Showing papers on "Sexual objectification published in 2015"

Experiences of Sexual Objectification, Minority Stress, and Disordered Eating Among Sexual Minority Women

Abstract: Our study extended a modified version of objectification theory to a sample of sexual minority women in order to understand their experiences with body image and disordered eating concerns Specifi

“Stop looking at me!”: Interpersonal sexual objectification as a source of insidious trauma.

Abstract: Objectification has been conceptualized as a form of insidious trauma, but the specific relationships among objectification experiences, self-objectification, and trauma symptoms have not yet been investigated. Participants were women with (n = 136) and without (n = 201) a history of sexual trauma. They completed a survey measuring trauma history, objectification experiences (body evaluation and unwanted sexual advances), constructs associated with self-objectification (body surveillance and body shame), and trauma symptoms. The relationships among the variables were consistent for both women with and without a history of sexual trauma. Our hypothesized path model fit equally well for both groups. Examination of the indirect effects showed that experiencing unwanted sexual advances was indirectly related to trauma symptoms through body shame for those with and without a history of sexual trauma. Additionally, for women with a history of sexual trauma, the experience of body evaluation was indirectly relat...

You Looking at Her “Hot” Body May Not be “Cool” for Me: Integrating Male Partners’ Pornography Use into Objectification Theory for Women

Abstract: Within objectification theory research, sexual objectification is typically operationalized as interpersonal sexual objectification—being targets of body evaluation and unwanted sexual advances. We...

Relations of Sexual Objectification and Racist Discrimination with Latina Women’s Body Image and Mental Health

Abstract: In the current study, we tested direct and mediated associations of objectification theory constructs and racist discrimination with eating disorder and depressive symptomatology in a sample of 180 Latina women (age range = 18-66). Results of a path analysis indicated that internalization of sociocultural standards of attractiveness was related to greater eating disorder and depressive symptomatology in part through the mediating roles of body shame and body surveillance, and body surveillance was related to greater eating disorder and depressive symptomatology through the mediating role of body shame. Sexual objectification did not yield hypothesized direct and indirect unique relations with criterion variables. However, racist discrimination was directly associated with greater depressive symptomatology and indirectly associated, through the mediating role of body shame, with greater eating disorder and depressive symptomatology. These results extend tenets of objectification theory to Latina women and ...

The Exonerating Effect of Sexual Objectification: Sexual Objectification Decreases Rapist Blame in a Stranger Rape Context

Abstract: A blossoming body of research documents the effect of sexual objectification on social perception, but little is known about the consequences of sexual objectification. This paper examines how sexual objectification influences men and women’s rape perceptions in case of a stranger rape. We hypothesized that victims’ sexual objectification might diminish rapist blame and increase victim blame in cases of stranger rape. Fifty-eight male and 57 female Belgian undergraduate students were assigned to either a sexual objectifying (i.e., body focus) or to a personalized portrayal (i.e., face focus) of a rape victim. After reading a newspaper report depicting a stranger rape, participants were asked to evaluate the extent to which they blamed the rapist and the victim. As predicted, participants blamed the rapist less in the sexual objectification condition, regardless of participant gender. In contrast, sexual objectification did not increase victim blame. These results have implications for the well-being of rape victims, as well as for the functioning of justice if it leads authorities to show leniency towards the length of penalty a rapist may receive. The implications of these findings for future research on sexual objectification and gender differences in rape perception are also discussed.

Understanding the Relationships Among White and African American Women’s Sexual Objectification Experiences, Physical Safety Anxiety, and Psychological Distress

Abstract: Fredrickson and Roberts (1997) asserted that sexual objectification experiences are likely related to women’s physical safety anxiety; however, to date, very few studies have examined this relationship. Using a sample of 228 U.S. undergraduate women (n = 133 Black/African American; n = 95 White) from a Southeastern university, this study explored the relationships among sexual objectification experiences, physical safety concerns (i.e., perceived risk of crime, fear of crime, and fear of rape), and overall psychological distress. Findings revealed that Black/African American women reported more sexual objectification experiences and fear of crime than White women. Results of a measured variable path analysis suggested that perceived risk of crime fully mediated the relationships between sexual objectification experiences and fear of crime for both groups of women. Moreover, perceived risk of crime fully mediated the relationship between sexual objectification experiences and psychological distress for Black/African American women, but not White women. For White women only, fear of rape partially mediated the relationship between perceived risk of crime and fear of crime, and perceived risk of crime fully mediated the relationship between sexual objectification experiences and fear of rape. Taken together, the results suggest that a sociocultural context that objectifies women and their bodies is related to their sense of safety and security in the world.

