Fixation and focus on the physical world, including the human body, is common in those who display Narcissism traits.
Focus and attention on the "physical", as it appears to them, and as it appears in the current moment, with little or no understanding that there is any more to something or someone than what they can perceive right here and now with their five senses (especially vision).
This can also be seen in other forms of illness, "disorder", and in some who are immature either because of actual chronological age, or for reasons of a developmental delay.
Those who have Narcissism tend to be fixed on physical things in the world, other people, and themselves. The physical body and appearance of another person, and what they look like right now, in the present moment, is where their attention and focus is, and that takes up MOST or ALL of their attention and mental processing.
The physical world takes up most (or all) of their attention, so there is very little intellectual processing regarding things they can't literally SEE, or hear, smell, taste, or touch.
They have a hard time with comprehending that there is MORE than they can see, or hear/smell/taste/touch, and that there are things about what they're observing that they don't know or understand.
Many people with Narcissism can be heard speaking frequently about appearances, human bodies and body parts, clothing, and bodily functions.
They can often be heard talking about their own appearance, bodies and bodily functions, as well as that of other people.
They are often heard commenting and discussing their own bodies and whether they are attractive or not, and ALSO very frequently commenting on other people's bodies, faces, hair, clothes, and "attractiveness" or "lack thereof".
Many who have Narcissism tend to be fixated on race and ancestry; their own, and that of others. They tend to identify people, including themselves, as a member of a certain race or ancestry as if that "sums up" who and what the individual IS.
GENDER
Most people with Narcissism seem to be fixated on which sex/gender they are, and others are as well. They tend to refer to other people and themselves in female or male terms instead of "human", or gender-neutral terms, because of this body fixation.
Additionally, most (not all) Narcissists are very biased toward one sex and against the other, because of their desperate emotional desire for superiority over others.
This desire to "prove superiority" of one sex, or "inferiority" of the other sex, is not about science, because science doesn't CARE about "superiority" or "inferiority". It's about a person's emotional issues.
REAL science has NO desire for one or the other, NO emotional or personal investment, NO resentment, NO expectation, and NO personal issues; REAL science does not assess something as "better than", it only describes factual observations SO FAR, and REAL science knows it DOES NOT KNOW all of the information, or even most of the information.
~A person who happens to be a "scientist" might INSERT his or her own opinions into a factual observation, but that's not "science", that's personal opinion. For example Dr. Jacobs might call the flight of an Albatross "better" than all other birds, and Dr. Abrams might call the flight of an Eagle "better" than all other birds. That's not the SCIENCE of it, those are their own personal opinions, OUTSIDE of the actual "science".
It's important to understand that it doesn't matter WHICH SEX a Narcissist may insist is "superior", NOR which sex THEY are.
Even a person who is born with both biological sexes (referred to as "hermaphrodite") can develop Narcissism and superiority and bias issues for or against one sex.
Sexism (bias for against males or females) is just another form of "US" vs. "THEM"; seeking excuses to disrespect, exclude, and treat an entire grouping of humans without integrity.
Humans with Narcissism will try to use ANY physical difference between human beings in order to claim to be a member of a "superior" group of humans. Sex is just one of those differences, just like race or weight.
Many people with Narcissism can be heard and seen "proving" what sex they are with their appearance, body language, speech, actions, behaviors, and even apparent overt displays of emotion (such as making obvious sounds and movements of 'anger', or overt displays of 'fear', depending on what they think their sex is supposed to look and sound like). This is behavior that's seen in children who are learning about identity, but it's a stage of maturity, not a "destination".
Many are also fixated on OTHER people's gender, and on whether another person is DISPLAYING behaviors and appearances that the Narcissist thinks they "should" because of their gender.
Narcissistic people are often highly focused on (some can have obsessions with) bodily functions, their own and others, such as physical exertion, eating, sweating, spitting, digestion, urination, defecation, five senses, pain, muscles and muscle strength, abilities of the body, excretions (earwax, oil), and things related to sex.
The fixation on the physical world tends to LIMIT their ability to "measure" themselves, and judge others.
For example a person with Narcissism will often actually assess a taller person as more intelligent and more capable than a shorter person, with NO information other than appearance.
They will often actually assume that a larger person has more resources than a smaller person:
more money, more family, more friends, and more possessions.
Most people are aware of the common cultural myth about "ALL women preferring a man with a large penis" and "ALL men preferring women with large breasts". This is only true for those adults with certain forms of Narcissism and other specific illnesses; only a person who is fixated on human body parts and sex would actually "prefer" or "reject" another PERSON based on the size of one of their body parts, including parts that are related to sex. Non-narcissistic and mentally healthy people develop romantic relationships with people they LIKE and enjoy spending time with, and ALSO feel attraction to, so eventually if the relationship develops more deeply, they may take it to a sexual level. But the sexual intimacy is because of the relationship becoming more intense and intimate, not the other way around.
