kasia
09-27-2004, 11:59 PM
would you get laser hair removal? do you find your body hair to be disgusting? why? because it "just is"? ever cared to take the analysis a step further? read on :wink:
Body hair on women's underarms and legs still is considered unattractive and is linked to radical feminism - at least according to college students.
The students attached negative labels to the women with body hair - even if they were informed that the women couldn't shave for medical reasons, Susan Basow, professor of psychology at Lafayette College in Easton, Pa., said.
In the research experiment, Basow recruited 118 college students - 74 women and 44 men. Some of the subjects watched videos of a woman who was described as being either a feminist or a woman who couldn't shave body hair due to a medical condition. Then the same women, without underarm or leg hair, were evaluated by other students and the model received more favorable comments.
In a presentation at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association in Washington, Basow said, "The woman with body hair was seen as significantly less friendly, moral and relaxed as well as more aggressive, unsociable, strong, nonconformist, dominant, assertive, independent and in better physical condition than the same woman without body hair."
"It is surprising that something such as body hair creates such an negative attitude," Basow said. Despite the depiction of the woman having a medical problem, the students still associated her as having feminist ideology, especially the aspect of feminism that insists that women's bodies are "OK as they are" and do not need to be enhanced with makeup, clothes, plastic surgery or hair removal, she said.
"The study shows that the public is generally tied into the media perception of women," said Nicolle Levy, a researcher in counseling psychology at Colorado State University at Fort Collins. "Changes in women's appearance are possibly the last place you would expect to find change."
Basow said the goal of her study was to determine if hair itself is the reason for the students' negative attitudes or if those attitudes are negative because the students perceive the woman to be a feminist. She anticipates further studies to determine the answer.
Source: www.applesforhealth.com
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Body hair on women's underarms and legs still is considered unattractive and is linked to radical feminism - at least according to college students.
The students attached negative labels to the women with body hair - even if they were informed that the women couldn't shave for medical reasons, Susan Basow, professor of psychology at Lafayette College in Easton, Pa., said.
In the research experiment, Basow recruited 118 college students - 74 women and 44 men. Some of the subjects watched videos of a woman who was described as being either a feminist or a woman who couldn't shave body hair due to a medical condition. Then the same women, without underarm or leg hair, were evaluated by other students and the model received more favorable comments.
In a presentation at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association in Washington, Basow said, "The woman with body hair was seen as significantly less friendly, moral and relaxed as well as more aggressive, unsociable, strong, nonconformist, dominant, assertive, independent and in better physical condition than the same woman without body hair."
"It is surprising that something such as body hair creates such an negative attitude," Basow said. Despite the depiction of the woman having a medical problem, the students still associated her as having feminist ideology, especially the aspect of feminism that insists that women's bodies are "OK as they are" and do not need to be enhanced with makeup, clothes, plastic surgery or hair removal, she said.
"The study shows that the public is generally tied into the media perception of women," said Nicolle Levy, a researcher in counseling psychology at Colorado State University at Fort Collins. "Changes in women's appearance are possibly the last place you would expect to find change."
Basow said the goal of her study was to determine if hair itself is the reason for the students' negative attitudes or if those attitudes are negative because the students perceive the woman to be a feminist. She anticipates further studies to determine the answer.
Source: www.applesforhealth.com
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