Exploring Associations Between Exposure to Sexy Online Self-Presentations and Adolescents’ Sexual Attitudes and Behavior

Abstract: Previous research suggests that adolescents' social network site use is related to their sexual development. However, the associations between adolescents' exposure to sexy self-presentations of others on social network sites and their sexual attitudes and experience have not yet been empirically supported. This study investigated reciprocal longitudinal relationships between adolescents' exposure to others' sexy self-presentations on social network sites and their sexual attitudes (i.e., sexual objectification of girls and instrumental attitudes towards sex) and sexual experience. We further tested whether these associations depended on adolescents' age and gender. Results from a representative two-wave panel study among 1,636 Dutch adolescents (aged 13-17, 51.5 % female) showed that exposure to sexy online self-presentations of others predicted changes in adolescents' experience with oral sex and intercourse 6 months later, but did not influence their sexual attitudes. Adolescents' instrumental attitudes towards sex, in turn, did predict their exposure to others' sexy online self-presentations. Sexual objectification increased such exposure for younger adolescents, but decreased exposure for older adolescents. In addition, adolescents' experience with genital touching as well as oral sex (only for adolescents aged 13-15) predicted their exposure to sexy self-presentations of others. These findings tentatively suggest that the influence on adolescents' sexual attitudes previously found for sexual media content may not hold for sexy self-presentations on social network sites. However, exposure to sexy self-presentations on social network sites is motivated by adolescents' sexual attitudes and behavior, especially among young adolescents.

Linking Sexually Objectifying Work Environments Among Waitresses to Psychological and Job-Related Outcomes

Abstract: The purpose of our study was to examine the relationships between experiences of working in sexually objectifying environments (SOEs) and psychological and job-related outcomes in a sample of 253 waitresses working in U.S. restaurants. Supporting our hypotheses, results indicated that SOEs were significantly positively correlated with waitresses’ experiences of interpersonal sexual objectification at work, internalization of cultural standards of beauty, and depression as well as negatively correlated with job satisfaction. Contrary to our hypotheses, SOEs were not directly related to self-objectification, body shame, self-esteem, or health habits. Furthermore, our findings revealed support for a theorized five-chain serial mediation model in which SOEs were related to job satisfaction both directly and indirectly via classic objectification theory processes (i.e., interpersonal experiences of sexual objectification in the restaurant environment, self-objectification, body shame, and depression). Finally,...

Body Esteem and Self-Objectification Among Collegiate Female Athletes: Does Societal Objectification Make a Difference?

Abstract: The purpose of our study was to use select constructs from objectification theory to investigate how society’s sexual objectification of female athletes is related to differences in body esteem and self-objectification among collegiate female athletes and non-athletes. Using a cross-sectional survey, we sampled three groups at a Division I National Collegiate Athletic Association university: 322 non-athletes, 58 athletes participating in sports that are considered more objectified, and 27 athletes participating in sports that are considered less objectified. Participants completed survey measures assessing body esteem (sexual attractiveness, weight concern, and physical condition), body surveillance, thin-ideal internalization, and body shame. As predicted, all athletes experienced better body esteem than non-athletes. Surprisingly, both more and less objectified athletes also reported lower rates of body surveillance than non-athletes. Other findings varied by grouping. Overall, study findings suggested ...

