The generally accepted gender behaviour is that women eat chocolates during stressful time whereas men watch porn and drink alcohol when worried. However, a new study defies the gender stereotype saying that women also choose porn and alcohol along with chocolates, whereas men may eat chocolates when in stress. To cope with coronavirus stress men are turning to chocolates while not completely shunning alcohol and porn. While on the other hand, women are turning to pornography and alcohol, as per a paper submitted for publication by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and Yeshiva University researchers.

About 115 British participants were surveyed on their post-coronavirus habits including 46 men and 69 women.  “Countless studies show that in highly stressful times, men typically consume more alcohol and pornography, while women turned to sweets for their binging. The COVID-19 pandemic has upended these assumptions as our research debunks the commonly accepted perceptions of various stereotypical behaviours. Under pressure, we are more alike.” Dr Friedman said.

Amid the increased stress of the pandemic, lower emotional regulation in both men and women has been prevalent.  Dr Friedmann conducted an additional experiment to measure facial responses using special sensors. This led to people of both sexes indulging in stress behaviours expected of the opposite sex, Dr Friedman believes. “Previous research stressed the biological differences between men and women, but the stress from the pandemic has caused both sexes to be flooded with emotions that neutralize gender consumer behavior and lower emotional regulation,” Dr Friedmann says.

“The stress allows us, in effect, to see the automatic behavior stripped of its gendered expectations. Marketers assumed that women and men act differently, so they focused their marketing based on gender segmentation,” Friedman further says.

 

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 16, 2020 01:08 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).