Men who pose topless on Tinder are seen as less competent and more promiscuous, study reveals
Do you want to impress on your Tinder profile? Keep your top ON! Men who pose topless are seen as less competent and more promiscuous, study finds
- 567 participants were shown the Tinder profiles of a white adult male named Noah
- Varied profile in relationship motivation, musculature and sexualized appearance.
- When Noah was topless, participants rated him as less competent and more promiscuous than when he had his top on.
While dating apps were once considered taboo, they are now one of the top ways singles find love around the world.
But if you have a profile on a dating app, a new study may encourage you to reevaluate what images you include.
Researchers from the University of Colorado have revealed that men who pose topless on Tinder are seen as less competent and more promiscuous.
Researchers from the University of Colorado have revealed that men who pose topless on Tinder are viewed as less competent and more promiscuous.
Tinder is an online dating app that matches singles based on their physical attraction to each other.
The app encourages users to upload photos without friends, but doesn’t give much advice on what to wear.
‘Upload photos to Tinder that show who everyone came to see: you! Get rid of your friends, because this isn’t about them, and take off your sunglasses, because they hide your face,” the app advises on its website.
“The best photos are in focus, and some say a smile goes a long way here.”
In the study, the researchers set out to test how sexualized images of men on the app affect viewers’ perceptions of them.
A sample of 567 participants were shown simulated Tinder profiles of a young, white, adult male named Noah.
The images varied in three dimensions: relationship motivation, muscularity, and sexualized appearance.
For example, Noah was described as being interested in casual sex or in a committed relationship, having a muscular body or non-muscular physique, and wearing a white T-shirt or being topless.
Participants were asked to rate Noah’s profile on a variety of factors, including his sexual behaviors, physical attraction, and personality.
Results revealed that all three dimensions (relationship motivation, muscularity, and sexualized appearance) affected participants’ ratings of the Noah profile, although results varied between male and female participants.
In the study, the researchers set out to test how sexualized images of men on the app affect viewers’ perceptions of them (stock image)
Women considered the shirtless man to have more risky sexual behavior, lower social attractiveness, and lower competence.
Men also judged the shirtless man as higher in risky sexual behavior and lower in social attractiveness, but not lower in competence.
When Noah’s profile indicated that he was interested in casual sex, both men and women judged him to be more risky in sexual behavior and lower in competence.
Women also considered this profile to have less social attractiveness.
Finally, both men and women rated the muscular man as more attractive than the non-muscular man, while only men rated him higher in risky sexual behavior.
“Current findings indicate that a man’s sexualized self-presentation on a dating profile, even on an application known as a hookup site, leads to decreased perceptions of his competence and increased perceptions that he engages in risky sexual behavior,” they said. the researchers. wrote.
Based on the findings, the researchers encourage men seeking serious relationships to think twice before posting topless photos on their profiles.
“A sexualized self-presentation on a Tinder profile may not be the best self-presentation option for men who want to make a positive impression on women,” they concluded.
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