Gender Matters

A new study  shows that objectification can be linked to coercion in romantic relationships. This is not surprising, for several reasons. More alarmingly, objectification is also statistically linked to sexual violence. This is also not surprising. So how do you tell the difference between objectification and healthy attraction?  What are the warning signs that you would want to watch out for in a relationship or when getting to know someone?   Obviously we would all like to enjoy healthy attraction and be able to separate it from unhealthy objectification with many risk factors. A man or a woman who sees another individual as an object is seeing them through the lens of being able to satisfy a particular need — period. They do not have the capacity to think about the whole person or consequently a healthy, mature relationship — especially a romantic or sexual one. So how do we tell the difference, especially in the early stages of a relationship...

Since the introduction of advertising many centuries ago, women have been objectified, and in some instances, insulted or degraded. Despite the efforts of many people. In many respects, the problem has escalated. With the proliferation of photo retouching software, women's bodies are not just flawless, they are anatomically impossible. This is harmful on many levels. Advertising False Ideals Advertising, marketing, and the fashion industry have created a new type of woman that does not exist in the real world.  The "Barbie Doll" look they're selling has some recognizable features: She has no wrinkles, blemishes, or scars. She has long, smooth, and shapely legs. Her waist is quite small. Her radiant hair looks like CGI.  Her eyes are dazzling and bright. Her teeth are shining white and perfectly straight. Exploiting Learned Desires At an early age, men are programmed to desire the Barbie Doll woman. This is ...

Women frequently face objectification in daily interpersonal interactions and through the active and passive consumption of multimedia. These two main avenues of exposure create a continuous stream of sexually objectifying experiences and images Interpersonal sexual objectification occurs in the forms of unwanted body evaluation and sexual advances, the Interpersonal Sexual Objectification Scale (ISOS) measures the extent of individuals’ sexually objectifying encounters. The ISOS qualifies behaviors like catcalling and whistling, sexually insinuating stares, leering, and inappropriate sexual comments made about a woman’s body as unwanted forms of body evaluation . Research shows that this type of sexual objectification is more often perpetrated by strangers than acquaintances , and often takes place in public spaces .  The ISOS qualifies behaviors like touching, fondling, or pinching someone inappropriately against her will, degrading sexual gestures, and sexual harassme...

Objectification theory posits that constant exposure to objectifying experiences and images socializes women to internalize society’s perspective of the female body as their own primary view of their physical selves. This internalization is often referred to as self-objectification, and it characterized by varying levels of thoughts and behaviors such as self-conscious body monitoring, surveillance, and comparison of one’s body or body parts to the cultural standard or ideal. Self-objectification is even found in women who view sexual objectification as harmless or even complimentary. Research has linked self-objectification to mental health outcomes such as depression, disordered eating, and reduced productivity. So, the sexual objectification of women indirectly contributes to their mental health problems because it leads to self-objectification..  Shame, anxiety, and depression  According to objectification theory, the internalization of sexual objectification leads ...

Women have never had it easy when it comes to having their words heard in society. Men have had most things handed to them on a silver platter and have always retained more power throughout time compared to women.  This misogyny and lack of representation presents itself further in the world in the new forms of media and entertainment that have been produced in today’s world. Women are regularly objectified in today’s media. One need only open a television set to see how many sexist advertisements are being shown every day.  Since advertisements are one of the biggest forms of marketing in the world of today and due to their versatility of being able to be present anywhere and everywhere they change how we think about the ideal woman. Advertisements shape our minds and our perceptions of what the perfect woman is and how women should look and act. Women themselves become greatly influenced as well as these advertisements start to influence them as to how exactly to ac...

No woman wants to feel that the man watching her from across the room sees a collection of body parts rather than a fully formed human.  Feminists have asserted all along that  objectifying women  is unhealthy, base and unappealing. Perhaps it's because objectification seems so akin to dehumanization. What if a man's idea of women as mere tools for sexual gratification makes him physically and emotionally manipulative, aggressive or otherwise coercive? One recent  study  seems to be connecting the  dots , so to speak. The new research, published in Psychology of Women Quarterly,  discovered that  more objectification of a female partner's body is related to more incidents of sexual pressure and coercion in romantic relationships — an important area of inquiry, given the  heartbreaking toll  of intimate partner sexual violence in the United States. Psychologists Laura R. Ramsey and Tiffany Hoyt spoke to 119 males and 1...

