripe with opportunities for objectifying gazes,” added Riemer, who said that the only other study previously done on the link between alcohol and objectification by men relied on self-reports from women. “Adopting objectifying gazes toward women leads perceivers to dehumanize women, potentially laying the foundation for many negative consequences such as sexual violence and workplace gender discrimination.”