Hostile Muscular Guys

[BendtheBar]

Science Says: Don't Date Muscular Guys! | Love + Sex - Yahoo! Shine

According to a study conducted at the University of Westminster, stronger men make awful boyfriends. The study surveyed 327 straight British men, more than a third of whom were single, and discovered that the more muscular the participant, the more likely he was to have sexist beliefs and hostility toward women. Yikes!

"We think men who hold oppressive beliefs about women and gender equality are also more likely to endorse traditional stereotypes of masculinity, which includes the muscular physique,"

The researchers also claimed that in societies where patriarchal structures are being challenged, men may attempt to prove their masculinity by bettering their bodies. Basically, men who are around women in power tend to feel threatened and display this through gaining muscle.

[BendtheBar]

They never bothered to mention what these "oppressive" beliefs were. That would help.

Perhaps they tend to be 5% more likely to believe family is more important than career?

The smaller men could also slightly younger men. They might care a hair less about family, thus skewing the data...

There are many possibilities like this.

[Fazc]

"We think men who hold oppressive beliefs about women and gender equality are also more likely to endorse traditional stereotypes of masculinity, which includes the muscular physique,"

I would argue that what is considered the 'masculine stereotype' is far different in this day and age. It is more of the thinly muscled and androgenous physique. So if we intrept the research with this in mind 'hipsters' and skinny 'emos' are more likely to hold sexist views.

Picture below: Complete bunch of sexist ****s:

[IronWill]

Maybe they weren't as straight as they claimed and just didn't care much for women. LOL

[Tannhauser]

Originally Posted by BendtheBar

They never bothered to mention what these "oppressive" beliefs were. That would help.

Perhaps they tend to be 5% more likely to believe family is more important than career?

The smaller men could also slightly younger men. They might care a hair less about family, thus skewing the data...

There are many possibilities like this.

The study seems to have looked at desire to become more muscular rather than actual muscularity achieved.

The abstract of the study is here: http://psycnet.apa.org/index.cfm?fa=...2012-13774-001

Here's a slightly more detailed account of their findings:

Men Focused On Muscles Are More Sexist | Body Satisfaction, Sexism & Objectification | LiveScience

Two of the items they used to indicate sexist beliefs are:

Examples of items in the sexist beliefs portion of the survey included: "I feel that many times women flirt with men just to tease them or hurt them," and "Intoxication among women is worse than intoxication among men."

Me neanderthal, then, because I agree with both of those.

[Tannhauser]

..but my guess is that, nevertheless, there is something in what they're saying.

I don't see it as a response to threats to diminshing patriarchal status, though. That strikes me as crypto-freudian hogwash of the highest order.

[jslep]

Could it also be that confidence is being portrayed as sexist? Maybe the larger males feel more confident about who they are and are more truthful with there answers and where they truly stand. The other thing is why would it just be the scrawny guy the girls should go for....maybe a fat out of shape nerd is the answer. Go for the 5'9" 270 lber ladies. Isn't it sexist on the ladies part to go for the beefcake as opposed to him in the first place goin off physical attraction alone to judge character.

[jslep]

I suppose it's not sexist to judge someone off appearence but probably just stupid and human nature....

[BendtheBar]

The study seems to have looked at desire to become more muscular rather than actual muscularity achieved.

Thanks for pointing that out.

This adds insecurity to the table.

Examples of items in the sexist beliefs portion of the survey included: "I feel that many times women flirt with men just to tease them or hurt them," and "Intoxication among women is worse than intoxication among men."

Hmm, how do I view these questions...

Most women don't flirt with the intention of having sex, so there is a difference. Men do, most of the time - or at least they are thinking about it. So I agree with the first statement. Men and women are wired differently. I don't know that most women realize they are teasing. It's just part of the love dance. /End overthinking.

Regarding intoxication...hmm. All I know is that women who tended to get drunk a lot were well known.

[Fazc]

That's crazy, everyone flirts. It doesn't mean anything.