Does driving a Porsche make a man more attractive to women?
Hey, they did a study? Your tax dollars at work folks.
The funny thing is not just that the answer is exactly what you would have guessed without spending a whole lot of money keeping otherwise useless academics employed. The funny thing is the great lengths they go to try and find a silver lining in the cloud:
The copy reads "Owning a Porsche is not only about the driving experience". And you'll note the presence of the word "date" and the absence of any mention of marriage.
To get back to the news release accompanying the study, it makes interesting reading. There is a lot of stuff about how men use conspicuous consumption to get sex with women and, as above, about how women don't think of these men as good marriage partners but there is only one sentence telling you that the peacock strategy works if what you are looking for is sex:
Downside, according to the researchers, when it comes time to marry, she'll settled for some schmo in a Honda Civic ... while the Porsche driver is out nailing her even hotter kid sister.
What's the take away here? I think it's this: You had better really want what you really want! Is love and marriage really your goal? I ask this in all sincerity because I don't think those guys who put everything into getting the Porsche and other accessories are really anywhere near as miserable as you might want to think they are so if you ever find yourself sitting around second guessing yourself for choosing the Civic live instead of the Porsche life you just might end up feeling bitter. (You could end up feeling even more bitter if the Civic life was the only choice available to you.)
I love this detail from the write-up about the study:
Let's consider this from the perspective of Porsche guy: Guy buys Porsche because he is interested in getting uncommitted sex, woman correctly ascertains that he wants uncommitted sex and she is more attracted to him because he drives a Porsche. I'm not seeing any downside from his perspective here are you?
And if that doesn't hurt enough, I want you to seriously consider that the woman you marry may be just like the test subjects: that is that she really does find the Porsche guy more attractive but doesn't consider him good marriage material. As a woman friend of mine once crudely put it, "Once in her life every woman is going to go for a guy simply because he has a really nice car, a really nice investment portfolio or a really big ____." And then she'll marry someone like you.
This is another example of the Althouse Rule: When you talk about characteristics that distinguish women from men you always have to do so in ways that make the woman look good. That study stresses the fact that some guys are a bunch of vain peacocks in order to soft pedal the more significant finding that women are attracted to vain peacocks.
But but but ...
Yeah, I really wanted love and marriage too. And that is where I ended up but not because I wanted to feel superior to guys who drive Porsches.
Hey, they did a study? Your tax dollars at work folks.
The funny thing is not just that the answer is exactly what you would have guessed without spending a whole lot of money keeping otherwise useless academics employed. The funny thing is the great lengths they go to try and find a silver lining in the cloud:
However, there was a catch: Although women found the flashy guys more desirable for a date, the man with the Porsche was not preferred as a marriage partner. Women inferred from a man's flashy spending that he was interested in uncommitted sex.
He might be sending her the wrong message? Because the guy in the Porsche is looking for marriage and a nice little house in the suburbs? That must be why Porsche uses this sort of advertising to sell their product:
"When women considered him for a long-term relationship, owning the sports car held no advantage relative to owning an economy car," said co-author Daniel Beal, assistant professor of psychology at Rice. "People may feel that owning flashy things makes them more attractive as a relationship partner, but in truth, many men might be sending women the wrong message."
The copy reads "Owning a Porsche is not only about the driving experience". And you'll note the presence of the word "date" and the absence of any mention of marriage.
To get back to the news release accompanying the study, it makes interesting reading. There is a lot of stuff about how men use conspicuous consumption to get sex with women and, as above, about how women don't think of these men as good marriage partners but there is only one sentence telling you that the peacock strategy works if what you are looking for is sex:
According to the researchers, women found a man who chose to purchase a flashy luxury product (such as a Porsche) more desirable than the same man who purchased a non-luxury item (such as a Honda Civic).Yup, women put out for guys in Porsches. Are you as stunned as I am at this unlikely result? I bet if a guy works out a lot to build up his muscles, wears nice suits and takes women to glamorous places in his Porsche that his chances get even better.
Downside, according to the researchers, when it comes time to marry, she'll settled for some schmo in a Honda Civic ... while the Porsche driver is out nailing her even hotter kid sister.
What's the take away here? I think it's this: You had better really want what you really want! Is love and marriage really your goal? I ask this in all sincerity because I don't think those guys who put everything into getting the Porsche and other accessories are really anywhere near as miserable as you might want to think they are so if you ever find yourself sitting around second guessing yourself for choosing the Civic live instead of the Porsche life you just might end up feeling bitter. (You could end up feeling even more bitter if the Civic life was the only choice available to you.)
I love this detail from the write-up about the study:
Women inferred from a man's flashy spending that he was interested in uncommitted sex.Well, I'm relieved to find out that women are smarter than fence posts aren't you? But the thing is that the study also says they found those men more attractive. Like maybe the women were not adverse to a little uncommitted sex with a flashy spender.
Let's consider this from the perspective of Porsche guy: Guy buys Porsche because he is interested in getting uncommitted sex, woman correctly ascertains that he wants uncommitted sex and she is more attracted to him because he drives a Porsche. I'm not seeing any downside from his perspective here are you?
And if that doesn't hurt enough, I want you to seriously consider that the woman you marry may be just like the test subjects: that is that she really does find the Porsche guy more attractive but doesn't consider him good marriage material. As a woman friend of mine once crudely put it, "Once in her life every woman is going to go for a guy simply because he has a really nice car, a really nice investment portfolio or a really big ____." And then she'll marry someone like you.
This is another example of the Althouse Rule: When you talk about characteristics that distinguish women from men you always have to do so in ways that make the woman look good. That study stresses the fact that some guys are a bunch of vain peacocks in order to soft pedal the more significant finding that women are attracted to vain peacocks.
But but but ...
Yeah, I really wanted love and marriage too. And that is where I ended up but not because I wanted to feel superior to guys who drive Porsches.
this ad confirms my suspicion that the Boxster is a girls' car (as stated on 2.5 Men). Woman in the driver's seat, and the tagline: "Even you would like a date with her" both position the car as for women even if the subtext goes the other way. Pick a lane, Porsche!
ReplyDeleteIt is odd that she is in the driver's seat whereas the copy says it has everything to make her happy "in your passenger seat". Not exactly subtle.
ReplyDeleteCould it be that, given that the model's six foot height is also specified, Porsche has a subtext aimed at men who like to be dominated?
This is the 2004 ad. One of their 2011 ads makes the point even more "graphically" but is too pornographic for me.
I've never seen a woman at the wheel of a Boxster in real life. I have seen quite a few women driving BMW Roadster's however. I could be biased, however, as a woman known to me, but whose name I will keep a secret, responded to the first Roadster she saw in a manner she usually reserves for Cary Grant and Gene Kelley.