Hormonal contraceptive use and the objectification of women and men

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to test the influence of combined hormonal contraceptive (CHC) use on women's objectification of other women and men (i.e., the tendency to attribute appearance-related body features rather than competence-related body features). A regression analysis showed that the higher the dose of the synthetic estrogen contained within a CHC, the higher the level of objectification of other women. As for men target, the synthetic estrogen was not a significant predictor, but it showed a positive trend, thus higher levels of estrogen might be, at least in part, associated with higher levels of objectification. There was no relationship between synthetic progesterone and the level of objectification of both women and men. The implications of these results are discussed with respect to the mate-retention strategies and intra-group dynamics.