FYI, ladies: Don’t date muscular men.
According to a recent study by the University of Westminster in England, muscle-bound hunks actually make the worst boyfriends. The researchers claimed that there is a correlation between brawny guys and sexist beliefs. Eek! Take a look below to find out more.
Have you been in a relationship with a brawny guy? How’d it go? Leave a comment and let us know.
A study conducted by the University of Westminster in England came to some interesting conclusions about muscle-bound men and their beliefs regarding traditional gender roles.
The researchers found that the more muscular the man, the more likely he is to harbor traditional sexist beliefs, such as women belong in the kitchen and men are meant to be the head of the household.
More than having traditional beliefs about gender roles, the study also concluded that muscular men are more likely to harbor hostility toward women.
Their hypothesis is that brawny men already hold oppressive views about the opposite sex and therefore maintain a more traditional view of masculinity.
Such as the fact that a man should be brawny and have big muscles. (Duh.)
The study suggested that men who live in countries where patriarchal structures are being challenged may be bettering their bodies in response to feeling threatened by women in power.
The hyper-muscular men involved in the study were almost unanimous in saying that they think they should be the sole breadwinner in any relationship.
The muscle-bound types were also the ones who said they would respond with hostility to their partners flirting with other guys.
Another key aspect of many of the muscular men’s attitudes towards women was clear objectification.
All of the men with more muscles relayed attitudes that saw women more as property that they owned rather than people that they interact with.
The study was careful to state, however, that not all gym rats are sexist.
The study found that your average gym user could fall either way on the sexism spectrum, but that those who make muscles a fixation tend to lean more toward being sexist.
The study also found that the bigger and more obsessed the man became with his own muscles, the more likely he was to try and push his partner into his lifestyle.
In fact, the push to force their partners into the gym with them often becomes so important that they will actually leave their partner if they refuse to get jacked with them.
The study concluded that for muscular men, working out—and more importantly, the masculine feeling they get from working out—actually affects their brains in the same way a drug would affect an addict’s brain.
Via RebelCircus