Showing papers on "Sexual objectification published in 2005"

Roles of Sexual Objectification Experiences and Internalization of Standards of Beauty in Eating Disorder Symptomatology: A Test and Extension of Objectification Theory.

Abstract: This study extends the literature on eating disorder symptomatology by testing, based on extant literature on objectification theory (B. L. Fredrickson & T. Roberts, 1997) and the role of sociocultural standards of beauty (e.g.. L. J. Heinberg. J. K. Thompson, & S. Stormer, 1995), a model that examines (a) links of reported sexual objectification experiences to eating disorder-related variables and (b) the mediating roles of body surveillance, body shame, and internalization of sociocultural standards of beauty. Consistent with hypotheses, with a sample of 221 young women, support was found for a model in which (a) internalization of sociocultural standards of beauty mediated the links of sexual objectification experiences to body surveillance, body shame, and eating disorder symptoms, (b) body surveillance was an additional mediator of the link of reported sexual objectification experiences to body shame, and (c) body shame mediated the links of internalization and body surveillance to disordered eating.

The Construction of Beauty: A Cross‐Cultural Analysis of Women's Magazine Advertising

Abstract: As a media genre, advertising offers a unique opportunity to study how the beauty ideal is constructed across cultures. This research analyzes the content of advertisements from women’s fashion and beauty magazines in Singapore, Taiwan, and the U.S. to compare how beauty is encoded and found a noticeable difference between the portrayals of women from the U.S. and from the two East Asian societies in terms of sexual portrayal. In addition, Asian ads contained a large proportion of cosmetics and facial beauty products whereas the U.S. ads were dominated by clothing. These findings suggest that beauty in the U.S. may be constructed more in terms of “the body,” whereas in Singapore and Taiwan the defining factor is more related to a pretty face. The article also discusses how feminist critiques of the sexual objectification of women in advertising may need to be considered within their historical, Western context of origin.

Polyamorous Women, Sexual Subjectivity and Power

Abstract: This article explores polyamorous women’s potential to enlarge the concept of sexual subjectivity through their engagement in nontraditional relationships and their attempts to reject sexual objectification. Polyamorous people openly engage in romantic, sexual, and/or affective relationships with multiple people simultaneously. Polyamory differs from swinging with its emphasis on long-term, emotionally intimate relationships and from adultery with its focus on honesty and (ideally) full disclosure of the network of sexual relationships to all who participate in or are affected by them. Both men and women have access to additional partners in polyamorous relationships, distinguishing them from polygamy. This ethnographic analysis expands sociological understanding of women’s sexuality by investigating this previously unexamined area of sexual subjectivity. Specifically, the author analyzes some of the ways that polyamorous women expand so-called normal social roles, discusses their sexual lives and identit...

Sexual pleasure as a human right: Harmful or helpful to women in the context of HIV/AIDS?

Abstract: Synopsis Sexual rights advocates recommend that sexual pleasure should be recognised as a human right. However, the construction of sexuality as gender-neutral in sexual rights literature conceals how men's demand for sexual pleasure often reinforces the subordination of women. In the context of HIV/AIDS, men's belief that they have a right to use women for sexual pleasure is a recognised and cross-cultural barrier to effective HIV prevention. Research on sexuality from the fields of feminism, political science, public health, and HIV/AIDS reveals that violence against women is fundamental to the construction of masculinity. This violence is manifested through rape, sexual coercion, sexual objectification, and prostitution. By challenging the forms of sexuality and sexual pleasure that reinforce masculinity, it may be possible to imagine sexual rights that are based on sexual equality. In this article, I suggest that a new model for sexual rights that simultaneously provides women with greater sexual pleasure and lessens the risk of HIV transmission is possible.

Distancing and Solidarity as Resistance to Sexual Objectification in a Nude Dancing Bar

Abstract: Drawing on observation and interviews in a mid-Atlantic nude dancing bar, I examine front-stage customer-dancer relations as well as dancers' discourse among themselves backstage I use James Scott's theoretical framework regarding subordinate group resistance strategies to analyze dancers' attempts to resist customers' harassment On the micro-level dancers exercise agency, reconstructing their identities within the larger context of macro-level oppression Dancers' front stage tactics include spatial distancing, verbal one-liners, physical aggression, calling on customers, and united action with other dancers Backstage, dancers reframe the public text, articulating their own identity construction by creating a social site for solidarity and desexualizing the body

