Women’s bodies are moralized more than men’s, study finds

New research published in the European Journal of Social Psychology indicates that people tend to view women’s bodies through a moral lens far more often than men’s bodies. This means that when considering issues related to bodily autonomy, such as decisions about appearance or health, people are more likely to frame these as moral questions for women but not for men. This tendency to moralize women’s bodies could help explain why society often places stricter controls and judgments on women’s bodies compared to men’s.

For centuries, women across the globe have experienced various forms of societal control over their bodies. This control manifests in numerous ways, from dress codes and limitations on healthcare access to regulations concerning reproductive rights. It is notable that many of these rules specifically target women’s bodies and choices, while similar restrictions are either absent for men or are not discussed in the same way.

“My interest stemmed from the fact that we see many restrictions on women’s bodily autonomy in the world—much more so than for men,” said study author Thekla Morgenroth, an assistant professor of Social Psychology at Purdue University. “This includes behaviors that just don’t apply to (cisgender) men such as abortion access, but even for behaviors that could be applied to men, we see this discrepancy. For example, it’s normal for men to be topless while mowing their lawn or at the beach, but it is generally not acceptable for women to do the same. I was interested in why this was, where these restrictions are coming from.”

To answer this, the researchers conducted two studies in the United States. In the first study, the researchers wanted to see if body-related behaviors, more so than other types of behaviors, would be considered more of a moral issue for women compared to men. They also wanted to make sure that any differences they found weren’t just because certain behaviors are seen as less socially acceptable for women than men.

To conduct this study, the researchers recruited 335 participants online from the United States. Participants were asked to rate a variety of behaviors. Some of these behaviors were related to the body, such as getting a tattoo, being topless in public, or undergoing sterilization. Others were control behaviors, unrelated to the body, like littering or being late for work. For each behavior, participants were randomly assigned to consider either a woman or a man performing the action. They then rated how much of a moral issue they thought the behavior was, how unusual or socially unacceptable it was, and how much it related to bodily autonomy. The researchers used scales from 1 to 7 to measure these ratings.

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The results of the first study showed that, as expected, body-related behaviors were indeed seen as more strongly connected to bodily autonomy than the control behaviors. The main finding was that body-related behaviors were moralized more for women than for men. This means participants were more likely to see things like getting a tattoo or being topless as moral issues when done by a woman, compared to when done by a man. This difference was not found for the control behaviors, which were not related to the body.

Importantly, this pattern remained even after taking into account how socially unusual these behaviors were considered for women and men. This suggests that the moralization of women’s bodies is not simply about judging women for breaking social norms more generally. Further analysis showed that the more a behavior was seen as related to bodily autonomy, the more it was moralized for women, but this link was much weaker or nonexistent for men.

In the second study, the researchers focused specifically on the issue of public toplessness. This is a context where women’s bodily autonomy is frequently restricted, while men generally face no such restrictions. They predicted that people would use moral reasoning more often when discussing women being topless compared to men. They also explored whether people with more sexist beliefs were more likely to moralize women’s bodies in this context.

For this study, 470 U.S. participants were recruited online. Participants were randomly assigned to think about either women’s toplessness or men’s toplessness. They were asked to rate how inappropriate they thought it was to be topless in various public contexts, such as on a beach or in a park. Those who indicated it was at least somewhat inappropriate then answered further questions. They were asked to explain in their own words why they thought it was inappropriate.

Next, they were given descriptions of the five moral foundations: harm, purity, fairness, authority and tradition, and loyalty. They then rated how much their opposition to toplessness was based on each of these moral foundations, using a scale from 0 to 100. Finally, they completed questionnaires measuring their levels of benevolent sexism and beliefs related to the Madonna-Whore dichotomy, as well as hostile sexism.

The results showed that participants did indeed use moral reasoning more when thinking about women’s toplessness compared to men’s. Specifically, they rated purity, harm, authority and tradition, and loyalty as more important reasons for opposing women being topless than men being topless. When looking at the written explanations, participants were also more likely to spontaneously use harm-based and purity-based arguments when discussing women’s toplessness.

Further analysis explored whether sexist beliefs played a role. The results suggested that people who scored higher on measures of benevolent sexism and endorsement of the Madonna–Whore dichotomy were more likely to moralize women’s toplessness. Benevolent sexism is a seemingly positive form of prejudice that idealizes women in traditional roles, portraying them as pure and needing protection. The Madonna-Whore dichotomy is a societal view that categorizes women into two opposing groups: the virtuous, chaste “Madonnas” who are morally good, and the sexual, promiscuous “Whores” who are morally bad.

In many cases, once sexist beliefs were taken into account, the direct effect of gender on moralization became less significant, highlighting the important role of these beliefs in driving the gendered moralization of bodies.

“The main take-away from our studies is that women’s bodies are moralized more than men’s bodies, meaning they are seen through a moral lens more so than men’s bodies,” Morgenroth told PsyPost. “So it’s not just that people regulate women’s bodies more, they view them through a different lens. For example, whether or not a man overeats at a buffet might be seen as a question of personal preference – but for women, it is seen as a moral issue.”

But like all research, it has limitations. Both were conducted only in the United States, and it’s possible that these patterns might differ in other cultures with different norms and regulations around women’s bodies. The researchers also point out that the relationship between moralization and actual restrictions on bodily autonomy needs further exploration. It’s not entirely clear whether moralization causes people to support restrictions, or if it’s used as a way to justify pre-existing opinions.

Despite these limitations, this research provides important initial evidence that women’s bodies are indeed subject to greater moral scrutiny than men’s bodies in the United States. This tendency to moralize women’s bodies could be a key factor in understanding why women face more restrictions and judgments regarding their bodies and bodily autonomy.

“We’re hoping to expand more on this and examine different ways in which the moralization of women’s bodies affects people of different genders,” Morgenroth said.

The study, “The Moralization of Women’s Bodies,” was authored by Thekla Morgenroth, Michelle K. Ryan, Madisyn F. Arnold, and Nadira S. Faber.