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The Effect of Women's Suggestive Clothing on Men's Behavior and Judgment: A Field Study
Abstract
Numerous studies have shown that men overestimate the sexual intent of women based on their clothing style; however, this hypothesis has not been assessed empirically in a natural setting. This small field study measured the time it took for men to approach two female confederates sitting in a tavern, one wearing suggestive clothes and one wearing more conservative clothes. The behavior of 108 men was observed over 54 periods on 16 different nights in two different taverns. The time it took for the men to approach after initial eye contact was significantly shorter in the suggestive clothing condition. The men were also asked by male confederates to rate the likelihood of having a date with the women, and having sex on the first date. The men rated their chances to have a date and to have sex significantly higher in the suggestive clothing condition. Results are discussed with respect to men's possible misinterpretation that women's clothing indicates sexual interest, and the risks associated with the misinterpretation.
... To further complicate matters, laypeople's definitions of promiscuity are not only determined by concrete sexual behaviors and relationship structures, but also by inferring promiscuity from other behaviors and characteristics such as physical appearance or personality traits (Guéguen, 2011;Parks & Scheidt, 2000;Stillman & Maner, 2009). For instance, women wearing provocative clothing have been assumed to be more 'promiscuous' (Parks & Scheidt, 2000;Stillman & Maner, 2009) and willing to have sex on a first date, compared to women wearing conservative clothing (Guéguen, 2011). ...
... To further complicate matters, laypeople's definitions of promiscuity are not only determined by concrete sexual behaviors and relationship structures, but also by inferring promiscuity from other behaviors and characteristics such as physical appearance or personality traits (Guéguen, 2011;Parks & Scheidt, 2000;Stillman & Maner, 2009). For instance, women wearing provocative clothing have been assumed to be more 'promiscuous' (Parks & Scheidt, 2000;Stillman & Maner, 2009) and willing to have sex on a first date, compared to women wearing conservative clothing (Guéguen, 2011). Additionally, certain personality characteristics have been associated with promiscuous behaviors and attitudes (Webster & Crysel, 2012). ...
... Participants also mentioned themes related to how one initiates promiscuous behavior, for instance associating provocative clothing as a sexual initiation tactic. These findings are consistent with previous research that has found that revealing clothing can signal sexual intent or promiscuity (Guéguen, 2011;Maurer & Robinson, 2008;Moor, 2010;Parks & Scheidt, 2000;Stillman & Maner, 2009). Troublingly, this association could potentially be dangerous for women. ...
Definitions of promiscuity include a wide range of behaviors, including premarital sexual behaviors, having a high number of lifetime sexual partners, or any casual sexual behavior. The spectrum of behaviors that may relate to the concept of promiscuity may lead to our inability to compare the various findings and draw general conclusions on the topic. The purpose of the present study was to examine how adults define the term promiscuity and what associations they make with the term. Two hundred and five participants answered one open-ended question: “What is promiscuity? What type of person, personality characteristics, and behaviors come to mind when you hear the word promiscuity?” Participants’ responses were analyzed using thematic analysis. The most common theme was related to behavioral aspects of sexual behavior such as a high number of sexual partners and casual sexual relationships. When pronouns were used, they were mostly feminine. In general, people tend to negatively describe promiscuity, and the negative association may be more strongly associated with women.
... Different empirical methods are used in this field: Interviews (e.g., Pilcher, 2009) and surveys (e.g., Keys & Bhogal, 2018;Moor, 2010) are conducted with wearers and observers of revealing clothing. Furthermore, field experiments (e.g., Guéguen, 2011) as well as laboratory experiments (e.g., Bernard & Wollast, 2019) are used to test hypotheses on the effects of revealing clothing. Apart from empirical studies with human participants, relevant insights can also be gained from content analyses of documents from the media and public culture such as news reports, advertisements, and social media content (e.g., Anciones-Anguita & Checa-Romero, 2024;Goodin et al., 2011). ...
... In surveys, some women report intentionally dressing to sexually arouse men (Moor, 2010). A field experiment in bars showed that when a woman in suggestive clothing made eye contact with a man, she was approached in less than 5 minutes, while the approach latency for a woman with nonsuggestive clothing was nearly 20 minutes (Guéguen, 2011). ...
