While we may like to think that people pay the more attention to our faces than our figures, a new study published in the journal Sex Roles used eye tracking technology to prove that this is unfortunately not the case.
Lead author of the study, and social psychologist Sarah Gervais of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln explains, “We live in a culture in which we constantly see women objectified in interactions on television and in the media. When you turn your own lens on everyday, ordinary women, we focus on those parts, too.” She continues, “Until now, we didn’t have evidence people were actually doing that to women’s bodies…We have women’s self-reports, but this is some of the first work to document that people actually engage in this.”
Participants included 29 women and 36 men outfitted with an eye tracking system designed to measure the number of milliseconds during which the eye focuses on particular spots. The study showed that both men and women fixed gazes on women’s chests and waists for longer than their faces, and those with larger chests and hips and smaller waists were looked at for the longest period of time.
The study explains that such visual evaluations of female bodies has implications on how personality is interpreted: even participants were told to focus attention on expressions and personality, those with more curves received higher ratings.
While according to Gervais, this may be partially due to evolution, as she suggests that men may be drawn to more shapely women for childbearing purposes, while women may in turn be checking out their competition, she concludes that “It doesn’t explain why they’re looking, but they’re looking longer.”