Body Image, Objectification, and Attitudes Toward Cosmetic Surgery

Abstract: Objectification theory has been used to explain how women's experiences of sexual objectification results in self-objectification, self-surveillance, and body shame, with emerging research linking these factors with positive attitudes toward cosmetic surgery. The present study aimed to further examine the utility of the objectification model in predicting women's interest in cosmetic surgery. Participants were 233 Australian female undergraduate students who completed an online questionnaire. The results from two multiple regression analyses supported the hypotheses that sexual objectification, self-objectification, self-surveillance, and body shame predicted an increased acceptance as well as consideration of cosmetic surgery. The results suggest that objectification theory is a useful framework in explaining Australian women's desire for cosmetic surgery, highlighting the need for further investigation into positive body image.

Sexual objectification pushes women away: The role of decreased likability

Abstract: The present investigation examined the effect of sexual objectification on women's intention to affiliate with men. We predicted that women would perceive an objectifier as less likable following sexual objectification and thus would distance themselves from the perpetrator. Study 1 found that objectification led female participants to perceive their male partner as less likable and to be less willing to affiliate with the partner. Study 2 replicated Study 1 in a concurrent interpersonal interaction and extended these effects to a man having a similar background with the perpetrator. Study 3 showed that power moderated the effect of sexual objectification on women's interaction intention such that only women with equal or low power (as compared to the objectifier) decreased their affiliation intention toward the objectifier, whereas high-power women did not show this effect. Implications of these findings were discussed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Potential Impact of Rape Culture on Juror Decision Making: Implications for Wrongful Acquittals in Sexual Assault Trials

Abstract: Feminist writers contend that Americans live in a culture that supports sexualized aggression and violence against women. This "rape culture" is reflected in our society by the pervasive endorsement of rape myths and sexual objectification of women, both of which are legitimized by everyday media. One potential consequence of living in a rape culture is that individuals may themselves come to endorse rape myths and sexually objectify women, and, in turn, perceive certain forms of sexual violence against women as defensible. This is concerning considering the significant role that laypeople play in administering justice in sexual assault cases, but research has yet to consider the impact rape culture may have on juror decision making. We review the concept of rape culture, explain the psychological process by which rape culture might influence juror decision making in sexual assault trials, review evidence for our hypotheses from the extant literature, and, finally, discuss future research directions and potential policy implications. I. INTRODUCTION Sexual assault of women by men (1) is a significant problem in the United States, as approximately one in five women are victimized over the course of their lives. (2) Despite the wide scope of this problem, it has been estimated that at best only five percent of sexual assaults result in a criminal conviction. (3) This low conviction rate can be attributed, in part, to the rape culture that exists in the United States. That is, the perpetuation of rape myths, sexual objectification of women, and media's legitimization of sexual aggression and violence against women are pervasive throughout American society, (4) and this culture affects the extent to which women victims come forward to report their experiences and, subsequently, how their cases are handled in the criminal justice system. For example, rape culture legitimizes erroneous beliefs about what constitutes "real rape" (5) and women's responsibility for avoiding victimization. (6) Consequently, sexual assaults are particularly likely to go unreported in cases in which women knew their assailant, (7) were not threatened by a weapon, (8) or did not sustain physical injuries, (9) and when women blame themselves for being victimized. (10) This is important to understand considering that approximately sixty-four percent of women do not report their sexual assault experiences to the police. (11) Rape culture also impacts the likelihood that sexual assault will be criminally prosecuted. For example, Kerstetter and Van Winkle found that women who were raped by a stranger were less likely to pursue criminal charges if they violated one or more traditional sex role norms (e.g., the woman had been in a bar alone, she had invited the man to her home) as compared to if they did not. (12) Justice is further precluded by the fact that prosecutors are more likely to perceive cases as "winnable" when evidentiary characteristics of the assault conform to narrow definitions of real rape; for example, electing to prosecute cases in which women were subdued by a weapon more often than other cases. (13) Our primary goal, however, is to examine whether rape culture also contributes to low conviction rates in sexual assault cases through its influence on jurors, who play a significant role in administering justice in sexual assault cases. (14) Kalven and Zeisel's classic study of jury decision making revealed that juries were four times more likely to convict when sexual assault cases involved aggravating factors such as stranger assailants, multiple assailants, or violence as compared to when they did not. (15) Further, judges and juries reached the same verdict (guilty) in eighty-eight percent of cases with aggravating factors but only agreed on a guilty verdict in forty percent of other sexual assault cases. (16) Disagreement was explained primarily by the fact that, in cases in which women could be perceived as contributing to their victimization, judges found sufficient evidence of guilt to convict the defendant but juries did not. …

