News & Tends
If a woman agrees to go to dinner with a man, does it mean she's
interested in him sexually? Men answer "yes" to this and similar
questions about dating more often than women, according to a new Air
Force Academy study. But despite the recent military sex scandals, Air
Force cadets may be a step ahead of civilians on this issue.
The researchers asked cadets to rate the sexual connotations of
dating behaviors--such as accepting a dinner invitation, wearing tight
pants, or offering a backrub--on a scale of one to 10. Male cadets saw
all of these behaviors as more sexually charged than their female
counterparts did, echoing a 1993 study of college students. But civilians
only showed this gender gap when the target of a behavior was female,
while cadets saw actions the same way regardless of whether a man or
woman was making the moves.
This unisex attitude may result from the 24-hours,
seven-days-a-week professional environment at the Academy, says Steven M.
Samuels, Ph.D., the psychologist who led the study. "Cadets are taught,
`She's your superior, and it doesn't matter that she is female.'"
Still, the sex differences in cadets' perceptions show that more
education is necessary, Samuels believes. "If we teach men, `Just because
she waves at you doesn't mean she wants you,' and teach women that a
friendly gesture may not be taken as pure friendliness, this could help
defuse tense situations that can lead to harassment or even rape."
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