Women in Their Bodies: Challenging Objectification through Experiential Learning

Abstract: In the three decades since Title IX guaranteed equal opportunity for the sexes in educational athletic programs, women's involvement in high school and college sports has increased dramatically Still, women lag behind men in participation rates, and more girls than boys drop out of sports during adolescence (PCPFS 1998) One explanation for this sexrelated disparity is that compliance with Title IX has not been consistently enforced (NWLC 2002), but we believe that lack of opportunities, inadequate funding, and inconsistent institutional support are not the only barriers to the participation of girls and women in athletics A more fundamental obstacle is the way women are alienated from their bodies by a gender system in which femininity is displayed through rigorous appearance maintenance and modification, self-conscious posture and gesture, and clothing that invites the gaze but limits freedom of movement Traditional gender socialization hinders the participation of girls and women in sports-and impedes the development of their bodily skill and physical self-confidence in general-because its dominant message is that female bodies are valuable for their form, not their function Girls (and boys) are still taught that there is an essential contradiction between femininity and subjective physicality In this essay we describe "Women IN Their Bodies," a college-level interdisciplinary Women's Studies seminar that integrates traditional classroom techniques and experiential learning sessions (such as rock climbing, martial arts, and strength training) to educate students about the ways in which bodily objectification and the social construction of femininity interfere with women's participation in sports and other activities that are beneficial for their physical and mental health The course has three primary learning objectives We rely on assigned readings, lectures, class discussions, and films to meet our first and second goals for students: that they think critically about women's sexual objectification and its consequences and that they understand how bodily objectification, feminine socialization, and structural barriers inhibit women's participation in physical activities Specific topics include the psychological and social ramifications of women's bodily objectification, the paradox between femininity and strength, historic and contemporary sex discrimination in athletics, and the heterosexual objectification of women athletes in popular media Tied to these specific course topics are experiential sessions intended to facilitate our third goal: to promote a sense of bodily subjectivity that will inspire women students to pursue a physically active lifestyle Many women's studies courses address topics such as the objectification of women in the media or the history of women's participation in sports, but the exercise is typically only intellectual In our traditional courses we teach students to recognize and label sexual objectification in advertising; we inform them about sex discrimination and Title IX; we discuss eating disorders and fatphobia; and we contemplate cultural variation in standards of women's beauty All of this is very eye-opening and beneficial for students who have never taken a critical perspective on the status of women's bodies in our culture; however, we believe that the learning need not end there In our experience, many women students whose consciousness has been raised end up angry about the ways in which their bodies are dehumanized, alarmed about the pandemic of body dissatisfaction among women in our society, and at a loss for what to do about their own continuing struggle in a cultural context that leaves them at odds with their physical selves We believe our course is unique m its applied focus We think the combination of academic inquiry and experienced embodiment holds great promise for instilling in women students not only a new body of knowledge, but also knowledge about their own bodies that will serve them well as they negotiate their subjectivity …

Exposing the fallacies of anti-porn feminism

Abstract: This paper examines an issue at the centre of feminist debates about pornography and sex work, and that is whether these practices reduce women to sex objects. I question the assumption that the ex...

Gendering the Vertical Mosaic: Feminist Perspectives on Canadian Society

Abstract: Roberta Hamilton, Gendering the Vertical Mosaic, Feminist Perspectives on Canadian Society. Toronto, Copp Clark, Ltd. 1996, 261 pp. Gendering the Vertical Mosaic is an excellent introduction to the analysis of Canadian society from a feminist perspective. Hamilton effectively argues for a fundamental integration of a gendered perspective in our understanding of social processes and after reading the book, it is difficult to contemplate omitting this perspective from consideration of social behaviour. Not to include a gendered perspective seems as outdated as trying to teach someone to use a typewriter when the capabilities of computer word processing exist. The typist may have learned a skill, but it one which is narrow in light of what is known and clearly limited in its application. Roberta Hamilton writes her book as an expert who understands both Canadian society and feminist analysis. Although the book is identified by its author as an introductory one it offers perspectives and insight that more sophisticated readers will find valuable. In her introduction Hamilton makes it clear that gender is not an add on, but a social process that permeates all aspects of social life. Hamilton makes clear that gender must be understood as an integral part of social life in order to appreciate the way in which it has an impact. While this understanding has come to be more widespread than a decade ago, it is also not yet pervasive among university faculty. In a meeting to consider the introductory course, members of my department reviewed the topics we saw as an essential part of the course and those which were optional. One of my colleagues commented "I don't do gender." For Hamilton, gender isn't something "one does," it is essential to understanding the social processes and functioning of society. With an appreciation of this framework, her work describes aspects of Canadian society that could otherwise be seen as separate issues. Hamilton has organized her material in a way that works well. Her first chapter reviews the theoretical background and emergence of feminist theorizing and discusses contemporary alternative views. She then considered the women's movements, beginning with the 1960s and describes some of the strategies and objectives used. The presentation is both historical and themtic and works effectively so that the linkages are clear to the reader. Then she introduces an analysis of issues around the Canadian state from a liberal feminist, neo-Marxist and patriarchal frameworks. Then she reconsidered state issues from the perspectives of native peoples, Quebec, and Canada, and ethnicity and ties these into issues of the international economy. She continues her discussion with an examination of the work women do from both the perspectives of first and second wave feminists. This section considers paid and unpaid work and physical and emotional work. Finally she concludes with issues of the representation of women and critiques of sexual objectification. This pulls her analysis full circle as she uses the perennial issue of the beauty pageant as an example in her explanations. …