Study Finds That Men and Women Both Tend to Stare at Women With Objectifying Gazes

Researchers at the University of Nebraska used sophisticated eye-tracking technology to record where test subject eyes focused when they were shown images of women. As may come as no surprise to many readers, men tended to look first at the breasts of the women in the images and they spent more time looking at breasts than at other parts of the image.

But researchers were surprise to find a similar pattern when women were shown images of other women. Women test subjects also tended to look first at the breasts of the women in the images and dwelled on that area for as long as men did.

Sarah Gervais, an assistant professor of psychology at the university and lead author of the study, stated, “Women, we think, do it often for social comparison purposes.” Dr. Gervais is a summa cum laude graduate of the University St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in social psychology and women’s studies from Pennsylvania State University.

The study, “My Eyes Are Up Here: The Nature of the Objectifying Gaze Toward Women” was published in the journal Sex Roles. It may be accessed here.