Revealing clothing is designed and worn more to emphasize rather than conceal the nude body, typically with a sexually suggestive intent and/or effect. This encyclopedia entry summarizes the state of research on revealing clothing based on both evolutionary and socio-cultural theories.
... Some of this information is derived from the interaction partner or target. For instance, men perceive higher sexual interest from women who are more attractive (Treat et al., 2016), dress in red rather than green, white, or blue (Guéguen, 2012;Pazda et al., 2012), or wear clothing that reveals more skin (Guéguen, 2011). Another source of information stems from the perceiver. ...
The current research examined the roles of positional power induced by one’s hierarchical position in an organization and dispositional power (i.e., one’s general feeling of power) in the perception of sexual interest in a military context. In two vignette-based experiments with men who were military members, positional power induced by military rank led to heightened sexual perceptions. Men estimated higher sexual interest from their interaction partner when interacting with a hypothetical woman of a lower military rank, compared to a woman of equal (Experiment 1; N = 144) or higher military rank (Experiment 2; N = 232). Being in a relatively higher rank induces feelings of power over the interaction partner and thus results in a higher perception of sexual interest. Furthermore, Experiment 2 revealed that positional power better predicted heightened perceived sexual interest than dispositional power.
... Moreover, because no high-heeled shoes were present in any of the Study 2 stimuli, the current findings cannot be explained by an association between high-heeled footwear and perceptions of women's sexuality, a media-constructed preference for highheeled shoes, or any other reason that men might have a preference for the shoes themselves. For the same reason, hypotheses suggesting that high heels influence men's judgments of women because of the appearance (Abbey, 1987;Abbey et al., 1987;Shotland and Craig, 1988;Koukounas and Letch, 2001;Guéguen, 2011) or color (Niesta-Kayser et al., 2010;Guéguen, 2012) of the shoes cannot account for the current findings. The current findings -which were based entirely on static imagesalso cannot be explained by the gait hypothesis (Morris et al., 2013; see also Guéguen, 2015). ...
Despite the widespread use of high-heeled footwear in both developing and modernized societies, we lack an understanding of this behavioral phenomenon at both proximate and distal levels of explanation. The current manuscript advances and tests a novel, evolutionarily anchored hypothesis for why women wear high heels, and provides convergent support for this hypothesis across multiple methods. Using a recently discovered evolved mate preference, we hypothesized that high heels influence women’s attractiveness via effects on their lumbar curvature. Independent studies that employed distinct methods, eliminated multiple confounds, and ruled out alternative explanations showed that when women wear high heels, their lumbar curvature increased and they were perceived as more attractive. Closer analysis revealed an even more precise pattern aligning with human evolved psychology: high-heeled footwear increased women’s attractiveness only when wearing heels altered their lumbar curvature to be closer to an evolutionarily optimal angle. These findings illustrate how human evolved psychology can contribute to and intersect with aspects of cultural evolution, highlighting that the two are not independent or autonomous processes but rather are deeply intertwined.
... Several terms have been used in research to describe sexy dress including provocative dress, body-revealing dress, revealing dress, and suggestive dress(Guéguen 2011;Gurung and Chrouser 2007;Moor 2010;Sheldon and Parent 2002;Whatley 2005). ...
Our research purpose was to assess research addressing relationships between dress and sex. Our review was focused on a 25 years span (i.e., 1990–2015) and on empirical research utilizing human participants published in refereed journals. Three main areas of research emerged: (1) dress used as cue to sexual information, (2) dress and sexual violence, and (3) dress, sex, and objectification. Our analyses revealed parents do invest their young children with sex-typed dress however sometimes children demand to wear such dress. Some women intentionally use dress to communicate sexual information but inferences about women who wear sexy dress can be misinterpreted and are sometimes negative. Observers link wearing sexy dress to violence including sexual coercion, sexual harassment, sexual assault, and unwelcome groping, touching, and grabbing. Certain items of sexy dress that reveal the body have been linked to self-objectification. The fit of the items may also contribute to the body revealing nature of clothing styles that elicit self-objectification. The use of sexual images of women and children has increased over time and viewing such images is also linked to self- and other-objectification. Suggestions are provided for future research.
