Sexual Objectification, Part 2: The Harm

[redqueen]

http://msmagazine.com/blog/blog/2012/07/06/sexual-objectification-part-2-the-harm/

Sexual objectification is nothing new, but this latest era is characterized by greater exposure to advertising and increased sexual explicitness in advertising [PDF], magazines, television shows, movies [PDF], video games, music videos, television news, and “reality” television.

In a culture with widespread sexual objectification, women (especially) tend to view themselves as objects of desire for others. This internalized sexual objectification has been linked to problems with mental health (clinical depression, “habitual body monitoring”), eating disorders, body shame, self-worth and life satisfaction, cognitive functioning, motor functioning, sexual dysfunction [PDF], access to leadership [PDF] and political efficacy [PDF]. Women of all ethnicities internalize objectification, as do men to a far lesser extent.

Beyond the internal effects, sexually objectified women are dehumanized by others and seen as less competent and less worthy of empathy by both men and women. Furthermore, exposure to images of sexually objectified women causes male viewers to be more tolerant of sexual harassment and rape myths. Add to this the countless hours that some girls/women spend primping to garner heterosexual male attention, and the erasure of middle-aged and elderly women who have little value in a society that places women’s primary value on their sexualized bodies.

Theorists [PDF] have contributed to understanding the harm of objectification culture by pointing out the difference between sexy and sexual. If one thinks of the subject/object dichotomy that dominates Western culture, subjects act and objects are acted upon. Subjects are sexual, while objects are sexy.

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[seabeyond]

1. it is interesting how pervasive it has become. it use to not be like this. this extent is new.

Beyond the internal effects, sexually objectified women are dehumanized by others and seen as less competent and less worthy of empathy by both men and women. Furthermore, exposure to images of sexually objectified women causes male viewers to be more tolerant of sexual harassment and rape myths. Add to this the countless hours that some girls/women spend primping to garner heterosexual male attention, and the erasure of middle-aged and elderly women who have little value in a society that places women’s primary value on their sexualized bodies.

dehumanize women. this is the issue. this is what both genders do not get. but, especially women. i think back to growing up. who would want to be thought of this. it was not a good thing. we did not say, oh ya... that is what i want. to see me as a thing to be used. it just was not a thought to most all girls. but, today it is the be all, end all.

Pop culture sells women and girls a hurtful fiction that their value lies in how sexy they appear to others; they learn at a very young age that their sexuality is for others. At the same time, sexuality is stigmatized in women but encouraged in men. We learn that men want and women want-to-be-wanted. The yardstick for women’s value (sexiness) automatically puts them in a subordinate societal position, regardless of how well they otherwise measure up. Perfectly sexy women are perfectly subordinate.

men learn to want. cause it is all about the mans sexuality. women learn to want to be wanted. and it is learned. since son has been dating i am really seeing this. even in this house, even with a man and boys that are more aware than most. there was a conditioning of the girls attractiveness being tied to sons worthiness. one of the best things i did, lol, was draw attention to this. untying the connection of the girls attractiveness to sons worth. once we discussed and brought this into awareness, there was a freeing in his experience. it has made his dating journey more enjoyable, letting that go.

we had a lovely dinner last night with his new girl.

a funny. she was telling us how her parents met. river rafting. there was an accident and a saving. she didnt know the details. i said.... ahhhhh, he saved her.

both hubby and youngest son, at the same time, said: she might have saved him.

using the same words, at the same time. lol. was so cute. i love my guys. even i trip up on conditioning. and there they were to bring me along.

[sufrommich]

2. These articles are great.

"You can't be what you can't see" says one of the women in the short film. We understand that girls need positive role models if they are ever going to be able to see themselves as having equal opportunities and yet some deny that negative sexist images will have any effect on them, that makes absolutely no sense.