Do Women Benefit From “Power Posing?” Study Suggests Not
Christopher Philip
This study suggests that Amy Cuddy got it wrong by recommending that women ‘power pose,’ so it’s definitely worth reading carefully.
Priming The Research
Studies have shown that when people carry an upright posture that they feel confident, especially when they are given positive feedback. Further to this, studies seem to indicate an interplay between a posture and the type of feedback given. For example, positive success feedback works best when in an erect posture, but when given in a slumped posture, the incongruent-feedback-to-posture-condition, it tends to be self-defeating. The same seems to hold true for slumped postures when receiving positive feedback.
Therefore, our postures seem to require proper context in order to be effective on influencing our moods.
This notwithstanding, few studies have shown whether men and women both benefit from upright erect ‘power postures.’ The studies to date, have included only men, or else men and women combined, possibly serving to confound the data.
On the pretense that men and women naturally adopt different postures, that is, women of lower status tend to slump, unlike men who seem to carry their chin high, and bodies erect often without regard to overall status, researchers Tomi-Ann Roberts and Yousef Arefi-Afshar, Colorado College, Colorado Springs devised a study to look at posture with gender in mind.
The researchers look at an alternate hypothesis beyond nature or evolution suggesting that “objectification theory” is the culprit. The theory says that women’s sexual objectification puts chronic attention on their bodies’ outwards appearance which leads them to experience their bodies “second-hand.” This follows, according to the researchers, that women’s bodies grow by consequence “more timid, uncertain, and self-protective.” “For women,” they say “upright posture may be conflicted, since it can be viewed not so much as a signal of dominance, but rather as sexually open or ‘inviting.’”
They continue, “In this case, selfconsciousness and concerns about sexualised attention may undermine any potential proprioceptive ‘‘benefits’’ (such as positive feelings of pride or satisfaction) of presenting the trunk in an erect, upright posture.”
I would differ strongly on this assertion and will voice my thoughts in the discussion and conclusion. For right now, it is enough for me to say that women use, not upright erect postures with arms akimbo to display sexual invitation, but to display dominance as men do. Women use an entirely different set of postures to display sexually and these are predominantly submissive and “slouched.” This information in combination contradicts the objectification theory. However their explanation stripped aside, the study does present interesting findings with respect to ‘power postures’ that should not be ignore by women.
The Current Study
The study looked at 23 men and 47 women college students. The students were given an array of tests and tasks. One assessed their mood and the other was meant to “test” their ability on a specific math test. One set of students were instructed to work in a slumped body condition and the other in a more upright condition. They were as follows:
Slumped condition: “Sit back in your chair. [Pause] Put your feet together and slide them underneath your chair. [Pause] Slump forward, allowing your rib cage to drop and your shoulders to rotate forward. [Pause] Allow your head to drop towards your chest.”
Upright condition: “Sit back in your chair. [Pause] Plant your feet firmly on the floor underneath your knees approximately shoulder width apart. [Pause] Sit tall lifting your rib cage upwards and pull your shoulders slightly backwards . . . straightening your spine. [Pause] Elevate your chin . . . straight straightening your neck.”
The Results
As predicted, the subjects reported more negative emotions in the slumped posture than when they held the more erect posture.
When men held the upright posture, they felt that they had performed better whereas women in the same upright posture felt that they had performed worse. This is where it gets interesting. The women who held the slumped posture felt that they had performed better!
The men and women in the erect posture, however, both scored better on their math scores than those in the slumped condition. Men tended to be more accurate in their assessments of how well they performed when in the erect posture than in the slumped posture.
However, women who were slumped, were more accurate on their assessments, than those in the erect posture suggesting the reverse trend. Thus, women tended to rate themselves worse when erect than when slumped.
Overall, men scored higher on their test when erect than slumped, while women scored the same whether erect or slumped. In other words, an erect posture, when held by women, made them feel as though they did worse, but when they held a slumped posture, they actually felt worse.
Overall, men felt better about their performance when erect rather than slumped whereas women in the upright condition felt worse than those in the slumped.
What’s going on here?
Theories On Gender Differences In Dominance Postures
One theory says that erectness of posture signals dominance and social success to members of the species. Women who possess less dominance than men are less attuned overall to proprioceptive cues produced from an upright and open body stance. This is confirmed by other studies showing the tendency of women to stoop, hunch, avert their gaze and appear smaller than men. These are likely to feel natural to women whereas the reverse condition felt unnatural.
I will subscribe to this idea. However, the researchers also present an alternate explanation.
The second explanation which the researchers advance is, as mentioned previously, “objectification theory.” This says that women are given a “doubled” perspective on themselves. The body, specifically the sternum, breasts thrust forward and open in the upright stance makes them feel more self-conscious and “self-objectified” where women’s performance ability is disrupted.
I do not subscribe to this idea as I believe that drawing dominance attention to women puts undo stress on them as they understand that they are acting dominance and with dominance comes responsibilities for which they do not wish to solicit. Power for women, as I will explain, comes not from dominance and responsibility, but from submission. Thus, women adopt submission to avoid responsibility which to them, feels more natural and puts them at ease.
