Women Who Wear Skimpy Clothes Don't Attract Men, New Study Says
Showing one's flesh is the least effective way to get attention from the opposite sex, a new study suggests. The effect applies to both genders, as women who wear skimpy outfits generate as much excitement from men as they do fully-clothed. The same goes for males who show off their muscles.
Scientists at University of Kent's School of Psychology observed subjects' eye pupil dilation to determine the excitement generated when viewing people they find to be sexually appealing. The study found that the response didn't depend on whether the person being viewed was naked or clothed.
Using eye-tracking technology with highly controlled stimuli, researchers examined the pupils in the eyes of heterosexual men as they viewed photographs of clothed and naked women. They measured how much the pupils widened — an involuntary reaction observed when humans feel some excitement.
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They found little difference in the levels of excitement no matter how much skin was exposed. Partial nakedness showed a weaker reaction than either fully clothed or naked pictures. A similar effect was noted on women who were shown photos of men, according to Medical Xpress.
Researchers did determine that both men and women spent more time ogling at the models' private parts in the photos. Titled "Sex-specific but not sexually explicit: pupillary responses to dressed and naked adults," the study was published in the Royal Society Open Science journal.
Previous studies found that greater nudity elicited higher levels of excitement when measured using other physiological reactions such as genital responses. This could mean that only a low level of arousal is needed to cause a change in pupil size, the researchers said.
The research is the latest conducted on the correlation between eye dilation and sexuality. In 2012, scientists studied pupil dilation to reveal a person's sexual orientation. Heterosexual men showed more pupil dilation viewing erotic videos of women and little to men. On the other hand, heterosexual women and bisexual men responded to both sexes.
