Jan 21 2009
Data Matters
What do men really think? Don’t ask them in when in the company of other men, for their responses may be influenced by the social context.
Does size matter? It definitely does to scientists. And by size I mean “quantity of data.”
In the news article, Men Defy Stereotypes In Defining Masculinity, released last August, I read -
Contrary to stereotypes about sexual performance and masculinity, men interviewed in a large international study reported that being seen as honorable, self-reliant and respected was more important to their idea of masculinity than being seen as attractive, sexually active or successful with women.
Dude! If size doesn’t matter that much, why all the penis-size jokes and spam for “male enhancement” circulating in the culture-o-sphere?
Because men, like all humans, can be many-faced creatures. Ask them one question in one setting and their answer will be X. Ask them another question in another setting and they will answer Y.
The study in question gets bonus points for including -
more than 27,000 randomly selected men from eight countries (Germany, U.S., U.K., Spain, Brazil, Mexico, Italy and France).
However, I feel obligated to point out that a person’s beliefs and their behavior can be separate things. If, for example, you interviewed thousands of people you might discover that the thinnest of thin people do not consider “dieting” to be important, at least relative to those struggling with their weight.
What could you conclude from that finding? Good question.
