There is no escape from competition in the team – sometimes open, and sometimes camouflaged. Usually the main battle is fought with peers of the same gender. But men and women compete in different ways, sometimes using unusual means of struggle. For example, clothes.
Men and women have different attitudes towards representatives of their sexual camp. The former compete with other men through direct aggression, the latter through intrigue. But psychologists have discovered another “hidden weapon” that women use against each other.
Low self-esteem as an incentive to fight
Women compete more subtly than men. They advertise themselves to colleagues and bosses through makeup and clothes, they try to compete by devaluing competitors and depriving them of self-confidence.
It is nothing new that women in companies often oppose hiring other women. Almost everyone has experienced the power of this hatred: lies, ridicule, rumors, harsh comments. And the “victims of female competition” have to either retreat or fight. So women are less loyal to each other because they fight for men? Why fight each other?
Women gossip, denigrate others instead of developing and growing themselves
In a 2012 study, scholar Abraham Bunk addressed issues of rivalry in professional relationships. As a result, he found that sexual competition has a greater impact on women’s work. The study showed that they react negatively to attractive female colleagues and believe that they should be eliminated.
According to psychologists, appearance envy often turns women into rivals. Psychologist Sandra Jankowski from Berlin says: “We always pay attention to beautiful people. If we are doing well with self-esteem, someone else’s attractiveness will spur us to work on ourselves, and if self-esteem suffers, we declare war on others.
And then, as they say, all means are good: women gossip, slander others instead of developing and growing themselves. Moreover, the level of education and intelligence of the participants in the hostilities does not matter at all. Smart women can also fight beauties. In response, someone takes the hit and adapts to the eternal struggle. And someone finds an antidote.
Discreet outfit – for sorority
If the team is mostly female, then employees will most likely wear more conservative, solid outfits to work. Psychologists Jamie Krems and Ashley Rankin from Oklahoma State University published a study that examined women’s ways to protect themselves from the aggressive behavior of other women.
It turned out that women consciously dress modestly if they are dealing with other women – especially if they have not yet found their place in the office hierarchy. According to psychologists, beauties often resort to this technique. Because they know that they will first be perceived as competitors in the struggle for male attention, and only then – as specialists and good people.
“Many studies show that female intolerance is primarily directed at attractive women. They feel more hidden aggression towards them than less attractive ones, ”confirms Canadian psychologist Tracey Weilancourt.
Researchers have agreed that since time immemorial, it is women who suppress the sexuality of other women.
Krems and Rankin studied how a woman’s style of dress changes depending on the situation and environment. So far, the research has only focused on how women’s clothing style influences male audiences. But “fashion signals” are intended for the eyes of other women. They report status, position, which plays an essential role in building a group hierarchy.
The researchers asked the participants in the experiment to choose clothes for meeting with the group. If it included both men and women, the outfit was more frank, open, bright. If there were only women in the composition, dresses and suits were chosen modest, strict, closed, even conservative.
The more beautiful the colleague, the worse the attitude towards her among female employees. Too provocative clothes make them think that the new girl is a sexual rival, Weilancourt argues, citing the research work of psychologist Jean Twenge and his colleague Roy Baumeister. Researchers have agreed that since time immemorial, it is women who have suppressed the sexuality of other women.