The Media’s Sexual Objectification of Women, Rape Myth Acceptance, and Interpersonal Violence

Abstract: A new trend has emerged in print advertisements by which women’s bodies are literally morphed into objects. This study begins to explore this phenomenon by examining the effects of viewing these types of advertisements on attitudes toward rape and violence, as well as rape likelihood. In addition, this study examined the degree to which moral disengagement and dehumanization influences rape likelihood through rape myth acceptance. Three hundred eighty participants viewed 1 of 3 conditions—control, sexual objectification of women, or women as objects—and then filled out a number of questionnaires to assess their rape myth acceptance, acceptance of interpersonal violence, rape likelihood, and moral disengagement. Results indicated that although viewing sexually objectified women in advertising did not increase any of the dependent variables for individuals in the experimental conditions compared to the control condition, there was a main effect of sex for several dependent measures, as well as a full mediat...

Self-Objectification and Condom Use Self-Efficacy in Women University Students

Abstract: This study investigated the roles of indicators of the self-objectification process in women's condom use self-efficacy. Data were collected from 595 college women. Self-objectification variables were assessed with measures of internalization of cultural standards of beauty, body surveillance, and body shame. Participants also completed measures of perceived control over sexual activity, acceptance of sexuality, and condom use self-efficacy. Measurement and structural invariance were supported, indicating that the measurement model and hypothesized structural model did not differ across participants who were or were not sexually active. Structural equation modeling results were consistent with hypotheses and prior evidence indicating that body surveillance partially mediated the link between internalization of cultural standards of beauty and body shame. Results also indicated that body shame was associated with lower condom use self-efficacy both directly and indirectly through the partial mediation of perceived control over sexual activity; acceptance of sexuality was not a significant mediator of this link but was associated directly with greater condom use self-efficacy. These results connect the substantial literature on the self-objectification process with women's condom use self-efficacy. Specifically, these results point to interrupting the self-objectification process and reducing body shame as well as to enhancing acceptance of sexuality and control over sexual activity as potentially fruitful targets for interventions to promote women's condom use self-efficacy.

Masculinities, alcohol consumption, and sexual risk behavior among male tavern attendees: A qualitative study in North West Province, South Africa.

Abstract: Alcohol consumption is strongly associated with sexual risk behavior and HIV infection in sub-Saharan Africa. This article seeks to explore the role of constructions of masculinity in men’s drinking and sexual risk behavior in drinking venues (bars and taverns) in 2 rural villages of North West Province South Africa. Ten focus groups were conducted with 58 bar patrons and servers. Four focus groups consisted of female bar patrons 4 consisted of male bar patrons and 2 consisted of male bar managers and servers. The participants’ ages ranged from 18 to 43 years and they were interviewed using focus group discussion guides with open-ended questions. Key themes identified through thematic analysis were (a) men’s high levels of alcohol consumption (b) men’s tendency to blame women for men’s proneness to risky sex when drinking (c) men’s sexual objectification of women and (d) the far-reaching consequences of sexism and violence perpetrated by men. Policies to promote gender equality are needed to ensure that men are more gender-sensitive engage in more balanced gender relationships and do not uphold any destructive gender stereotypes.

The cognitive tax of self- objectification; Examining sexually objectifying music videos and female emerging adults' cognitive processing of subsequent advertising

Abstract: Objectification theory (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997, Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21, 173–206) posits that a consequence of living in a sexually objectifying culture is self-objectification, a cognitively taxing preoccupation with one’s appearance. The present study investigated the effects of exposure to sexual objectification of female artists in music videos, on female emerging adults’ self-objectification and their ability to cognitively process subsequent television commercials. Results indicated that exposure to music videos high in sexual objectification induced self-objectification and hindered participants’ subsequent performance in encoding visual information from commercials, but did not diminish participants’ ability to allocate resources to, or to recall factual information from, the commercials.

