Category Archives: body image
The Plump Beauty Ideal: 1890s Exotic Dancers
Exotic dancer from the 1890s.
Once upon a time “plump” was the beauty ideal.
Check out this post by Lisa Wade @ Sociological Images:
I recently had the pleasure of reading Peter Stearns’ Fat History: Bodies and Beauty in the Modern West. The book chronicles the shift in American history from a plump to a thin ideal.
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I Look Sexy, But I Don’t Feel Pleasure
Laci Green explains self objectification.
I recently talked about “spectatoring” — watching yourself have sex instead of enjoying pleasure.
After surveying my women students I learned that three-quarters spent at least some of their time in bed distracted by how they looked. Most worried that they weren’t “hot” enough. And most also said that their concerns harmed their sexual experience to some degree.
But some women did think they were attractive. In fact, when I surveyed students about the last time they had sex, one young woman replied, “I think I looked pretty good.” Read the rest of this entry
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Men Looking at Partially-Clothed Men
Diet Coke Gardener commercial
How do men feel about male nudity in media?
In the past I’ve written about men’s reactions, which you can see here and here.
They felt pretty uncomfortable.
But what if they wear more clothing — masculine jeans and no shirt? Read the rest of this entry
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Rather be a Victoria’s Secret Angel or You?
Playboy wanted to know how average-looking Lena Dunham, the award-winning producer, director, writer and star of HBO’s Girls, would feel if she woke up in the body of a Victoria’s Secret Angel.
Not so great, said Dunham, who frequently appeared nude on her show. Read the rest of this entry
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Sexy Women Make Men Feel Bad About Themselves
Brooklyn Decker
By “Bob”
Sexy models like Brooklyn Decker can make women to feel bad about themselves when women feel like they don’t measure up.
But men can feel bad about themselves when they look at Brooklyn, too. Read the rest of this entry
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Men Looking at Men Showing Skin
A while back I surveyed my straight male students on their thoughts when looking at a nude-ish picture of Sly Stallone.
Had attitudes changed since sociologist, Beth Eck, found that straight guys were pretty uncomfortable looking at that picture almost 15 years ago?
I asked them to write whatever thoughts came to mind and then I analyzed and published the results here.
But blog readers wondered what men would think if I used a more current star. So I surveyed 40 of my male students. Here’s a comparison of Sly Stallone, Channing Tatum and David Beckham. Read the rest of this entry
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Why Do I Care About The Breast Fetish?
I’ve written a series of posts criticizing the breast fetish, not because I’m trying to shame men but because I am concerned with:
- Women’s self-esteem.
- Women’s ability to enjoy sexuality. (And if women enjoy it more so do men.)
- Getting rid of double standards
But I’m not interested in shaming men about the fetish. So what is my point? How would I like to see things change? Read the rest of this entry
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The Breast Fetish Distracts From Sex
The breast fetish makes sex super-hot, right?
Maybe not.
It can actually hurt both men’s and women’s sexual experience.
Sounds counterintuitive. But consider this: Read the rest of this entry
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Breast Fetishes and Double Standards
I wrote a post called, “Men Aren’t Hard Wired To Find Breasts Arousing” and a lot of guys wrote in to say they ARE indeed hardwired!
Some use theories from sociobiology (aka evolutionary psychology) to make their point.
For instance, some evolutionary psychologists suggest that men might be visually cued to breasts as an indicator of good health and reproductive capacity.
Yet they also say that men want to “spread their seed” widely, and will have sex with pretty much anyone.
Go figure. Read the rest of this entry
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I Liked My Body – Until I Was Told “Respect Yourself”
By Vanessa Velaquez
In the middle of writing an essay during my third week of high school I got called out of class.
I couldn’t imagine why, but my teacher’s tone meant I was in trouble. I was so scared. Since I had been writing an in-class essay I worried that she might accuse me of plagiarism.
Instead, she lectured me on self-respect.
Turns out, I had worn a shirt that was too low cut for her taste as I leaned over my desk to write. Read the rest of this entry
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