The beautiful woman: A cheat in the bedroom and unscrupulous in the boardroom?
That is what two studies - one scientific, one not so much - seem to suggest.
In the first, social psychologists Dr Norman Li of Singapore Management University (SMU) and Ms. Kristina Durante of the University of Texas, Austin (UT Austin), studied 52 female UT Austin undergraduates aged between 17 and 30.
It was found that women with higher levels of the sex hormone oestradiol (a type of oestrogen) were considered more good-looking by themselves and others. They were also more willing to cheat in a relationship. This did not mean more one night stands, though. Only more long-term relationships.
According to the study, they are ‘able to capitalise on their desirability... by trading up when the opportunity arises’.
In the second study, by fashion forum website www.theragtrader.com, more than 27 per cent of the 3,000 women polled admitted they would wear more revealing clothes to work if it would help them get a bonus or a promotion.
Said air stewardess Lilian Lee, 23, last year’s Miss Intercontinental Asia Pacific: ‘I don’t deny I sometimes use beauty to my advantage. It’s a very realistic world, isn’t it?’
It’s okay, she said, as long as you don’t hurt anyone and do your share of work. ‘Make use of what you have, don’t waste it, I say.’
However, she drew the line between ‘sexy’ and ‘slutty’ dressing. Cuts that reveal a bit can be sexy. But not too much. ‘With the first look, men will think, this woman is sexy. But I think it makes them doubt your ability as time goes by,’ she said.
She said she has never cheated in a relationship. But she has heard of many cases from colleagues. ‘Because of the nature of the job (flying long distance) - not too surprising,’ she said.
Naazrina Mohamed, 25, a client relationship manager, is a former The New Paper New Face contestant and Miss Singapore Tourism Queen International. For her, if beautiful women cheat more, it’s because of choice - more men are attracted to them.
‘Women who are better looking have more temptations,’ she said.
Naazrina, who calls herself a ‘hopeless romantic’, said she has never cheated. She is currently in a 1 1/2-year relationship.
As for dressing for success, she believes dressing a bit tighter or sexier is not wrong.
She’s in the sales line, where looking good accounts for ‘60 per cent’ of success.
So does she feel any pressure to wear less to get ahead?
‘No, but I do feel the pressure of looking good because I believe in first impressions - but that doesn’t mean showing more,’ she said.
Jacqueline Thibodeaux, 25, a former The New Paper New Face contestant, is a part-time DJ with 987FM and a sales executive in her family’s business. She thinks that if beautiful women did cheat, it would be for a far simpler reason than trying to improve their lot.
‘They don’t cheat to trade up, they cheat to have fun,’ she said.
She says she has never felt the need to wear anything provocative to work.
And it probably doesn’t help anyway.
Mr. Kamal Kant, principal consultant of career management company Next Transition, felt office decorum and most work area expectations would make sexy dressing unacceptable. ‘If you expect to be taken seriously by superiors, peers, colleagues and subordinates, dressing in a respectable manner is important,’ he said.
For Mr. Daniel Koh, a psychologist at private counselling clinic Insights-tse, it is not fair to draw conclusions on individual women based on the surveys alone.
‘It is unfair to label or characterise a person based on physical aspects or a lack of information,’ he said.
Ms. Constance Singam, president of the Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware), said the www.theragtrader.com study showed men haven’t changed.
‘They give promotions not according to merit but the way women dress. What does it say about men and bosses? That is the question here to ask,’ she said.
As for such surveys, she said: ‘I wouldn’t take them seriously really, they are frivolous. But it does reflect the attitude of employers. Women think it’s the only way they can get a promotion, it’s kind of pathetic.’
She declined to comment on the study on oestradiol.
Asst Prof Eric Thompson, from the National University Of Singapore’s Department Of Sociology, said it was interesting only 27 per cent of women said they would wear less to get ahead at work.
‘In general, if you were asked: If you do x and you get a bonus, would you do it? A lot of people would do it. It’s sort of a dumb question,’ he said.
As for women with higher oestradiol levels cheating more, he said: ‘There’s always a lot of complex factors that go into creating behaviours.’
Dr Li of SMU, one of the researchers behind the oestradiol findings, said the results only indicate tendencies, it doesn’t mean everyone is like that.
‘It is a reflection of how hard it is to get the best of everything, advance in one’s career, and find a good mate. It is difficult and competitive,’ he said.
He added it is only one study and a lot of other factors, among them upbringing, background, values, religion, opportunities, and parents, have to be taken into account. More research has to be done.
Testosterone, which has been studied more comprehensively than oestradiol, is linked to higher sexual desire and aggression. He cited a study which found that people in prison have higher levels of testosterone than those outside, and in those jailed for more serious crimes it is even higher.
But it doesn’t mean that all people who have high testosterone will go to prison.
‘People shouldn’t go overboard and think, oh we have high testosterone, we’re doomed, or she has high estrogen, she’s going to cheat. It is just one factor,’ he said.
1 comment:
Are hotties naughtier?