Family Contexts of Informal Sex Education: Young Men's Perceptions of First Sexual Images

Abstract: Coming of age sexually is fraught with contradictory societal messages regarding sexual agency, repression, and exploitation. Traditional sexual scripts position boys as more sexual than girls (Giordano, Longmore, & Manning, 2006; Peter & Valkenburg, 2007) and as less in need of protection or guidance in learning about sex (Bragg, Buckingham, Russell, & Willett, 2011). Yet there are consequences of the limited communication and supervision in the sexual discovery phase. These consequences include messages that reinforce the sexual double standard, the sexual objectification of women, and the discomfort and anxieties about what it means to be a responsible sexual adult (Ott, 2010; Tolman, Striepe, & Harmon, 2003; Ward, 2003; West, 1999).Males are rarely the focus of child and adolescent sexuality research, making the emergence of male sexuality poorly understood (Bragg et al., 2011; Smith, Guthrie, & Oakley, 2005; Tolman et al., 2003). Much of the literature on male sexuality in childhood and adolescence has focused on gender differences in sexual values and attitudes, with the assumption that adolescent males are more permissive than females and more powerful in the context of a romantic dyad (Giordano et al., 2006). Recent research has critiqued the presumption that young males are more permissive, rational, and knowledgeable about sex, reporting that male adolescents are similar to females in desiring closeness and intimacy (Giordano et al., 2006; Ott, 2010) and that they are more driven by the need for emotional closeness than a predatory sense of entitlement (Tolman et al., 2003).Sexual socialization is a gradual developmental process that occurs throughout life, a notion that is contrary to the idea that parents provide their children with the one-time, verbal "sex talk" (Davies & Gentile, 2012; Ward, 2003). Although most children first learn about sex from their parents in the home environment, as they develop, their understanding is fleshed out by peers and sexualized media. Later middle childhood (ages 8-10) is a critical time in a child's life (Gentile, Nathanson, Rasmussen, Reimer, & Walsh, 2012); during this developmental period a child's sense of self as an individual with a unique personality emerges. Prior to adolescence, same-sex peers are very important in sharing the learning process about sexuality. During adolescence, sexual behavior becomes more normative, particularly with opposite-sex peers. Aspects of adolescent sexual development include readiness for, curiosity about (e.g., wanting to know how it feels), and anticipation of sex (Ott, 2010).Sexualized media, both implicit and explicit, have become even more critical than parents or peers in influencing a child or adolescent's emerging sense of self and sexual knowledge (Brown & L'Engle, 2009). The Kaiser Family Foundation's (2001) study of young adolescents found that they rated entertainment media as their number one source of information about sex-related topics. Sexual content is pervasive, and young people have many accessible resources (e.g., smartphones, televisions, computers; Kaestle, Halpern, & Brown, 2007; Ward, 2003).In the current study, we examined young men's reflections on their personal reactions and the social contexts in which they first realized that they were seeing a sexual image. Using a feminist framework, we challenged the prevailing assumptions about how boys internalize and act on familial and societal messages about normative masculinity and sexuality (Allen, Husser, Stone, & Jordal, 2008; Sprague, 2005; Tolman et al., 2003). This critical feminist perspective views gendered identities and relationships as a manifestation of power and is useful for understanding how gendered individuals perceive and make meaning of their sexual experiences within a sociocultural and sociopolitical context. This feminist framework also corresponds with the qualitative nature of our study, in that we asked young men to reflect on the meanings they attributed to seeing a sexual image for the first time. …

Sexual Objectification, Self-Objectification, Body Appreciation, and Quality of the Sexual Relationship in Relation to Preventative Sexual Health Behaviors in a Sample of Emerging Adult Women

