Women, What Is Sexy? The Media (And Men) Could Have It Incorrect

Apropos of Valentine’s Day, a new examine from the University of Leicester requires an fascinating look at how clothing can establish femininity. But the study goes a small deeper – practically – to look at how distinct varieties of underwear, rather than outerwear, have an effect on a woman’s feeling of femininity. Even though underwear is often hidden beneath clothing, the authors say that for the girl wearing them, the garments can perform a crucial function in her sense of sexuality. So men, before you make your yearly Victoria’s Secret run, take into account the benefits of the research.

Tsaousi and her team interviewed girls, from younger mothers to academics to younger rugby gamers to retirees, asking them what sorts of underwear they normally favored, and what aspects influenced them when getting underwear for themselves.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Not remarkably “young rugby girls” favored “cute” underwear. Experts favored underwear that was far more expensive and match with their professional dress.

Underwear choice, it turned out, was much more a mater of personal elements – personal taste, upbringing, social background, and expert standing – than it was about media-inspired characteristics like how significantly lace is current, or how a lot skin is exposed.

“The paper signifies that women’s options in underwear are established by elements such as our methods of contemplating, up-bringing, taste and status in society,” research writer Christiana Tsaousi mentioned. “The paper also suggests that ladies make similar judgments about their underwear as they would their outerwear.”

But the paper also looked at the function that underwear plays in a woman’s feeling of femininity. “How is underwear a valuable tool in figuring out sexuality?” asks Tsaousi. “Most girls commented on choosing underwear that helps make them feeling comfortable for their stage of existence, or the context they’re in. Girls needed to really feel attractive when they had been with their partners or even alone in the home because they needed that extra boost of femininity.”

Tsaousi tells me that just like wearing makeup or shaving your legs, underwear is just another “tool” for feeling sexy. But  the study signifies that the message we’re getting from the media about what’s attractive isn’t always on target. “The underwear that are generally related with Valentine’s are quite tiny, revealing, red (typically), [and] tough to put on, and the notion is to dress in something attractive for your spouse. But the reality is, and as my participants shared with me, that what men consider is sexy is not always what females consider is sexy.”

Purchasing the slinky, red thong just because the Victoria’s Secret mannequin is wearing it could have the unintended effect of deteriorating, rather than inspiring, a feeling of sexiness in a female.

So, gentlemen, keep this in mind as you’re buying. “When partners are hunting to acquire underwear as Valentine’s gifts for their wives or girlfriends,” says Tsaousi, “they must select underwear which will fit their partners well and will make them feel comfy – rather than the stereotypical tiny, unpleasant varieties.” This, she says, will in the long run make a woman truly feel a lot far more cozy in her own body, and a good deal sexier, than the lacy, restrictive things. “Special underwear is about the emotions and sensations it produces for the entire body – not so significantly about currently being the kind of underwear that it is promoted as sexy by the media.”

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Women, What Is Sexy? The Media (And Men) Could Have It Incorrect