Showing papers on "Sexual objectification published in 2012"
TL;DR: In this article, the relationship between exposure to sexually objectifying music television, primetime television programs, fashion magazines, and social networking sites and the internalization of beauty ideals, self-objectification, and body surveillance was examined among adolescent girls.
Abstract: The relationship between exposure to sexually objectifying music television, primetime television programs, fashion magazines, and social networking sites and the internalization of beauty ideals, self-objectification, and body surveillance was examined among adolescent girls (N = 558). A structural equation model showed direct relationships between sexually objectifying media and the internalization of beauty ideals, and indirect relationships between sexually objectifying media and self-objectification, and body surveillance through the internalization of beauty ideals. The direct relationships between sexually objectifying media and the internalization of beauty ideals, self-objectification, and body surveillance differed across the types of sexually objectifying media. The discussion focuses on the implications of these findings to explain self-objectification among girls.
243 citations
TL;DR: This work suggested that sexualized women are perceived similarly to objects, and hypothesized that an inversion effect would emerge for the recognition of sexualized men, but not women.
Abstract: Objectification refers to treating people as objects rather than persons. When people are sexually objectified, they are reduced to their sexualized bodies or body parts, available for satisfying the desires of others. At the same time, research on object and person recognition suggests that people are perceived configurally, whereas objects are perceived analytically. For example, the inversion effect (i.e, inverted stimuli are more difficult to recognize than upright ones) occurs for person recognition and not object recognition. Based on our suggestion that sexualized women are perceived similarly to objects, we hypothesized that an inversion effect would emerge for the recognition of sexualized men, but not women. Consistently, an inversion effect only occurred for sexualized men, but not women. Implications for objectification theory are discussed.
165 citations
TL;DR: Zhang et al. as discussed by the authors introduced and tested the sexual body part recognition bias hypothesis that women's (versus men's) bodies would be reduced to their sexual body parts in the minds of perceivers.
Abstract: Objectification theory suggests that the bodies of women are sometimes reduced to their sexual body parts. As well, an extensive literature in cognitive psychology suggests that global processing underlies person recognition, whereas local processing underlies object recognition. Integrating these literatures, we introduced and tested the sexual body part recognition bias hypothesis that women’s (versus men’s) bodies would be reduced to their sexual body parts in the minds of perceivers. Specifically, we adopted the parts versus whole body recognition paradigm, which is a robust indicator of local versus global processing. The findings across two experiments showed that women’s bodies were reduced to their sexual body parts in perceivers’ minds. We also found that local processing contributed to the sexual body part recognition bias, whereas global processing tempered it. Implications for sexual objectification and its underlying processes and motives are discussed. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
111 citations
TL;DR: It is found that women with ideal bodies, women with average bodies, and men with ideal body types were more fungible (perceivers made more body-face pairing errors) than men withaverage bodies and it appears that when people are fungible they are interchangeable with people with similar body types.
Abstract: The purpose of this research was to empirically examine the fungibility hypothesis derived from sexual objectification theory. Sexual objectification theorists have suggested that like objects, people, typically women, may be fungible or interchangeable with similar others. Despite its provocative nature and potential adverse psychological consequences, the fungibility hypothesis has yet to be empirically examined. We suggested that women, regardless of body types, but also men with body types that resemble the cultural ideal of attractiveness (e.g., large arms and chests and narrow waists), would be more fungible than men with body types that resemble the cultural average. Participants (n = 66) saw images of average and ideal women and men once before they completed a surprise matching task requiring that they match the bodies and faces that appeared together in the original images. Consistent with hypotheses, we found that women with ideal bodies, women with average bodies, and men with ideal bodies were more fungible (perceivers made more body-face pairing errors) than men with average bodies. Furthermore, it appears that when people are fungible they are interchangeable with people with similar body types. Implications and directions for future research on objectification and fungibility are discussed.
96 citations
TL;DR: This exploratory study found that a video game depicting sexual objectification of women and violence against women resulted in statistically significant increased rape myths acceptance (rape-supportive attitudes) for male study participants but not for female participants.
Abstract: Current research suggests a link between negative attitudes toward women and violence against women, and it also suggests that media may condition such negative attitudes. When considering the tremendous and continued growth of video game sales, and the resulting proliferation of sexual objectification and violence against women in some video games, it is lamentable that there is a dearth of research exploring the effect of such imagery on attitudes toward women. This study is the first study to use actual video game playing and control for causal order, when exploring the effect of sexual exploitation and violence against women in video games on attitudes toward women. By employing a Solomon Four-Group experimental research design, this exploratory study found that a video game depicting sexual objectification of women and violence against women resulted in statistically significant increased rape myths acceptance (rape-supportive attitudes) for male study participants but not for female participants.