Abstract: PhD, Philosophy – Social Work, University of Kansas – Lawrence, Kansas (2015) Dissertation: “Sexual Objectification, Self-Objectification, Body Appreciation, and Quality of the Sexual Relationship in Relation to Preventative Sexual Health Behaviors in a Sample of Emerging Adult Women” Committee Members: Toni Johnson, Michelle Johnson-Motoyama, Charlene Muehlenhard, Anne Williford; Advisor: Margaret Severson MSW, Community Organizing and Health Concentration, University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, Michigan (2003) BSW, University of Kansas – Lawrence, Kansas (2002)

Women and the Experience of Serious Mental Illness and Sexual Objectification: Multicultural Feminist Theoretical Frameworks and Therapy Recommendations

Abstract: As Objectification Theory (Frederickson & Roberts, 1997) has advanced, the implications of the experience of sexual objectification of women have increasingly been identified. Objectification Theory provides a feminist theoretical framework for understanding the unique experiences of women who live in a culture that objectifies and sexualizes their bodies. This theory has now been linked to mental health problems such as depression, eating disorders, body shame, substance abuse, and sexual dysfunction (for a review, see Moradi & Huang, 2008). However, the intersections of sexual objectification and serious mental illness among women have not been sufficiently researched. This article will explore the intersections of the experience of sexual objectification and serious mental illness among women from a Multicultural Feminist Therapy framework, offering implications and recommendations for the therapeutic context.

Chinese proverbs: How are women and men represented?

Abstract: Chinese proverbs, a mode of language that children encounter in their early stage of learning, are important tools with which to instil values and transform the social order. Any biases hidden in them may affect children’s self-images and their perceptions of others. The present study examines the images of men and women represented in Chinese proverbs as found in a dictionary published in Hong Kong. Despite the absence of the under-representation of women, gender inequality is evident in the stereotypical depiction of women, who are described as dependent on and submissive to men, and who are valued for their physical charm, chastity, domestic roles and ability to bear sons to continue the family line. For men, on the other hand, values are placed on their talents, friendship building and such personal attributes as bravery, modesty and kindness. Men’s fondness for women is neutrally or positively portrayed as unrestrained or romantic, reflecting the sexual objectification of women. Male supremacy is also evident in the common use of masculine generic constructions and male-firstness in Chinese proverbs.

Analysis of representation of sexuality on women's and men's pornographic websites

Abstract: We investigated how the sexuality of men and women is represented on pornographic websites aimed at women and pornographic websites aimed at men. We analyzed 200 pornographic images randomly selected from 4 websites (2 aimed at women and 2 aimed at men). The criteria for comparison were based on concepts of sexual inequality and sexual objectification that have been commonly used in the literature on analyses of pornography content. The findings showed that websites containing pornography aimed at men were more likely than the websites aimed at women to include content with elements of sexual inequality, whereas websites aimed at women were more likely than the websites aimed at men to include content with elements of sexual objectification.

Commentary “The sexualized-body-inversion hypothesis revisited: Valid indicator of sexual objectification or methodological artifact?”

Abstract: Recent objectification research found results consistent with the sexualized body-inversion hypothesis (SBIH): People relied on analytic, “object-like” processing when recognizing sexualized female bodies and on configural processing when recognizing sexualized male bodies (Bernard et al., 2012). Specifically, Bernard et al. (2012) showed that perceivers were better at recognizing sexualized male bodies when the bodies were presented upright than upside down, whereas this pattern did not emerge for sexualized female bodies; thus, male bodies were recognized configurally similar to other human stimuli whereas female bodies were recognized analytically, similarly to most objects (see Kostic, 2013 for an exact replication). Based on two studies, Schmidt and Kistemaker (2015) concluded that Bernard et al. (2012)'s findings were: (i) due to a symmetry confound; (ii) not due to target's sexualization. This commentary challenges these conclusions.

Offensive advertising in the fashion industry: Sexual objectification and ethical judgments of consumers

Abstract: Facebook pages of two selected companies were examined: Dolce & Gabbana (D&G) and American Apparel (AA) The current study compares two brands with different target markets, products, and price points, both of which are known for their provocative and controversial advertising campaigns This study aims to understand consumers' perceptions of the controversial marketing practices based on the two theories of sexual objectification and ethical judgments, using qualitative content analysis Our findings confirm that sexual appeal is no longer a compelling factor in advertising for consumers Consumers noted problems with branding strategies that have been used by AA, claiming such advertising harms their brand image Considering the brand's financial struggles and media criticism aimed at it, it would seem wise for AA to cease its inappropriate marketing campaigns and focus on ethical marketing claims It is time for the company to consider its role in social responsibility from both the ideological and uti

Objectification in Virtual Romantic Contexts: Perceived Discrepancies between Self and Partner Ideals Differentially affect Body Consciousness in Women and Men.

