Theories Of Sexual Objectification

The sexualization of young girls and women in society is a prevalent theme in mass media. Presently, the sexualization of females is commonly seen in various consumer items like clothes, dolls, and even in Disney movies, according to “The Sexualization of Girls Is Harmful” article. The author says that sexualization occurs when “a person’s value comes only from his or her sexual appeal or behavior; a person is held to a standard that equates physical attractiveness with being sexy; a person is sexually objectified- made into a thing for others’ sexual use; and sexuality is inappropriately imposed upon a person (AboutKidsHealth).” Furthermore, the author provides statistics on how girls are being sexualized by the products they see and use

Major Claim: The objectification and “currency” of a women’s body is the pivotal focus for the readings presented in class. It is discussed in the readings about how women are only considered for their looks, and not their personal depth or knowledge. Additionally, intersectionality is observed and how these objectifications effect marginalized groups. Finally, the term of enlightened sexism is introduced and how this concept is dangerous to and reverses feminism.

1. INTRODUCTION:
My analysis on the current literature shows that scholars have examined sexualisation of culture from different perspectives but they seem to agree in general that this societal phenomenon has grown very complex. Therefore, scholars should consider the intersectional approach more often due to the approach’s abilities to recognise complex phenomena and to systematically analyse them.

Despite the fact that many men continue to deny that women are objectified, being viewed as an object created solely as a means of pleasure for men is a reality for anyone who was born biologically female. Proving that women are considered less valuable than men is the statistic that women make only 70% of what men in a similar career earns (Ravelli & Webber 214). The sexaul double standard contributes to this idea as well which means that women who engage in sexual activities are “promiscuous” (Ravelli & Webber 237) or “whores” (Ravelli & Webber 237) while men who behave similarly are “Studs” (Ravelli & Webber 237) and women who do not engage in sexual activities are “virgins” (Ravelli & Webber 237) or “Madonna’s” (Ravelli & Webber 237). There are only two portrayals of women and both of these refer to her sexual activities. There are also outrageous definitions of beauty portrayed in the media to

If you turn on the television or flip through a fashion magazine, it is very likely you will presented with many displays of hypersexualization of girls and women in advertising images and in media. There are many components to sexualization. It occurs, according to the American Psychological Association, when “a person’s value comes only from his or her sexual appeal or behavior, to the exclusion of other characteristics.” This person is held to a standard that equates physical attractiveness with being sexy. “Sexualization” happens when a person is sexually objectified- that is, made into a thing for others’ sexual use, rather than being seen as a person with their own independent actions and abilities to make decisions. Oftentimes, sexuality is inappropriately imposed upon a person without their knowing it or consent. Sometimes, researchers use the word “hypersexualization” to describe roughly the same idea. In the article, “Media’s Growing Sexualization of Women”, hypersexualization is defined as, “The act of making something extremely sexual and erotic.”

Sexual objection and non-sexual objectification were mainly measured in body exposure and body movements. The different areas of a woman’s body being displayed were used to operationalize the idea of sexual objectification. Similarly, camera angles such as panning down bodies and shots down shirts were tallied to create a solid definition of “sexualizing” for the purpose of this research. (see Appendix A and B)

As a result of many cultural factors, self-objectification has become a common trend for many women and girls. Self-objectification is defined by Caroline Heldman in her article as “…viewing one’s body as a sex object to be consumed by the male gaze” (52). Although there have been successes for the women’s movement, self-objectification has increased, in part, because of backlash against their progress. Not only is self-objectification a constant mental state for many women and girls, but it is reinforced by the powerful influences of popular culture, including advertisements, television shows, and films. These sources place added pressure on women to see themselves through the eyes of men, forcing them to be aware of their physical appearance

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

Nussbaum believes that amongst the seven original features instrumentality is the most challenging. As it will be explained below, dissimilar to Mackinnon and Dworkin's view, Nussbaum-Langton account does not consider sexual objectification to be connected to gender roles. Nussbaum challenges the concept of sexual objectivity being an unavoidably negative phenomenon, contending for the opportunity of positive objectification. She argues that it is not ethically harmful as there are benevolent occurrences of it, and can be seen as pleasing features of the sexual life. (Nussbaum, 1995, 251). Nussbaum goes on to say that objectification is only a negative phenomenon when it takes residence in a setting where fairness, admiration, and consensus are absent. According to Nussbaum, that if every time someone is treated or simply seen by another as some sort of instrument, for some additional drive, individuals take it as the person in the query is straight away the objectified. She then goes on to state that in our everyday lives, we objectify almost all, this is including us

1. American Psychological Association,Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls. (2007). Report of the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/pi/women/programs/girls/report-full.pdf

MacKinnon defines it best when she writes, “To be sexually objectified means having a social meaning imposed on your being that defines you as to be sexually used, according to your desired uses, and then using you that way” (329). The preceding quote means that one person mandates the behavior of another individual for personal satisfaction with disregard for the other person’s feelings (Nussbaum 266). Objectification is forced onto women by establishing gender as inherent to sexuality (MacKinnon 318). The fusion of gender and sexuality occurs when dominance eroticized defines the essence of masculinity and submission eroticized defines the essence of femininity (MacKinnon, 318). According to this model, the sexualization of power renders women as objects meant for the gratification of men (Garry

in Szymanski, Moffitt and Carr). This leads to the belief that women are sexually objectified, seeing as they are only seen as mere parts that are to be of use to men and their sexual desires.

The sexualization of girls is very common in the media. Examples of sexualization of girls in the media include: television programming, movies, the Internet, computer games, music videos and lyrics. Also magazines, the marketing of sexy clothing and products aimed at young girls (Sexualization 'harms' Young). The impact of sexualization of girls' identity development and

Human sexuality is a common phrase for all, and anything, pertaining to the feelings and behaviors of sex for the human race. Sexuality has been a topic that has been discussed and studied for as far back as 1000 years B.C. and is still being studied today. As the discussion of sexuality has progressed through history, theories have been created based on research and experiments that scholars have implemented, based on their own perceptions of human behavior. Out of the many theories that pose to explain sexual behavior, Sexuality Now explained ten that are seemed to be the most overlapped, and built off of theories. Of these theories, two that were discussed in the text were the behavioral and sociological theory. These two theories cover some of the basic ideas of what could possibly influence a person’s sexuality.

Media influence has caused beauty to evolve into ideals that can’t actually be attained. In addition to this, women are objectified and seen as sex objects, being sexualized by men without consequence due to the normalcy the media has created for genders. In fact, men are even encouraged to sexualize women. During her TEDTalk, Kilbourne presented a photo of an adolescent boy wearing a shirt that stated “pimp squad,” showing how our society is comfortable with men sexualizing women from a very young age. In contrast, women are labeled as sluts or whores without even engaging in sexual activity. I, for example, have been called a slut for wearing leggings, merely talking to a guy, and even wearing shorts— in the summer.