... Due to the focus of treating tattooed individuals on an individual basis, the stimuli were chosen from a naturalistic perspective rather than attempting to standardize exposure stimuli using line drawings that have little relation to the real three-dimensional world in which we live; because of this, extraneous factors that were not controlled for, are still shown to have impact on rating of attractiveness, include: clothing appearance (Guéguen, 2011), cosmetics (Jacob, Guéguen, Boulbry, & Ardicioni, 2009), hair color (Guéguen & Lamy, 2009), posture, lighting, and amount of skin shown by each model. These variables could be contributing factors that explain the differences in physical attractiveness of models. ...
... Suggestive clothing also appears to influence men's behavior. Guéguen (2011) asked two female confederates (one wearing suggestive clothes and one wearing more conservative clothes) to sit in a tavern and observed the behavior of nearby men. Findings showed that the time the men took to approach the women was significantly shorter in the suggestive clothing condition and that men rated their chances to have a date and to have sex significantly higher in that condition. ...
Research reported that men interact with women wearing high heels more readily than with the same women wearing flat heels. However, the effect of heels on the judgment of women by both men and women has received little attention. Male and female participants viewed two photographs of the same woman’s body profile; the woman wore high heels in the one and flat heels in the other, although her shoes and feet were not visible. Participants were asked to select one photograph of the woman on several dimensions of body attractiveness. A significant greater number of male and female participants selected the target with high heels as the sexier, the prettier, and the more elegant, with the more attractive legs and buttocks. The same target was also perceived as the younger person and the photograph that would be preferred by others and the more appropriate for a photo album. The findings support the assumption that high heels could act as secondary sexual characteristics that increase the attractiveness of women to men.
... Similar to the findings of previous researchers, our participants used dress to infer sexual interest ( Abbey, 1987;Grammer, Renninger, & Fischer, 2004;Guéguen, 2011;Koukounas & Letch, 2001;Maurer & Robinson, 2008) but not to infer responsibility, consent to sexual intercourse, or to refute a claim of sexual assault. These later findings are consistent with Gilmartin Zena (1983) who found no relationship between victim dress and inferences of victim responsibility, and Johnson and Lee (2000) who found no effects for dress on inferences concerning the alleged victim's believability. ...
A 2 (dress) × 2 (victim alcohol use) × 2 (perpetrator alcohol use) between subjects factorial design was used to investigate the influence of dress, alcohol use, and gender of participants on inferences made by college students (N = 430) about an alleged victim and perpetrator of a sexual assault. Whether being schematic on appearance moderated the influence of dress was also tested. Dress of the victim and alcohol use significantly influenced inferences of the alleged victim and the perpetrator. There was an interaction effect for dress, alcohol use, and gender on inferences concerning the perpetrator. Wearing body-revealing dress and alcohol use by the alleged victim were interpreted as a sign of the sexual interest of the victim. Alcohol use by the alleged perpetrator influenced inferences concerning the believability of his statements. Being schematic on appearance did not appear to moderate the influence of dress on participants' perceptions.
... To our knowledge, this is the first time that an effect of women's heel height has been found on men's behavior. Previous research indicated that women's clothing appearance exerts an effect on men's judgment and behavior toward them (Abbey, 1987; Abbey et al., 1987; Guéguen, 2011a Guéguen, , 2012b Koukounas & Letch, 2001; Niesta Kayser et al., 2010; Shotland & Craig, 1988). However, none of these studies examined the effect of shoes and more specifically the effect of heel height. ...
Research has consistently shown that the appearance of women’s apparel influences men’s behavior and judgment. However, the effect of women’s shoe heels has received little interest. Female confederates wearing black shoes with 0-, 5-, or 9-cm heels walked on the street. In a first experiment, we examined the number of men in the street who smiled at the female confederate. More smiles were addressed to the confederate with high heels. In a second experiment, the confederates asked men and women to respond to a short survey. It was found that high heels increased males’ but not females’ compliance with the request. In a third experiment, the photography of the same woman’s body profile wearing high heels or not was evaluated by men. Results showed that high heels were associated with greater sexiness, overall physical attractiveness, breast attractiveness, beauty, attractiveness to other men, and willingness for a date. All the experiments supported the notion that high heels increase women’s attractiveness to men.