Abstract: The current study examined whether exposure to sexually objectifying images in a potential romantic partner’s virtual apartment affects discrepancies between people’s perception of their own appearance (i.e., self-perceptions) and their perception of the body ideal that is considered desirable to a romantic partner (i.e., partner-ideals). Participants were 114 heterosexual undergraduate students (57 women and 57 men) from a northeastern U.S. university. The study used a 2 (Participant Gender) × 2 (Virtual Environment: Sexualized vs. Non-Sexualized) between-subjects design. We predicted that women exposed to sexually objectifying images in a virtual environment would report greater discrepancies between their self-perceptions and partner-ideals than men, which in turn would contribute to women’s body consciousness. Findings support this hypothesis and show that perceived discrepancies account for the relationship between exposure to sexually objectifying images and body consciousness for women but not men. We also found gender asymmetries in objectification responses when each component of perceived discrepancies, i.e., self-perceptions versus perceptions of a romantic partner’s body ideal, were examined separately. For men, exposure to muscular sexualized images was significantly associated with their self-perceptions but not their perceptions of the body size that is considered desirable to a romantic partner. For women, exposure to thin sexualized images was significantly associated with their perceptions that a romantic partner preferred a woman with a smaller body size. However, exposure to these images did not affect women’s self-perceptions. Implications for gender asymmetries in objectification responses and perceived discrepancies that include a romantic partner’s perceptions are discussed.

The Spanish Adaptation of the Interpersonal Sexual Objectification Scale (ISOS)

Abstract: Background: Sexual objectification of women is a subtle manifestation of gender violence. The aim of this study was to adapt the 15-item Interpersonal Sexual Objectification Scale (ISOS) to Spanish to obtain a valid instrument to evaluate this construct. Method: After its adaptation, the questionnaire was administered to 771 women from the general population. Subsequently, the psychometric properties of the questionnaire were evaluated from both the classical perspective and item response theory. Results: The data obtained were very similar to those of the original version. The ISOS showed good internal consistency and a two-factor structure: body evaluation and unwanted explicit sexual advances. In addition, the ISOS showed correlations with benevolent sexism, state-anxiety and self-esteem. Conclusions: The Spanish version of the ISOS is a reliable and valid measure of sexual objectification of women in the interpersonal context.

Postfeminism, Girls and Young Women, and Digital Media

Abstract: This chapter provides an overview of the key contextual factors I wish to highlight in situating the media practices and self-representations discussed in this book within “postfeminist” digital culture. It is helpful to remember some of the key concerns of feminist media scholars working in the 1970s in situating the current cultural and techno-social context as postfeminist. I thus begin this chapter by outlining some of the key problems and concerns around the representation of women identified by feminist scholars in various spheres of visual culture—television, art, theatre, and film—in the 1970s and 1980s. I then describe some of the changes feminist scholars of media and culture have noted in the cultural landscape of the late-1980s onward, positioned centrally as postfeminist in terms of cultural, political, and social shifts that were provoked in key ways by the second wave feminist movement. Here I am concerned primarily with cultural shifts. A central shift in representations of women in visual culture noted by Rosalind Gill (2003) is from sexual objectification to sexual subjectification, as I explain. New modes of youthful femininity have been identified in media representations of women, and media and culture aimed at girls and young women. Along with more “active” and “desiring” constructions of sexuality, cultural scholars have noted that in postfeminist mediascapes girls and young women are depicted and addressed as fun-loving, consumption focused, and more “empowered,” active, and bold, physically, socially, and psychologically.

