Sexual Objectification Of Women

Topics that really hit home for me were the rampant sexual objectification of women and our over dependence on technology, the new age addiction. Caroline Heldman brings into perspective the world of sexually objectifying women from music videos to TV advertisement and the clear line between objectification and empowerment. I think we are living in a very confused society, if we believe that women are empowering themselves when they are used as objects. We are sending a wrong message to the youth of our generation that it is ok to be objects and not be viewed for your intellect. Women are more that beautiful objects to be viewed for pleasure or eye candy (pop culture term), they should be viewed for their strength, love and kindness and help

Because females, and even younger females have started to become very sexualized in the media, these images can start to mold at a young age what a female “should” be like. “Sexualization occurs when women and girls are most valued for their sexual appeal, are sexually objectified, or have sexuality inappropriately forced on them” (American Psychological Association, qtd. in Stone et al. 1604). When media portrays these types of images depicting women to be a certain way, it can cause many issues, such as lower body and self esteem, and even depression (Stone et al. 1605). A study is conducted to see how children perceive sexualized girls, and what traits they should possess, such as being popular or being smart (Stone et al. 1606). Ellen

Objectification theory, first proposed by Barbara Frederickson and Tomi-Ann Roberts in 1997, provided other psychologist with the framework for understanding experience women have through the context of sociocultural aspects that sexually objectifies the female body (Szymanski, Moffitt, & Carr, 2011, p. 6). Many references to the female body equate a woman’s worth with how well she fits within the socially ideal body type and how she functions sexually. Frederickson and Roberts (1997) presented the notion that women were sexually objectified and were seen as only valuable if they have a use to others. They also proposed that women’s body parts were seen as separate from their entire selves and viewed as the point of male desire. The objectification

But what is sexualisation? To understand how sexualisation occurs, we must first know the basics of socialisation. Socialisation is the process of teaching or learning how to be a member of society. It creates what is recognised as gender roles. For example, if a girl is not an object of male sexual desire or does not meet other qualities socialisation promotes she will be seen as an unsuccessful member of society. As a result, through socialisation females believe that their value is determined by their sexual appeal.

I do believe that American society has an inappropriate image of promoting young girls. While shopping at the Tacoma Mall during the holidays, I was appalled with the lacy provocative girl’s underwear (to include thongs). Noticing the well-known brands such as Hanes, Candies and the Gap, I could not help but feel overly sensitive over the lack of respect and sexual-exploitation of our American children.

This over sexualization of female heroes is also addressed by Jessica Andrade (2003) when her findings showed that male viewers choose to watch shows with female leads based solely on the attractiveness of the actress. Continued viewing of the show may be due to various reasons, but the initial hook for males is sex appeal compared to women who watch these shows in order to relate to strong female characters. Hillary Pennell and Elizabeth Behm-Morawitz (2015) focused on the effects that these oversexualized heroines have specifically on the young women that are watching. The use of these astronomically beautiful women that are sexed up can have very negative effects on the body image of a young woman. The super sexualized women in media also dampens young women’s opinions of equality and changes views of how far women have come in their fight for

Objectification of women works with benevolent sexism to further oppress women in the media through its effects on self-esteem and well-being. Rollero’s (2013) article “Men and women facing objectification: The effects of media models on well-being, self-esteem and ambivalent sexism” examines media representations of men and women and how they are related to levels of sexism and psychological well-being. The literature on objectification has mostly indicated the connection between viewing objectified media representations and women’s body displeasure and motivation to achieve a slim body. The goal of the current study was to further past research by studying the effects of objectified media images –considering both male and female models– on psychological well-being, self-regard, and support of sexist states of mind. 166 undergraduates (51.8% males) participated in the study. Results indicated that objectification of men lessened men’s happiness, whereas objectification of women was more damaging because it lessens women’s happiness, appeal and social self-confidence. Furthermore, objectification of women affects men’s validation of sexist attitudes, increasing aggression toward women while decreasing aggression direct to men. Typically, only women are examined in studies of objectification. The inclusion of both male and female effects in the article makes it unique in comparison to other similar studies. Furthermore, the inclusion of both males and females allows for

In 2014 there was an online survey that questioned many women about sexual harassment. In a survey of 811 women, “Over 99 percent of the female respondents said they had experienced some form of street harassment (only three women said they had not). Examples of these gestures would be hip thrusting, hand motions that simulate sex acts, or gestures with mouth or tongue. Over 80% of women have been targets for sexually explicit comments” (Statistics – Stop Street Harassment Studies). Over the last 30 years objectification and sexualization in advertising, media, music videos, video games, and many other platforms. What is sexual objectification? What does sexualizing mean? Sexual objectification is the act of treating a human being as a an

This study will be primarily anchored on the Objectification Theory. Szymanski, Moffitt and Carr (2010) stated that “objectification theory provides an important framework for understanding, researching, and intervening to improve women’s lives in a sociocultural context that sexually objectifies the female body and equates a woman’s worth with her body’s appearance and sexual functions.”