Discussing The Findings
I do not support the objectification theory on the grounds that culture is devised by biology. Thus, there is a requirement that biology produce something in people which makes the culture of objectification (or anything) acceptable to the people such that they are willing to adopt it and perpetuate it. If objectification is so harmful, then why do women voluntarily adopt and participate with self objectification? Why do they not simply rebel against the concept of body as object?
Because, as I content, taking part in strategies to increase attractiveness is not at all maladaptive, nor is taking part in behaviours which increase success maladaptive.
I content that women have significant power in their sexual bodies, of which men will never realize, and of which most women, will never truly understand due to maladaptive feminist theory.
Women can use their sexuality to manipulate and control men into performing unending feats of ingenuity. In fact, nearly the entirety of our modern life is the creation of the expression of masculinity for the opportunity at getting a little bit closer to women.
Sexual power is the sort of power that men could only wish they could proclaim over other human beings! I bat my eyes and she does what for me? It would never occur to men to use submissiveness to influence other people in a way that women can use submission to control others. When facing punishment (speeding tickets), women have been known to use sexual appeal and/or crying with great results.
Thus, women’s power does not come from an erect dominant posture that serves to manipulate the world around it as men have resorted to by default. Rather, women’s power comes from submissiveness and this submissiveness controls the outward expression of man (and woman) toward her benefit. Man is a tool that evolution produced to help women bear children in a successful way. Should men cease to exist, the most dominant women, those next in line, would slowly evolved into the next version of man and she will serve her in the goal of successfully siring her offspring.
In the present day, it is woman who uses and wields the power of submission most effectively – whom gains the most use from man and reaches the highest levels of power. In other words, her skill to reach power is not born out of dominance, it is born out of submission. Properly used, her submission will create more power and less responsibility than the seemingly most powerful man on the planet. She will work through him by proxy to execute her desire.
That men gain from ‘power poses’ is not a big surprise when you understand the purpose of men and women, and how they gain their power, influence over the world. How men and women gain power from the world also plays strongly with how men and women gain enjoyment and this is a state of mind that is biologically, not culturally controlled.
The women who ‘stoops to conquer’ is not the one who laments Patriarchy and objectification, she is the one who uses her best assets to influence the ‘tools’ she has at her disposal – no different than any great man. It turns out that her draw is not her muscle exactly, but her body, and her ability to offer care and nurturance through it that can be used to modify the world around her toward her own goals and desires.
Her tools are men and she can wield them simply by using a stooped posture, batting her eyes, averting her gaze: submitting.
In other words, simply put, her power is not dominance, but submission.
Final Thoughts
To avoid appearing sexiest, I fully adopt any strategy that men and women willfully use to make their lives more pleasant. I trust that arrangements that best suit our evolution will produce the most desired outcomes as I have attempted to explain herein.
Men and women are built differently and receive their life currency differently. I contend that there is no reason we should move men and women to the opposite or mash them together as if they are the same. Should women adopt a more submissive overall stance and men adopt a more dominant overall stance, they will experience what nature has intended for them. Rocking the boat of evolution, does not usually produce desired outcomes. It is my contention that going with the flow is far more enjoyable.
Incidentally, it is my experience that marriage is one such case which benefits long term by following traditional gender roles with both the husband and the wife having a more enjoyable ride.
This study is just one example that provides evidence that going against the grain and having women ‘power pose’ actually makes them feel worse and even perform more poorly than women permitted to adopt postures that nature has provided them and of which feel natural to them.
In other words, sometimes flowing with the current makes for a much more pleasant ride, than paddling upstream.
That women covet male dominance is nothing new. However, when real power and dominance are achieved it is often fraught with negative implications that were not foreseen. Usually with dominance come followers and when there are followers there are requests for answers and guidance. In other words, with power comes responsibility.
Finally, this study contradicts the much popularized study by Carney, Cuddy and Yap (2019) advising women to ‘power pose.’ However, she, like many others, have mixed the data of the men and women together serving to confounding the results. Interestingly this study predates Amy Cuddy’s assertions implying that she likely understood that her conclusion may have been false. Nevertheless, with more advanced research, research that splits the sexes and examines them more in line with biological origins, we will come to find that men and women differ based on gender and don’t respond or benefit equally from dominant or submissive postures respectively.
While my current view may go against present culture, I do sincerely present them so that men and women can benefit. I think publishing views counter reality to serve a social or political agenda only restricts individual advancements and does more harm than good – as evidenced by this particular study.
That women can benefit from power posing and adopting a ‘wonder woman’ posture with hands on this hips is a sexy notion born out of Western culture, however, at present, it does not have any empirical support. It also does not fit the innate biology that controls us and is therefore highly suspect.
Should new data present, I am content to update my conclusions.
Resources
Roberts, Tomi-Ann and Yousef Arefi-Afshar. Not All Who Stand Tall Are Proud: Gender Differences in the Proprioceptive Effects of Upright Posture. Cognition and Emtion. 2007. 21(4):714-727.
Learn More Starting Today!
Learn the basics of body language quickly and easily by taking one of our tailor-made video courses!
Short on cash? Then read an ENTIRE comprehensive book on body language – it’s totally FREE!
Which body language video course will you start with?
1. “The Secrets of Body Language”