(The relationship is not because of the sexual attraction, and especially not solely because of the sexual attraction, especially in adults: If and when that does happen with a non-narcissist, it's a boundary issue that people with Codependency or BPD may be dealing with, often from trauma.)
Since the physical world takes up their awareness, they can be seen to have a very low ability to comprehend abstract things about what or who they're looking at.
Since it's very difficult for them to process or deduce in the abstract, they tend to make ASSUMPTIONS about what they see, hear, smell, taste, or touch. They think they know a great deal of information about whatever and whoever they're observing.
They tend to BELIEVE their assumptions with little or no doubt, and little or no speculation.
They tend to think that their ASSUMPTIONS are actually clever and logical assessments.
Since it's difficult for them to mentally process that that they DON'T KNOW the "whole story" from what they are seeing in front of them, (or hearing, etc.), they ASSUME that they DO KNOW the "whole story", based on the very small and superficial amount of information they are receiving through their five senses.
For example:
A person with Narcissism will see a tall male adult, a total stranger with whom they have NO personal connection to, and immediately notice his body parts, his individual facial features, his hair, shoulders, apparent weight, the length of his arms and legs, the clothes he's wearing, his vocal tone, jewelry, and the way he holds himself.
They will "assess" whether he's attractive or not to OTHERS, and HOW attractive.
They'll assume that they know whether he's heterosexual or not.
They'll "assess" whether or not they would "win" in a test of strength or fighting with him.
They'll think they can tell all kinds of things about his personality, in specific detail.
They will believe they know his level of intelligence, strength, experience, and skill.
They will believe they can tell what his interests are, and what he does for a living.
They'll believe they can tell how much financial wealth he has or doesn't have.
They will even assume that they KNOW whether he's trustworthy or not, even before meeting him or knowing anything about him.
They'll do all this "processing" of this total stranger in their heads, based purely on his body, clothing, and voice. And they'll believe that they're RIGHT, because they can SEE and HEAR him.
They will then treat him according to the character of him they made up in their head, possibly forever. The only thing that will make a dent in changing their assumptions about him, about his personality and capability, is a noticeable change in his physical appearance.
In other words, they would believe he "changed" drastically if he let his hair grow long and braided it into dreadlocks, even if that was the ONLY thing that he changed about himself.
~~~However, if he were to LOOK pretty much the same, but changed careers, got arrested for selling meth, treated his wife horribly, or discovered a cure for a terrible disease, they would NOT see him as "changed". Those things are too abstract, they're not ON his physical body, so they don't enter into their assessment of his personality and capability. He would still be seen by the Narcissist as basically the "same guy", no matter what he did or didn't do, as long as he LOOKED the same.
Focus and attention on the "physical", as it appears to them, and as it appears in the current moment, with little or no understanding that there is any more to something or someone than what they can perceive right here and now with their five senses (especially vision).
This can also be seen in other forms of illness, "disorder", and in some who are immature either because of actual chronological age, or for reasons of a developmental delay.
Those who have Narcissism tend to be fixed on physical things in the world, other people, and themselves. The physical body and appearance of another person, and what they look like right now, in the present moment, is where their attention and focus is, and that takes up MOST or ALL of their attention and mental processing.
The physical world takes up most (or all) of their attention, so there is very little intellectual processing regarding things they can't literally SEE, or hear, smell, taste, or touch.
They have a hard time with comprehending that there is MORE than they can see, or hear/smell/taste/touch, and that there are things about what they're observing that they don't know or understand.
They can often be heard talking about their own appearance, bodies and bodily functions, as well as that of other people.
They are often heard commenting and discussing their own bodies and whether they are attractive or not, and ALSO very frequently commenting on other people's bodies, faces, hair, clothes, and "attractiveness" or "lack thereof".
Many who have Narcissism tend to be fixated on race and ancestry; their own, and that of others. They tend to identify people, including themselves, as a member of a certain race or ancestry as if that "sums up" who and what the individual IS.
GENDER
Additionally, most (not all) Narcissists are very biased toward one sex and against the other, because of their desperate emotional desire for superiority over others.
This desire to "prove superiority" of one sex, or "inferiority" of the other sex, is not about science, because science doesn't CARE about "superiority" or "inferiority". It's about a person's emotional issues.
REAL science has NO desire for one or the other, NO emotional or personal investment, NO resentment, NO expectation, and NO personal issues; REAL science does not assess something as "better than", it only describes factual observations SO FAR, and REAL science knows it DOES NOT KNOW all of the information, or even most of the information.
~A person who happens to be a "scientist" might INSERT his or her own opinions into a factual observation, but that's not "science", that's personal opinion. For example Dr. Jacobs might call the flight of an Albatross "better" than all other birds, and Dr. Abrams might call the flight of an Eagle "better" than all other birds. That's not the SCIENCE of it, those are their own personal opinions, OUTSIDE of the actual "science".
