Sexual objectification
Objectification is most commonly examined at the level of a society (sociology), but can also refer to the behavior of individuals (psychology), and is a type of dehumanization.
[9] How objectification has affected women and society in general is a topic of academic debate, with some saying girls' understanding of the importance of appearance in society may contribute to feelings of fear, shame, and disgust during the transition to womanhood,[10] and others saying that young women are especially susceptible to objectification, as they are often taught that power, respect, and wealth can be derived from one's outward appearance.
[13] In her 1992 book, Sexual Reality: A Virtual Sex World Reader, feminist Susie Bright dedicated a chapter to a salon gathering she co-hosted with fellow feminists Laura Miller, Amy Wallace, and Lisa Palac at Wallace's Berkeley Hills mansion, attended by 16 women writers and served by fully nude men they called "slaveboys".
The "slaveboys" served tea and meals, provided foot massages, polished nails, brushed hair, tended the fire, and posed for photographs with the guests.
Bright also addresses criticism from unattended friends who called the setup "reverse sexism", to which she responded unapologetically, adding a note of regret for not having sex with them.
[19] Male sexual objectification has been found in 37% of advertisements featuring men's body parts to showcase a product.
[21] Male actors featured in TV shows and movies are oftentimes in excellent shape and have the "ideal" bodies.
Leanne Dawson writes that "There are temporal, cultural and geographical "norms" of gender and other aspects of identity, which are often incorrectly considered to be inherent or natural.
[citation needed] John Stoltenberg goes so far as to condemn as wrongfully objectifying any sexual fantasy that involves the visualization of a woman.
[29] Radical feminists view objectification as playing a central role in reducing women to what they refer to as the "oppressed sex class".
In Alexandre Guillaume Mouslier de Moissy's 1771 play The True Mother (La Vraie Mère), the title character rebukes her husband for treating her as merely an object for his sexual gratification: "Are your senses so gross as to look on these breasts – the respectable treasures of nature – as merely an embellishment, destined to ornament the chest of women?
Since then, it has been argued that the phenomenon of female sexual objectification has increased drastically since its problematization in all levels of life, and has resulted in negative consequences for women, especially in the political sphere.
However, a rising form of new third-waver feminist groups have also taken the increased objectification of women as an opportunity to use the female body as a mode of power.
She has noted that radical feminists have often allied themselves with the Christian right in supporting these laws and denouncing the depiction of sex in popular culture although the two groups strongly disagree on virtually everything else.
[48] In a study conducted by the State University of New York, it is found that women self-objectify when trying to fit the "perfect" female standard according to the male gaze.
[49] In today's culture, Levy writes, the idea of a woman participating in a wet T-shirt contest or being comfortable watching explicit pornography has become a symbol of feminist strength.
Jordan Peterson has asked why women need to wear make-up or high-heels in the workplace, that a double standard exists for sexual harassment and females who self-objectify themselves in society.
American media often portrays Latina women as being sexually promiscuous and curvaceous, having large breasts and buttocks, being melodramatic, or having a feisty attitude.
[55] Objectification theory is a framework for understanding the experiences of women in cultures that sexually objectify them, proposed by Barbara Fredrickson and Tomi-Ann Roberts in 1997.
With this framework in mind, Fredrickson and Roberts suggest explanations for consequences they believe are the result of sexual objectification.
Sexual objectification has been studied based on the proposition that girls and women develop their primary view of their physical selves from observing others.
[57]: 26 Through a blend of expected and actual exposure, women are socialized to objectify their own physical characteristics from a third-person perception, which is identified as self-objectification.
The sexual objectification and self-objectification of women is believed to influence social gender roles and inequalities between the sexes.
Primarily, objectification theory describes how women and girls are influenced as a result of expected social and gender roles.
[60]: 90–95 Self-objectification in girls tends to stem from two main causes: the internalization of traditional beauty standards as translated through media as well as any instances of sexual objectification that they might encounter in their daily lives.
This, in turn, can lead to many serious problems in women and girls, including "body shame, anxiety, negative attitudes toward menstruation, a disrupted flow of consciousness, diminished awareness of internal bodily states, depression, sexual dysfunction, and disordered eating.
Indirect consequences include self consciousness in terms that a woman is consistently checking or rearranging her clothes or appearance to ensure that she is presentable.
[63] Research indicates that objectification theory is valuable to understanding how repeated visual images in the media are socialized and translated into mental health problems, including psychological consequences on the individual and societal level.
Thus, women will engage in actions meant to change their body such as dieting, exercise, eating disorders, cosmetic surgery, etc.
Since the dependence on another's evaluation limits a woman's ability to create her own positive experiences and motivation, it adversely increases her likelihood for depression.
