It seems as if there is nothing more predictable in modern music than a song decrying the morally dubious actions of men (the best of which still remains this timeless classic). Britney Spears’ “Womanizer” is just the latest hit in pop’s own version of “Point Counterpoint.”
In Britney’s latest comeback attempt, the former Mrs. Federline attacks an unnamed male for his polygamous, “playa” lifestyle. After several verses of castration, the underlying message is clear: women will no longer humor such unfaithful men, as Britney sings:
You got the swagger of champion
Too bad for you
Just can't find the right companion
I guess when you have one too many, makes it hard
It could be easy
Who you are, that's who you are, baby
While the song may tend to border on overkill, some intriguing new research appears to validate Britney’s disgust. It seems as if men’s minds naturally process females as objects.
In a recent study, Susan Fiske, a psychology professor at Princeton University, had men look at the bodies of fully clothed men and women as well as the bodies of both sexes wearing more revealing swimsuits. When these (heterosexual) men viewed the images of women in bikinis, there was a significant increase in neural activation at the premotor cortex, an area of the brain that has been previously associated with tool use. But if that wasn’t bad enough, viewing these somewhat erotic images resulted in considerably less activity in the prefrontal cortex, which has been linked to feelings of empathy and understanding.
Fiske argues that such data indicate that these men are literally processing these sex objects as just that, objects. "They're reacting to these women as if they're not fully human," the author said. Spears, who actually does not have a PhD in neuroscience, delivers a similar message:
Look at you
Gettin' more than just re-up
Baby, you got all the puppets with their strings up
Fakin' like a good one, but I call 'em like I see 'em
I know what you are, what you are, baby
Notice the use of the word “puppets,” showing how Spears believes these untrustworthy men are not viewing women as genuine people but merely as objects.
Of course, the study has its problems. For one, we don’t know if women viewing images of shirtless men may react in the same way. If this were the case (and there is previous research indicating so much), we could probably explain the increased neural activity in the premotor cortex as being a result of sexual attraction and not necessarily sexist attitudes. Also, the premotor cortex is associated with plenty of things, like recognizing actions and preparing to do a task, so it’s not like there is just one part of your brain devoted strictly to power tools and soft-core pornography.
Regardless, in light of this recent research, we have to wonder if “Womanizer” is calling out one man in particular, or all men in general. Though the evidence is still inconclusive, let’s pretend that Fiske is right and say that men do view women as objects. The question then becomes whether such a finding vindicates men or only incriminates them more? After all, viewing women as objects may be an innate behavior, something we cannot help but do. Or, such data could be the result of our sexist society. My best guess is that it is probably a little bit of both.
It’s hard to imagine that Britney Spears songs may now come with their own neuroscience verification. I guess if you’re a fan (like I am), it lends some legitimacy to her work. We should consider ourselves lucky.
By the way, those looking for an interesting, albeit slightly technical, critique of the field of social neuroscience should look here.
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