Brain scans show how pin-ups spark sexism

Pictures of women in bikinis can make some men see women as objects or tools rather than as independent people with their own desires and intentions, a brain-scanning study suggests. The findings, from a team led by Susan Fiske, of Princeton University in New Jersey, support the view that exposure to topless pin-ups and other sexualised imagery in the workplace could influence the way some men interact with their female colleagues and promote gender discrimination. Dr Fiske’s team showed heterosexual men pictures of men and women, either fully clothed or clad in swimwear, and scanned their brains. The men’s attitudes towards women were also assessed using a sexual hostility questionnaire. In men with high hostile sexism scores, there was reduced activity in those areas of the brain involved in empathy and working out people’s intentions. This was not seen in the brains of men with low sexual hostility scores or in any of the men when they saw images of men or fully clothed women. The sexualised images provoked greater activity in the parts of the brain linked to personal action and using objects.

Source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article5748545.ece