93 citations
TL;DR: For example, the authors found that the clothing and accomplishment manipulations significantly affected ratings of the pre-teen's masculine-stereotyped traits such as the least intelligent, competent, determined, and capable.
Abstract: Girls in the United States are increasingly confronted with a sexualized culture, including sexualized clothing made especially for pre-teen girls. Previous research has shown that when adult women are portrayed as sexualized they are seen as less competent. In the present study we depicted a pre-teen girl in sexualized clothing to determine if similar effects would occur as have been found with depictions of adult women. One hundred sixty two male and female students from a small liberal arts college in the Midwestern U.S. looked at one of three images of a fifth-grade girl (obtained from an internet advertisement and manipulated through computer software) who was presented in either childlike clothing, somewhat sexualized clothing, or definitely sexualized clothing. Level of accomplishment was also manipulated so that the girl was described as either average or above average in accomplishment. Participants then rated the girl on ten different traits. The clothing and accomplishment manipulations significantly affected ratings of the girl’s masculine-stereotyped traits such that the girl who was portrayed as more sexualized and less accomplished was seen as the least intelligent, competent, determined, and capable. In addition, the sexualized girl was seen as perhaps “responsible” for her sexualized clothing in that she was rated relatively low in self-respect and morality. Possible implications of the sexualization of girls are discussed.
86 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigate African American women's experiences with sexual objectification and uncover how racist, sexist, and classist ideologies contributed to SOEs among African American female graduate students and others recruited from a campus community.
Abstract: The purpose of our study was to investigate African American women’s experiences with sexual objectification. Utilizing grounded theory methodology as well as Black feminist thought and objectification theory as the research lenses, the results of this study uncovered how racist, sexist, and classist ideologies contributed to sexual objectification experiences (SOEs) among African American women. Twenty African American female graduate students and others recruited from a campus community participated in semistructured interviews. Data revealed a number of different sociocultural factors that contributed to the sexual objectification of African American women (i.e., historical influence of slavery, sexualized views and images of African American women, and patriarchal social structure). These factors were observed to contribute to different forms of sexual objectification, ranging from comments and objectifying gazes to more extreme forms, such as sexual abuse. Participants described a number of effects o...
75 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the use of sexual objectification by popular female music artists in their music videos and obtained a current assessment of the objectification within pop, country, and...
Abstract: The present study examines the use of sexual objectification by popular female music artists in their music videos. To obtain a current assessment of sexual objectification within pop, country, and...
64 citations
TL;DR: The authors found that when people desire successful interactions with others, yet feel uncertain about their ability to navigate others' subjectivity, they downplay others' subjective attributes, focusing instead on their concrete attributes.
25 citations
Journal Article•
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the effect of sexualized portrayals of female artists in music videos on college students' perceptions of date rape and found that females in the high sexualized/objectified condition were more likely to rate the female as responsible for the date rape.
Abstract: This paper examined the effect of sexualized portrayals of female artists in music videos on college students' perceptions of date rape 132 college students were randomly assigned to view a music video that contained either high or low levels of sexuality and sexual objectification and were then asked to rate the guilt of the male in a scenario they read about a date rape between a high school boy and girl Generally, the high sexualized/objectified music video had a greater effect on males' perceptions, decreasing their judgments of guilt and empathy for the victim Additionally, the females in the high sexualized/objectified condition were more likely to rate the female as responsible for the date rape The results are discussed in terms of rape myths and sex role stereotypes Keywords: music videos, rape, media influence ********** Young adults and adolescents are spending increasing amounts of time with various electronic media This includes, but certainly is not limited to, social networking websites such as Facebook[R], video games, television shows, youtube[R] and music videos Teens spend more time interacting with media than any single other waking activity (Roberts, 2000) and the predominant medium is television; subsequently much of the media research involving teens and young adults is about television viewing and music videos' influence have received relatively less research attention in comparison This investigation aims to focus on this gap: how do music videos influence young adults' perceptions of sexual interactions, particularly ones with a violent component? Ward, Hansborough & Walker (2005) conducted one of the seminal studies on music videos' influence on teen behavior They were specifically interested in the relationship between music videos and teens conceptions of masculinity and femininity They conducted a two-pronged investigation In the correlational component, they found that the more music video exposure teens had, the more sex-role stereotypes they endorsed For example, those with more music video exposure were more likely to agree with beliefs such as men are more sex driven than women or women are objects for men's sexual needs For the experimental component of the investigation, Ward et al exposed students to mainstream, commercially available music videos that either contained high levels of sex role stereotyping or low levels The students who were exposed to the higher levels showed greater endorsement of sex roles stereotyping It is important to note that the two groups were not significantly different in their media usage, thereby eliminating the possibility that this effect was simply a function of greater previous music video viewing experience in the high sex role stereotype group Ward and her colleagues argue that this combined experimental and correlational illustration of both short term priming effects and long-term learned associations respectively offers "powerful evidence of the potential contribution of music video exposure in shaping young viewers' beliefs about how women and men should look, act, and behave" (2005, p 159) Ward et al (2005) conducted their work with African American high school students and it is less well known how music videos are perceived by and their influence on young adults Burgess, Dill & Wright (2008) found that college students believed that women are consistently portrayed in a derogatory and sexualized fashion in rap music videos This belief is generally borne out by the examination of rap video content (Armstrong, 2003) It is tempting to think that music videos' poor portrayals of women are limited to this particularly notorious genre, given its frequent criticisms (eg, Wingood et al, 2003), or to assume that at least female artists would be portrayed well in their own videos However, Jhally (2007) has illustrated that women are rarely portrayed well in music videos, as artists or props …
21 citations
12 Oct 2012
TL;DR: In this article, the extent to which female fans partake in the sexual objectification of sportsmen is examined, and how looking at male athletes in sexually desiring ways impacts on the individual and collective construction of women's gender and sports fan identities.