In a recent interview, actress  Cameron Dia controversially said "I think every woman does want to be objectified." Decades of research has documented the many ways that objectification can be harmful. So why would anyone voluntarily choose to objectify themselves? The kind of objectification that Diaz is talking about is often referred to as sexual objectification. It involves viewing and treating another person's body as an object valued based on its sexual appeal, usually to the neglect of other aspects of the person, such as their thoughts, feelings, and desires.  Objectifying images and messages are widespread in American society, and they communicate not only that women's value lies in their appearance, but they also present an ideal of  attractiveness   that is  unattainable  for most women. These unrealistic standards can lead to feelings of  body shame  and disgust, and to unhealthy eating and exercise behaviors. ...

Bollywood has always been under the line of fire for its portrayal  of women as objects of desire. Be it Mandakini, Parveen Babi or the current crop of actresses. From 'Sheila Ki Jawaani' to 'Munni ki Badnaami', it is usually women who are utilized  as objects of desire and sexual objects. The situation is no different in Indian culture where birth of a girl child is frowned upon with disdain in some parts of India and shockingly even among elite and educated Indians.   Bollywood is the biggest culprit as the reach and impact by Bollywood films is the most and it is shameful that such an industry still resorts to item songs and objectification of women without analyzing  the negating impact on society.  While, a 'Queen' or 'Kahaani' still manages to raise tha bar and pave way for progressive approach to women-centric subjects, there are a dozen others which will still use the skimpy-clothes, trashy and offensive lyrics (most of Honey Singh...

People may mock actresses. They may argue that movies are just movies and have nothing to do with perpetuating the objectification of women. But the fact remains that film is a soft medium capable of being very influential on peoples’ opinions. This is evident in the high number of crimes against women reported in India each year. This is evident in the fact that Indian men especially find it acceptable to post misogynistic polls and questions on the bodies of actresses. They find no problem in responded in sexist ways to random women on Twitter. This online abuse towards women stems from the portrayal of women in Bollywood film as flimsy. and willing to fall into the arms of men. This is a dangerous narrative that Bollywood continues to put forward simply in order to maximise profits. The standard plotline, as mentioned above, often plays the hero ‘stalking’ the female as something normal and even desired.  But in real life this is terrifying. No woman wants to experien...

   When I talk to people about the  objectification of women , there's always a lot of confusion. People ask, "Isn't it human nature to objectify people?" Others say women should take it as a compliment. But there's a difference between appreciating a person's beauty and objectifying a whole group of people. While appreciation acknowledges someone's looks as one small part of who they are while still viewing them as an individual, objectification reduces someone to their looks and to the stereotype of a group they belong to. When you're objectified, you can start to confuse your value with your sexuality,. When you see so many beautiful faces and bodies in media, you often wonder, 'What’s wrong with me that I don’t look like that?' It can be hard to see the value in your inner beauty when the pressure is on. Not only are you shamed for how you look — as in fat-shaming — but your culture also profits from your insecurities. We're ...

Women are now working equally and have maintained the same status as that of the men. Despite that, stereotyped projection leaves women  helpless. The best example are the advertisements of FMCG products and even while advertising masculine products, females are a must-to-show. This is “objectification of women”. Women on screen are projected with fair skin tone, perfectly shaped curves, and long-silky hair as an ideal sex icon; which helps  promote  brands and attracts more customers. This objectification is really absurd and disturbing. This is the ideal woman  as per our society, impacting the former in unprecedented ways. Furthermore, this is what the society readily accepts, the ideal beauty commodities and despises the women who don’t fit into this bracket. It is noteworthy  that not only are the women objectified by society, but by themselves too. This further  degrades of the dignity of women. They just perceive that if a woman has to ...

It is frightening  how deep objectification of women really goes. We must certainly combat sexual objectification. However, women are objectified in more profound ways than we realize, and we must tear down every entangled  shred of  patriarchy, in order to achieve our  goal of being recognized as “women” and not mere “objects”. It has been pointed out by some feminist thinkers that women in our society are more identified and associated with their bodies than are men, and, to a greater extent than men, they are valued for how they look .In order to gain social acceptability, women are under constant pressure to correct their bodies and appearance more generally, and make them conform to the ideals of feminine appearance of their time, the so-called ‘norms of feminine appearance’ (the standards of appearance women feel they should be living up to) .  Some feminists have argued that, in being preoccupied with their looks, women treat themselves a...