Audiences expect music performers to follow tacit dress codes for the concert stage. In classical music performance, audiences favor performers in formal dress over casual dress, but it is unclear what constitutes appropriate formal attire. A perceptual study was designed to test for different interpretations of suitable concert dress. Four female pianists in three contrasting black outfits (long dress, short dress, and suit) were video-recorded performing three musical pieces, and the audio was dubbed throughout for audio consistency. Thirty listener/viewers rated the clips on musicality, technical proficiency, overall performance, and appropriateness of dress. Performances in the long dress were rated significantly higher than in the short dress or suit. The short dress was consistently rated lowest, whereas the suit received more complex responses. Follow-up interviews confirmed listener/viewers’ unconscious bias toward untraditional formal attire and their tendency to objectify the performers. They were unblinded to the purpose of the task and were able to reflect on the tangible implications of concert dress, stage manner, and physical appearance on their evaluations. Future studies should harness the potential for experiential learning, or “learning by doing,” to expand future music professionals’ critical evaluation skills.
Background: Alcohol consumption in women is known to be perceived by men as signaling sexual intent. The current study investigated the influence of gender, female clothing style, and female alcohol use on the perception of sexual intent.Method: Eighty-seven men and 72 women viewed a one-minute video of a male–female interaction where clothing style and alcohol use were experimentally manipulated. Participants were then asked to rate the female target on sexual intent.Results: The female actor was rated higher on sexual intent when she was dressed revealingly, and consuming alcohol, compared to when she was wearing conservative clothing and drinking water. Gender differences were not found with respect to the effect of personality characteristics (sociosexual effectiveness, sexually preoccupation, masculine sex role orientation, limited sexual experience and negative sexual attitudes, and low self-esteem and traditional attitudes toward women) on sexual intent.Conclusions: These findings suggest that alcohol may be a social cue used by men to process sexual intent. The implications of the findings are discussed with reference to how women are viewed when consuming alcohol.
The goal of the present study was to examine clothing as a marker of women's sexuality. Ninety-five women in their 20s - 60s participated in in-depth interviews. Many women reported concern with sexual messages others might perceive from their clothing, and judged other women's clothing on the dimensions of authenticity, morality, and appropriateness. Self- and other- clothing judgments varied by the target's age, marital status, and parental status, and for other-judgments, by social class and generation. Results suggest that women's bodies are socially monitored and that sexual subjectivity is suppressed through the stigmatization of women's sexualized dress.
Research has found that the appearance of women's apparel helps increase their attractiveness as rated by men and that men care more about physical features in potential opposite-sex mates. However, the effect of sartorial appearance has received little interest from scientists. In a series of studies, the length of women's shoe heels was examined. A woman confederate wearing black shoes with 0, 5, or 9 cm heels asked men for help in various circumstances. In Study 1, she asked men to respond to a short survey on gender equality. In Study 2, the confederate asked men and women to participate in a survey on local food habit consumption. In Study 3, men and women in the street were observed while walking in back of the female confederate who dropped a glove apparently unaware of her loss. It was found that men's helping behavior increased as soon as heel length increased. However, heel length had no effect on women's helping behavior. It was also found that men spontaneously approached women more quickly when they wore high-heeled shoes (Study 4). Change in gait, foot-size judgment, and misattribution of sexiness and sexual intent were used as possible explanations.
Previous studies have indicated negative evaluations of women with tattoos. However, a study by Swami and Furnham (2007) showed that tattooed women were rated as less physically attractive but more sexually promiscuous. Given that men interpret women's sexual intent according to their physical appearance, we predicted that women with tattoos would be more favorably approached by men. A temporary tattoo was placed on confederates' lower back, or not, and all confederates were instructed to read a book while lying flat on their stomach on a well-known beach. Two experiments were conducted. The first experiment showed that more men (N = 220) approached the tattooed confederates and that the mean latency of their approach was quicker. A second experiment showed that men (N = 440) estimated to have more chances to have a date and to have sex on the first date with tattooed confederates. However, the level of physical attractiveness attributed to the confederate was not influenced by the tattoo condition. These results were discussed with respect to men's possible misinterpretation of women wearing tattoos and the risks associated with this misinterpretation.
