Skin and Perception: Are Beauty Pageants Sexist? Regan A. R. Gurung, Jill West, & Becky Siegler

University of Wisconsin, Green Bay

INTRODUCTION

METHOD

RESULTS

DISCUSSION

ABSTRACT

A great deal of controversy persists over the ever-popular beauty pageants and their guidelines; in particular the swimsuit component has been labeled morally wrong and detrimental to women (Harrison, 2000). An impinging pressure to be thin and beautiful sits in the back of most women’s minds today (Lindeman, 1999). This persistent pressure forces young women to spend more time and money on their physical appearance. Over time, more and more emphasis, by the media especially, has been put on health, fitness, and body image (Ogden & Mundray, 1996). Furthermore, female bodies are being exploited at a much higher rate then males, and sexual objectification appears to be common.Anytime a woman is categorized by a physical body part or parts, and the body is seen as being able to define a women, sexual objectification is occurring (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997). Objectification theory highlights the psychological difficulties that women being sexually objectified encounter (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997; Hill, 2003). These difficulties include eating disorders, sexual dysfunctions, lower levels of self-esteem, and/or depression (Johar, Moreau, & Schwarz, 2003). When a person is being gazed at and appraised (as in a beauty pageant), and then ranked based on judges' perception, there is endless opportunity for disappointment stemming from social comparison and internalized awareness of others' views.This study addresses issues of sexual objectification in beauty pageants by manipulating skin exposure in order to analyze influences on judges’ ratings of contestants during the swimwear component of a competition. Garments have a significant impact on impression formation (Behling, 1995), and we hypothesized that having women wear swimsuits would significantly change how they are rated.

178 undergraduate students participated in the study (women = 137, men = 41). The average age was 19.72 (SD=5.35). The targets, student volunteers, were photographed wearing an evening gown, everyday apparel, a workout outfit, and a swimsuit. Targets were selected to be similar in body shape (e.g., waist-hip-ratio, bust size, body mass index). Participants were told we were interested in how people form impressions of strangers and that they would be taking part in a mock beauty pageant. Participants either saw contestants in a swimsuit or workout outfits and rated attractiveness, health, personality, intelligence, and work ethic.

We are conditioned by images in the media, and influenced by what we see all around us. Beauty pageants are one such conditioning influence. Judges and organizers argue that fitness is an important part of a well-rounded person and therefore the swimwear component of the competition is necessary in the pageant (to measure fitness). Our results suggest that seeing women in two-piece swimsuits influences a range of judgments made about them. Although anecdotal evidence or a view of media images may suggest that wearing less makes you more desirable, our results suggest the opposite. Targets seen in less clothing were actually perceived to be less favorable.There are clear limitations to our study. For example, more male participants would be beneficial to generalize findings. Yet, it is clear that what one wears can influence how one is rated and our results urge more of a focus on implications of different forms of dress.

Multivariate analyses of covariance (MANCOVAs) tested for group differences, controlling for sex of participants. In strong support of our hypotheses, participants who viewed the targets in the more revealing outfit (a bikini) formed significantly different impressions of them as compared to participants who did not see targets in bikinis. Participants rated targets in a swimsuit as significantly less intelligent, hard working, or personable. They also rated them as less attractive or healthy.

Presented at the 2004 American Psychological Society’s Annual Conference. Chicago, IL. Email gurungr@uwgb.edu

Does wearing revealing clothes promote sexual objectification? With today’s emphasis on beauty and perfection, we tested how impressions of women varied with the type of clothes they wore. 178 students participated in a mock beauty pageant. Participants either saw skin or not. In strong support of our hypotheses, the women seen in swimsuits were rated as being significantly less intelligent, hardworking, and personable than those not seen in bikinis. Surprisingly, the swimsuit condition women were also rated as being less attractive and healthy. This is ironic considering that the stated reasons for beauty pageants having women wear swimsuits is to judge their fitness.

Condition 2: No-Swimsuit

Condition 1 : Swimsuit

5.71

4.74

6.14

5.35

6.49

5.39

6.63

5.33

6.43

5.22

4.5

5

5.5

6

6.5

7

Attract Fit Person. Smart Hardwk.

No Swimsuit Swimsuit