In an experiment designed to examine the phenomenon of female intrasexual aggression, a theme that plays out entertainingly in the reality television show The Bachelor, pairs of female friends or strangers who thought they were waiting to participate in research about conflict were filmed reacting to an attractive, provocatively dressed female peer who entered the room and interacted with a male setting up camera equipment; other pairs of women saw the same attractive female enter wearing a conservative outfit and interact with the male.
The participants' reactions were rated for aggression by a separate group of females who were unaware of the experimental conditions.
The researchers found almost all the women assigned to the first scenario were rated as highly aggressive toward the female peer dressed in the sexy outfit -- staring up and down, rolling their eyes and displaying angry expressions while she was present, then laughing, ridiculing and suggesting her wardrobe choices were sexually motivated after she left the room; but the conservatively dressed female was barely noticed by the test subjects assigned to the second scenario.
In a second experiment, test subjects expressed that they would not want to introduce the sexy-outfitted female colleague to their boyfriends, or allow him to be friends with her or spend time with her, confirming that a provocatively dressed woman is viewed as a sexual rival by other women, the researchers concluded.
Read more: Study: Displaying cleavage, sexiness can alienate other women
Read more: Study: Displaying cleavage, sexiness can alienate other women
I know some women that dress up sexy to get the attention of their own friends husbands or boyfriends.