Law Students

Women as Objects

By Pete

I can’t say that I find this particularly shocking:

New research shows that, in men, the brain areas associated with handling tools and the intention to perform actions light up when viewing images of women in bikinis.

I mean, really? Handling “tools” and “performing actions?” That joke pretty much writes itself, actually.

The author of the study actually has more unintentionally hilarious stuff to say:

This is just the first study which was focused on the idea that men of a certain age view sex as a highly desirable goal, and if you present them with a provocative woman, then that will tend to prime goal-related responses.

That’s a new way of putting it. “Man, check out that girl over there . . . she really ‘primes my goal-related responses!’”

My favorite part of the whole article, though, is the part that absolves men of any responsibility for this behavior whatsoever!

[T]he way that men may depersonalize sexual images of women is not entirely something they control. In fact, it’s a byproduct of human evolution, experts say.

Thank you, Mr. Charles Darwin.

(Via Hattie)

Full post as published by PeteHoliday.com on February 19, 2009 (boomark / email).