Abstract: The past decade has witnessed a growing focus on the study of women sports fans within the social sciences and related disciplines Emerging from and responding to the historical marginalization of women in sport and the bias towards the male fan in literature on sports spectatorship, critical research on women spectators serves the valuable function of illuminating “women’s everyday experiences of being a sports fan” (Gosling 2007: 250) This chapter considers one aspect of women’s participation as followers of male sports, namely, the extent to which female fans partake in the sexual objectification of sportsmen We aim to assess how looking at male athletes in sexually desiring ways impacts on the individual and collective construction of women’s gender and sports fan identities
TL;DR: In this article, a selection of images of women Olympians who have opted to pose nude in calendars, in Playboy magazine and in mainstream men's magazines is critically analysed based on Nussbaum's theory of objectification, a continuum is developed to analyse the said images.
Abstract: In this essay a selection of images of women Olympians who have opted to pose nude in calendars, in Playboy magazine and in mainstream men's magazines is critically analysed. It is argued that when women athletes pose nude, their talent and incredible skill are trivialised because they are sexually objectified. Based on Nussbaum's theory of objectification, a continuum is developed to analyse the said images. The analysis highlights theories of sexualisation, heteronormative culture, and homophobia which are entangled within the apparent justifications for posing nude. These are rejected in favour of the objectification critique.
DOI•
01 Jan 2012
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the effect of immagini mediatiche on the processo dell'auto-oggettivazione/sorveglianza of giovani adults.
Abstract: PSICOLOGIA SOCIALE n. 2, maggio-agosto 2012 In accordo con la teoria dell’oggettivazione (Fredrickson e Roberts, 1997) sono stati esaminati gli effetti dell’esposizione a immagini mediatiche sessualmente oggettivanti sul processo dell’autooggettivazione e sul benessere psicofisico di giovani adulti. Per le donne l’esposizione a immagini oggettivanti conduce all’auto-oggettivazione/sorveglianza del corpo, aumentando così la vergogna per l’aspetto, che a sua volta è collegata all’insorgenza di disordini alimentari. Gli stessi risultati (seppur più deboli) sono emersi tra gli uomini. Le donne hanno ottenuto punteggi medi significativamente superiori in tutte le variabili precedentemente denominate. Differenze di genere sono emerse anche nel ruolo della sorveglianza e della vergogna come variabili mediatrici. Le implicazioni pratiche vengono discusse. Il corpo oggettivato: media, benessere psicofisico e differenze di genere
TL;DR: This article addresses how masculinity informs their lived experiences of this type of contact by acknowledging that sexual gatekeeping played a vital role in preserving the gender dichotomy that informed the traditional sexual script for participants.
Abstract: Drawing on 20 in-depth interviews with men who reported unwanted sexual experiences with women as adults, this article addresses how masculinity informs their lived experiences of this type of contact. One of the main themes that emerged from this research was that participants constructed masculinity by engaging in sexual gatekeeping or setting limits on women's sexual advances. Whereas sexual gatekeeping has been perceived as a passive role for women, it may be entirely agentic for men. That is, sexual gatekeeping played a vital role in preserving the gender dichotomy that informed the traditional sexual script for our participants. Since it is consistent with masculinity to take a proactive role in heterosexual sex, a man's perceived sexual objectification by an initiative woman can be experienced as a violation. In order to regain their proactive role, male participants set limitations on women's sexual advances.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that the notion of the autonomous subject can be seen as an outgrowth of aesthetic-based feminist claims that equate empowerment with autonomous individual choice, and suggest that the connections between these discursive communities, especially the limits and possibilities of aesthetic resistance tactics, provide critical guidance for collaborative dialogue.
