Are male viewers distracted by provocatively-dressed newswomen?

• Position: Mass Media - Brief article

Women looking to break through the glass ceiling into senior broadcast news positions or more prominent on-camera roles in television may find their job affected when they dress in a sexually alluring manner, according to a study by Indiana University, Bloomington. It appears that men, in certain instances, retain less news information when a female anchor's appearance plays to her sexual features.

The same female newscaster--once wearing a conservative shapeless outfit and subtle makeup, and another time in attire designed to accentuate her waist-to-hip ratio (while she accessorized with red lipstick and jewelry that emphasized her neckline)--was assessed by study participants, who randomly were assigned to watch one of the two newscasts and respond to questions.

The findings suggest that enhanced sexual attractiveness boosted men's perceptions of her professionalism. Yet, when it came to assessing competence for reporting on different types of news, men were not optimistic about her abilities to do a thorough job on hard news topics.

At the...