What happens when men are constantly exposed to beautiful women (on TV, in movies, in magazines, in advertisements, etc)? We're not talking here of pornographic images; rather, just the constant sight of beautiful women. What happens to a man? How does he view the more ordinary women he encounters every day at work or at home?
I ran across this question in J.P. Moreland and Klaus Issler's book The Lost Virtue of Happiness. They refer to Michael Levine's cover article for the July/August 2001 issue of Psychology Today titled Why I Hate Beauty . Moreland summarizes:
Levin... argued that constant exposure to beautiful women has made men less interested in dating (if single) or in their wives (if married). Levine cited studies in which men were exposed to (nonpornographic)pictures of beautiful actresses. The men were then asked to rate the desireability of a typical woman in their social environment (if single) or of their wives. In both cases they were much less interested in the women available to them. Levine pointed out that for all of human history prior to the automobile and television, the average man was exposed to very few people in general and to very few extremely beautiful women in particular. Limited in travel and with no television, most men learned to relate to women on a basis other than beauty. But today, said Levine, the average man sees plenty of absolutely gorgeous women each night on television shows and commercials and gradually loses interest in the women in his 'real life.'" (p. 22)
Interesting stuff. I've noticed in recent days (before reading this excerpt) the extraordinary number of attractive women on TV compared to the more ordinary women I see walking the aisles of the local Wal-Mart. One can't help but notice.... I'll return to this subject at a later date.