Abstract: In the last decade, hundreds of advocates in blogs, magazines, and social networking sites have promoted modesty as an empowering style. By dressing and acting modestly, girls and young women are promised the capacity to effectively deflect sexual objectification. Popular feminist critics have responded to these efforts by labeling modesty as a postfeminist advocacy that simply employs the language of feminism to promote aims that injure girls and young women and the goals of feminist projects. Reading both discourses that encourage modesty and feminist criticisms of modesty, the article suggests that these discussions use the figure of the autonomous subject to generate a division between modesty and feminisms that limits the capacity for young people’s agency. It argues that modesty might be productively read as an outgrowth of aesthetic-based feminist claims that equate empowerment with autonomous individual choice. As such, the connections between these discursive communities—especially the limits and possibilities of aesthetic resistance tactics—provide critical guidance for collaborative dialogue.
16 Feb 2012
01 Jan 2012
TL;DR: Watson et al. as discussed by the authors investigated a conceptual model of how childhood sexual abuse (CSA) contributes to sexual risk behaviors via self-objectification (S0) and found that CSA predicted increased alexithymia and body shame, whereas body shame decreased SRBs.
Abstract: THE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE, SELFOBJECTIFICATION, AND SEXUAL RISK BEHAVIORS by Laurel B. Watson On a routine and daily basis, women are exposed to sexually objectifying experiences, which result in a number of harmful psychosocial outcomes (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997). Five-hundred and forty-sex women attending a large, Southeastern university participated in this study that investigated a conceptual model of how childhood sexual abuse (CSA) contributes to sexual risk behaviors (SRBs) via selfobjectification (S0). In order to assess the causal relationships among variables, measured variable path analyses were conducted in order to test two theoretical models. The following instruments were used in this investigation: the Sexual Abuse Subscale of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (a measure assessing experiences of childhood sexual abuse [Bernstein, Stein, Newcomb, Walker, Pogge, Ahluvia et al., 2003]); the Body Surveillance Subscale of the Objectified Body Consciousness Scale (a measure assessing self-objectification [McKinley & Hyde, 1996]); the Body Shame Subscale of the Objectified Body Consciousness Scale (a measure assessing body shame [McKinley & Hyde, 1996]); the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (assesses alexithymic symptoms, or difficulty identifying, describing, and expressing one‘s emotions [Bagby, Parker, & Taylor, 1994]), the Contraceptive Self-Efficacy Scale (assesses overall sexual selfefficacy, such as the ability to insist upon sexual protection [Levinson, 1986]), and the Sexual Risk Survey (assesses risky sexual practices [Turkchik & Garske, 2009]). Results revealed that the data fit the second model better than the first. Specifically, data revealed that CSA directly predicted SRBs and was not mediated via SO, but was partially mediated by alexithymia and body shame. That is, CSA predicted increased alexithymia and body shame. Increased alexithymia predicted SRBs, whereas body shame decreased SRBs. Results also revealed that alexithymia and body shame mediated the relationship between SO and SRBs. Specifically, self-objectification led to increased alexithymia and body shame, and alexithymia increased SRBs while body shame decreased SRBs. Last, results revealed that body shame fully mediated the relationship between both CSA and SO and sexual self-efficacy. Pathways were significant at the p < .05 level. THE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE, SELFOBJECTIFICATION, AND SEXUAL RISK BEHAVIORS by Laurel B. Watson
01 Jan 2012
TL;DR: This article investigated women's attitudes toward sexually objectified advertising and replicated the study of Zimmerman & Dahlberg (2008) and found that women do not find sexual objectification to be particularly offensive.
Abstract: This study investigated women’s attitudes toward sexually objectified advertising and replicated the study of Zimmerman & Dahlberg (2008). An online survey among 250 female students shows that they do not find sexually objectified advertising in general to be particularly offensive. Moreover, sexually objectifying advertising does not seem to harm the company image nor general purchase intentions. However, when looking at ads with varying degrees of sexual objectification, we found that ads with high levels of sexual objectification were perceived as unethical and offensive, which translated into a negative attitude toward the ad. We were not able to confirm Zimmerman & Dahlberg’s assertion that the emergence of postfeminism relates to the more favorable attitudes of women toward sexual objectification.
Journal Article•
TL;DR: Sexual objectification is a state where women are viewed only as objects of sexual pleasure and sexual objectification in advertising and media have increased causing a very bad impact on young girls and women leading to various problems like depression, low self esteem etc.
Abstract: Sexual objectification is a state where women are viewed only as objects of sexual pleasure. Women in advertising and media are sexually objectified to sell various products and services and to attract the attention of the consumers. And sexually objectified images of women in advertising have increased causing a very bad impact on young girls and women leading to various problems like depression, low self esteem etc.