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Women, but not Men, Are What They Eat

The Effect of Meal Size and Gender on Perceived Femininity and Masculinity

New York University

Patricia Pliner

University of Toronto

Male and female subjects read a food diary attributed to a male or female target who was portrayed as eating either a small breakfast and lunch or a large breakfast and lunch. Consistent with the hypothesis that amount eaten would more strongly affect subjects' inferences about the female target, ratings of the male target were not differentially influenced by the meal size manipulation. In contrast, subjects considered the female target who ate smaller meals to be significantly more feminine, less masculine, more concerned about her appearance, better looking, and more likely to possess stereotypically feminine personality traits. Implications for understanding female eating behavior and the etiology of eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia are discussed.

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