The effects of clothing revealingness and dyad-sex composition on perceptions of male- and female-stimulus persons' sexuality were examined. Based on Abbey's (1982) findings, we hypothesized that men would attribute more sexuality to both male and female targets than women would. Furthermore, we predicted that the difference between men's and women's sexuality ratings would be most divergent when a male-female dyad was presented and when the female stimulus person wore revealing clothing. A laboratory study was conducted in which subjects viewed a photograph of two students in a classroom. As predicted, male subjects rated female targets as more sexy and seductive than did female subjects. Also as predicted, female targets who wore revealing clothing were rated as more sexy and seductive than those wearing nonrevealing clothing. Female targets were rated higher on sexual traits regardless of the gender of their partner. Men did not consistently perceive male stimulus persons more sexually than women did. Finally, both female and male targets were perceived as more kind and warm when they wore nonrevealing clothing. The implications of these findings for person perception and date rape research are described.
Research indicates that males perceive people to be more interested in sex than do women and are less able than women to differentiate among liking, love, and sexual involment. Does this mean, as Abbey (1982) hypothesized, that males cannot differentiate between friendly and sexually interested behavior? Videotapes were prepared of five couples, each showing a male and a female behaving in either a friendly or a sexually interrested fashion. The design was 2 (sex of subject) X 2 (male intent) X 2 (female intent) X 2 (sex of actor), with sex of actor as a within-subject factor. The data were analyzed by means of a MANOVA. Results of subjects' ratings of videotapes indicate that 1) males perceive both males and females as having more sexual interest than do females, and 2) both males and females differentiate between friendly and interested behavior. We concluded that 1) males and females have different thresholds for the perception of sexual intent, and 2) members of either sex can make errors, depending upon their perceptual threshold and the emotivity of the actors. The gender difference in the perception of sexual intent is thought to result from the male's greater sexual appetite, which the male uses as a model for the attribution of the appetites of others.
Male and female college students rated 40 pictures of women’s apparel in terms of the extent to which men would be sexually aroused by women wearing the various styles of clothes. These ratings correlated.85, indicating that females are very knowledgeable concerning the sexual impact of clothing styles upon men. A second phase of the study demonstrated that women who perceive themselves as being sexually attractive have a marked preference for those clothes judged to be most sexually exciting for men. The results are discussed with respect to possible social implications and the degree of female awareness concerning sexual cue control.
The studies described in this article examine retrospective reports of naturally occurring misperceptions of friendliness as sexual interest. Previous research has demonstrated that men perceive other people and situations more sexually than women do. The purpose of this research was to examine how this gender difference in perceptions of sexuality is exhibited in actual interactions between women and men. Two surveys of undergraduates were conducted. The results indicated that a large percentage of both women and men had experienced such misperceptions, although more women had than men. Most of these incidents were quickly resolved without problems; however, others involved some degree of forced sexual activity and left the individual feeling angry, humiliated, and depressed. Gender differences in the characteristics of these incidents and reactions to them are described. The implications of these findings for future research on gender differences in perceptions of sexual intent are discussed.
In a sample of 183 men and 186 women, the authors assessed (a) the relative contributions of gender and level of nonverbal social cues to the perception of a female actor's sexual intent during a videotaped social interaction with a man and (b) the association between those variables and personality traits implicated in faulty sexual-information processing. The authors assessed those variables while the participants viewed 1 of 3 film segments depicting a female-male interaction. The authors experimentally manipulated eye contact, touch, physical proximity, and female clothing. At all levels of those nonverbal cues, the men perceived more sexual intent in the female actor than did the women. The perception of the female actor's sexual intent increased as the nonverbal cues in the film segments were magnified: Both actors displayed more eye contact, touch, and physical proximity, and the female actor wore more revealing clothing. Relative to the women, the men demonstrated greater sexual preoccupation and reduced sociosexual effectiveness, variables associated with inferring greater sexual intent in the female actor.