Because of the patriarchal control within pop culture, women are being objectified to please the gender biases of society. Women are forced to present a certain image that fits into pop culture standards as shown in Lady Gaga’s music video “Applause”. Applause is a song written by Lady Gaga in 2013 and was created to express how she appreciates performing because of the support from her fans. This song targets the idea that musicians use their audience’s approval to demonstrate how successful they are. It is a common belief that the less clothing one wears, the more successful they will be. “Perhaps the "porno-ization" of the pop star affords her less protection, allowing the public to blindly accept that these young celebrities are indeed commodities-manufactured, marketed, and sold by their owners,” (Levande 310). This creates the idea that it is okay to objectify young women for approval and audience ratings. However, there is a difference between sexual objectification and sexual empowerment. Some female roles, such as Lady Gaga, are using their bodies for sexual empowerment and are trying to convey the message to their younger audiences that it is okay to be comfortable with your own body. “Rather than expecting girls to “achieve” the ultimate goal of sexual empowerment, it seems that sexual empowerment should be viewed as a long-term developmental process in which girls experience degrees of empowerment,” (Peterson 310). Empowerment is something that young girls can

One of the biggest issues with the sexual objectification of women in the new media is its accessibility; as advertisements in new media are public information, this means that they are omnipresent. Long-term exposure to negative images of women set the infrastructure for the negative effects of self-body image in adulthood by normalising the act of sexualisation, objectification and male sexual violence, especially for a large section of the audience who have access to the media are children and adolescents who are easily influenced; this applies to both male and female readers.

Objectification of women is an ongoing cultural problem in today’s society. Objectification alone generates a disadvantage for women and often times places them in a position of vulnerability. According to Heflick and Goldenberg, A woman’s physical appearance is the prime indicator of why they are facing continuous oppression. When a woman’s physical appearance is valued above anything else, this often leads to the perception that a woman’s physical traits are more important than her mental capacity. This mindset leads to the misconception that women are incapable of doing anything, other than providing sexual pleasure. Degradation of women is highly conspicuous and it is not being eradicated anytime soon. In fact, degradation is allowing women to be seen as objects rather than being seen as actual human beings.

The objectification of women entails several aspects; creating a dilemma they must deal with in our socio-cultural world. Research discussed in the textbook sheds light on how verbal, visual, and mental representations of women in our culture affect how women feel about themselves and how we all think about, and behave toward, women (Crawford, 2012). Sprouting through the level of language, one can begin to observe how this objectification framework led the way for many beliefs. The inequitable treatment of women and men that is built into words is identified as linguistic sexism. Patterns discovered in the language trivialize, sexualize, and devalue women. Researchers also found far more negative sexual terms in English for women than for men, and words referring to women tended to acquire more negative meanings over time (Schultz, 1975). Marriage can be exemplified in this case, language traditionally labeled women as the possessions of men with the advent use of Mrs. or Miss. Also, the ritual of a wife taking her husband’s name upon legal union is quite common to this day. We can continue to observe verbal objectification with slang language. The most common terms for women show to be more negative & sexual. In the film, Caya and Zulema are having lunch when they begin to discuss phrases that they will say to men while having intercourse. Some of the phrases mentioned were, ‘stick it to me’, ‘deeper’, and ‘fill me up with cream’. Babe, doll, honey, & tart are also

In this chapter, the researchers intend to move closer in understanding objectification of women using the Objectification Theory and Erotic Capital Theory. Through these theories and the methods to be used, the researchers aim to describe how women are presented in the videos of R-Breezy, analyze how women are portrayed in the R-Breezy’s Facebook page in the contexts of objectification and sexualization, determine why the women featured in the videos of R-Breezy allow such objectification and sexualization, and analyze the implications of women’s objectification on the perpetuation of women as sex objects.

This course made me analyze some aspects in my life that either I forgot or never though about it. I discovered that I can interact with many unknown individuals without been afraid of been judge by my acts. With all the writing done in this class I feel more confident that I can write about any subject.