Ho Lian-Yi
3 February 2009
The beautiful woman: A cheat in the bedroom and unscrupulous in the boardroom?
That is what two studies - one scientific, one not so much - seem to suggest.
In the first, social psychologists Dr Norman Li of Singapore Management University (SMU) and Ms. Kristina Durante of the University of Texas, Austin (UT Austin), studied 52 female UT Austin undergraduates aged between 17 and 30.
It was found that women with higher levels of the sex hormone oestradiol (a type of oestrogen) were considered more good-looking by themselves and others. They were also more willing to cheat in a relationship. This did not mean more one night stands, though. Only more long-term relationships.
According to the study, they are ‘able to capitalise on their desirability... by trading up when the opportunity arises’.
In the second study, by fashion forum website www.theragtrader.com, more than 27 per cent of the 3,000 women polled admitted they would wear more revealing clothes to work if it would help them get a bonus or a promotion.
Said air stewardess Lilian Lee, 23, last year’s Miss Intercontinental Asia Pacific: ‘I don’t deny I sometimes use beauty to my advantage. It’s a very realistic world, isn’t it?’
It’s okay, she said, as long as you don’t hurt anyone and do your share of work. ‘Make use of what you have, don’t waste it, I say.’
However, she drew the line between ‘sexy’ and ‘slutty’ dressing. Cuts that reveal a bit can be sexy. But not too much. ‘With the first look, men will think, this woman is sexy. But I think it makes them doubt your ability as time goes by,’ she said.
She said she has never cheated in a relationship. But she has heard of many cases from colleagues. ‘Because of the nature of the job (flying long distance) - not too surprising,’ she said.
Naazrina Mohamed, 25, a client relationship manager, is a former The New Paper New Face contestant and Miss Singapore Tourism Queen International. For her, if beautiful women cheat more, it’s because of choice - more men are attracted to them.
‘Women who are better looking have more temptations,’ she said.
Naazrina, who calls herself a ‘hopeless romantic’, said she has never cheated. She is currently in a 1 1/2-year relationship.
As for dressing for success, she believes dressing a bit tighter or sexier is not wrong.
She’s in the sales line, where looking good accounts for ‘60 per cent’ of success.
So does she feel any pressure to wear less to get ahead?
‘No, but I do feel the pressure of looking good because I believe in first impressions - but that doesn’t mean showing more,’ she said.
Jacqueline Thibodeaux, 25, a former The New Paper New Face contestant, is a part-time DJ with 987FM and a sales executive in her family’s business. She thinks that if beautiful women did cheat, it would be for a far simpler reason than trying to improve their lot.
‘They don’t cheat to trade up, they cheat to have fun,’ she said.
She says she has never felt the need to wear anything provocative to work.
And it probably doesn’t help anyway.
Mr. Kamal Kant, principal consultant of career management company Next Transition, felt office decorum and most work area expectations would make sexy dressing unacceptable. ‘If you expect to be taken seriously by superiors, peers, colleagues and subordinates, dressing in a respectable manner is important,’ he said.
For Mr. Daniel Koh, a psychologist at private counselling clinic Insights-tse, it is not fair to draw conclusions on individual women based on the surveys alone.
‘It is unfair to label or characterise a person based on physical aspects or a lack of information,’ he said.
Ms. Constance Singam, president of the Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware), said the www.theragtrader.com study showed men haven’t changed.
‘They give promotions not according to merit but the way women dress. What does it say about men and bosses? That is the question here to ask,’ she said.
As for such surveys, she said: ‘I wouldn’t take them seriously really, they are frivolous. But it does reflect the attitude of employers. Women think it’s the only way they can get a promotion, it’s kind of pathetic.’
She declined to comment on the study on oestradiol.
Asst Prof Eric Thompson, from the National University Of Singapore’s Department Of Sociology, said it was interesting only 27 per cent of women said they would wear less to get ahead at work.
‘In general, if you were asked: If you do x and you get a bonus, would you do it? A lot of people would do it. It’s sort of a dumb question,’ he said.
As for women with higher oestradiol levels cheating more, he said: ‘There’s always a lot of complex factors that go into creating behaviours.’
Dr Li of SMU, one of the researchers behind the oestradiol findings, said the results only indicate tendencies, it doesn’t mean everyone is like that.
‘It is a reflection of how hard it is to get the best of everything, advance in one’s career, and find a good mate. It is difficult and competitive,’ he said.
He added it is only one study and a lot of other factors, among them upbringing, background, values, religion, opportunities, and parents, have to be taken into account. More research has to be done.
Testosterone, which has been studied more comprehensively than oestradiol, is linked to higher sexual desire and aggression. He cited a study which found that people in prison have higher levels of testosterone than those outside, and in those jailed for more serious crimes it is even higher.
But it doesn’t mean that all people who have high testosterone will go to prison.
‘People shouldn’t go overboard and think, oh we have high testosterone, we’re doomed, or she has high estrogen, she’s going to cheat. It is just one factor,’ he said.
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