It's important to understand that it doesn't matter WHICH SEX a Narcissist may insist is "superior", NOR which sex THEY are.
Even a person who is born with both biological sexes (referred to as "hermaphrodite") can develop Narcissism and superiority and bias issues for or against one sex.
Sexism (bias for against males or females) is just another form of "US" vs. "THEM"; seeking excuses to disrespect, exclude, and treat an entire grouping of humans without integrity.
Humans with Narcissism will try to use ANY physical difference between human beings in order to claim to be a member of a "superior" group of humans. Sex is just one of those differences, just like race or weight.
Many people with Narcissism can be heard and seen "proving" what sex they are with their appearance, body language, speech, actions, behaviors, and even apparent overt displays of emotion (such as making obvious sounds and movements of 'anger', or overt displays of 'fear', depending on what they think their sex is supposed to look and sound like). This is behavior that's seen in children who are learning about identity, but it's a stage of maturity, not a "destination".
Many are also fixated on OTHER people's gender, and on whether another person is DISPLAYING behaviors and appearances that the Narcissist thinks they "should" because of their gender.
Narcissistic people are often highly focused on (some can have obsessions with) bodily functions, their own and others, such as physical exertion, eating, sweating, spitting, digestion, urination, defecation, five senses, pain, muscles and muscle strength, abilities of the body, excretions (earwax, oil), and things related to sex.
The fixation on the physical world tends to LIMIT their ability to "measure" themselves, and judge others.
For example a person with Narcissism will often actually assess a taller person as more intelligent and more capable than a shorter person, with NO information other than appearance.
They will often actually assume that a larger person has more resources than a smaller person:
more money, more family, more friends, and more possessions.
Most people are aware of the common cultural myth about "ALL women preferring a man with a large penis" and "ALL men preferring women with large breasts". This is only true for those adults with certain forms of Narcissism and other specific illnesses; only a person who is fixated on human body parts and sex would actually "prefer" or "reject" another PERSON based on the size of one of their body parts, including parts that are related to sex. Non-narcissistic and mentally healthy people develop romantic relationships with people they LIKE and enjoy spending time with, and ALSO feel attraction to, so eventually if the relationship develops more deeply, they may take it to a sexual level. But the sexual intimacy is because of the relationship becoming more intense and intimate, not the other way around.
(The relationship is not because of the sexual attraction, and especially not solely because of the sexual attraction, especially in adults: If and when that does happen with a non-narcissist, it's a boundary issue that people with Codependency or BPD may be dealing with, often from trauma.)
Since the physical world takes up their awareness, they can be seen to have a very low ability to comprehend abstract things about what or who they're looking at.
Since it's very difficult for them to process or deduce in the abstract, they tend to make ASSUMPTIONS about what they see, hear, smell, taste, or touch. They think they know a great deal of information about whatever and whoever they're observing.
They tend to BELIEVE their assumptions with little or no doubt, and little or no speculation.
They tend to think that their ASSUMPTIONS are actually clever and logical assessments.
Since it's difficult for them to mentally process that that they DON'T KNOW the "whole story" from what they are seeing in front of them, (or hearing, etc.), they ASSUME that they DO KNOW the "whole story", based on the very small and superficial amount of information they are receiving through their five senses.
For example:
A person with Narcissism will see a tall male adult, a total stranger with whom they have NO personal connection to, and immediately notice his body parts, his individual facial features, his hair, shoulders, apparent weight, the length of his arms and legs, the clothes he's wearing, his vocal tone, jewelry, and the way he holds himself.
They will "assess" whether he's attractive or not to OTHERS, and HOW attractive.
They'll assume that they know whether he's heterosexual or not.
They'll "assess" whether or not they would "win" in a test of strength or fighting with him.
They'll think they can tell all kinds of things about his personality, in specific detail.
They will believe they know his level of intelligence, strength, experience, and skill.
They will believe they can tell what his interests are, and what he does for a living.
They'll believe they can tell how much financial wealth he has or doesn't have.
They will even assume that they KNOW whether he's trustworthy or not, even before meeting him or knowing anything about him.
They'll do all this "processing" of this total stranger in their heads, based purely on his body, clothing, and voice. And they'll believe that they're RIGHT, because they can SEE and HEAR him.
They will then treat him according to the character of him they made up in their head, possibly forever. The only thing that will make a dent in changing their assumptions about him, about his personality and capability, is a noticeable change in his physical appearance.
In other words, they would believe he "changed" drastically if he let his hair grow long and braided it into dreadlocks, even if that was the ONLY thing that he changed about himself.
~~~However, if he were to LOOK pretty much the same, but changed careers, got arrested for selling meth, treated his wife horribly, or discovered a cure for a terrible disease, they would NOT see him as "changed". Those things are too abstract, they're not ON his physical body, so they don't enter into their assessment of his personality and capability. He would still be seen by the Narcissist as basically the "same guy", no matter what he did or didn't do, as long as he LOOKED the same.