“Shredding” the Love A Feminist Political Economy Critique of Gendered Lifestyle Branding

Abstract: This manuscript takes the controversy over Burton’s “Love” snowboard, which featured Playboy Playmates, as a case study for understanding contemporary practices of gendered lifestyle branding in alternative sport. I employ a feminist political economic critique of the Love as a form of gendered branding that constructs the Burton brand as a “platform for action,” inviting male riders to construct “authentic” and countercultural identities and female riders to construct “empowered” postfeminist identities. Drawing on scholarship on the sexual objectification of women in alternative sports media, I argue protests against the board focused only on the board’s representations and failed to account for new branding strategies that relegitimate how “sex sells” at the present conjuncture and missed opportunities to build coalitions against sexism within the snowboarding industry.

Chick Flicks and the Straight Female Gaze: Sexual Objectification and Sex Negativity in New Moon, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Magic Mike, and Fool's Gold

Abstract: 1In her landmark article "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema," Laura Mulvey's analysis of scopophilia in classic Hollywood cinema reveals the existence and impact of the male gaze. The article, published in 1975, characterizes the industry as dominated by the heterosexual male's pleasure in looking. Mulvey examines how this gaze affects the gendered representations of bodies on screen. She writes:In a world ordered by sexual imbalance, pleasure in looking has been split between active/male and passive/female. The determining male gaze projects its fantasy onto the female figure, which is styled accordingly. In their traditional exhibitionist role women are simultaneously looked at and displayed, with their appearance coded for strong visual and erotic impact so that they can be said to connotate to-be-looked-at-ness. (2088)Here Mulvey establishes a binary: woman as spectacle and man as spectator. Her argument, which she makes in regard to classic Hollywood movies, has become fundamental to film studies and applied by scholars to a wide array of films. In so doing, however, many have critiqued the binary Mulvey posits in "Visual Pleasure" for oversimplifying scopophilia by disregarding the dynamics of the female gaze.2In response to such criticism, Mulvey analyzes the role of the female spectator in her essay "Afterthoughts on 'Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema' inspired by Duel in the Sun." This piece, published in 1981, describes the female spectator either as unable to identify with the (male) hero on screen or "secretly, unconsciously almost, enjoying the freedom of action and control over the diegetic world that identification with a hero provides" (70). In the case of the latter, Mulvey remarks that the female spectator will undergo a complex struggle between masculinity and femininity, one that parallels the struggle Freud describes between active and passive experienced by young girls in their early development. Indeed, Mulvey states that "the female spectator's phantasy of masculinization [is] at cross-purposes with itself, restless in its transvestite clothes" (79). In "Afterthoughts," Mulvey makes room for the female spectator, but does not address the possibility of the female gaze. She does not consider that beyond identifying, or not identifying, with the (male) hero as a subject, the female spectator might turn her gaze upon him as an object (of visual pleasure). However, film studies should consider not only the dynamics of the female as spectator, but also of the male as spectacle. As Harry M. Benshoffand Sean Griffin point out, "Representations of men are just as socially constructed as are those of women, and need to be explored in a similar manner" (245). Benshoffand Griffin highlight a blind spot in film studies, calling for scholarship that balances Mulvey's binary in "Visual Pleasure." The erotic spectacle of the male body on screen is particularly important for analysis in light of the emerging trend of male sexual objectification in cinema.3Several scholars in film studies have noted the sexual objectification of men on screen in action movies. This genre, with its reputation for featuring guns, explosions, and cleavage, traditionally caters to the heterosexual male gaze. The sensationalization of violence and the sexual objectification of Megan Fox throughout Transformers (2007) are characteristic. However, more and more action movies invite the heterosexual female gaze by showcasing men's bodies as well, such as, for example, Ryan Reynolds's in Blade Trinity (2004). Other popular examples of male spectacle include the bodies of Vin Diesel in The Fast and the Furious (2001), Gerard Butler in 300 (2006), and Hugh Jackman in X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009). Yvonne Tasker observes that "As with the figure of the showgirl that Laura Mulvey refers to in classic Hollywood films, contemporary American action movies work hard, and often at the expense of narrative development, to contrive situations for the display of the hero's body" (79). …