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Objectification Theory: Toward Understanding Women's Lived Experiences and Mental Health Risks
Abstract
This article offers objectification theory as a framework for understanding the experiential consequences of being female in a culture that sexually objectifies the female body. Objectification theory posits that girls and women are typically acculturated to internalize an observer's perspective as a primary view of their physical selves. This perspective on self can lead to habitual body monitoring, which, in turn, can increase women's opportunities for shame and anxiety, reduce opportunities for peak motivational states, and diminish awareness of internal bodily states. Accumulations of such experiences may help account for an array of mental health risks that disproportionately affect women: unipolar depression, sexual dysfunction, and eating disorders. Objectification theory also illuminates why changes in these mental health risks appear to occur in step with life-course changes in the female body.
... In 1997, Fredrickson and Roberts proposed Objectification Theory [1], a detailed treatise on how experiences of sexual objectification (and the self-objectification these experiences can trigger) shape women's psychology. One of the theory's key tenets states that when a woman is objectified, part of her conscious attention is usurped by body monitoring. ...
... According to objectification theory [1], women are frequently the targets of sexual objectification. When objectified, women are treated simply as bodies or body parts to be used for the pleasure of others-an experience that is linked with multiple negative psychological outcomes [4,5]. ...
... Due to the dominance of heterosexuality in culture and media, the sexualized inspection of women's bodies often takes the form of a male gaze. Consistent with arguments by Fredrickson and Roberts [1] that a sexualized gaze can be "real or imagined, present or anticipated" (p. 180), researchers have found that even anticipating the male gaze can increase appearance concerns among women. ...
The present study was a preregistered, well-powered experimental test of findings related to the effect of state self-objectification and anticipation of the sexualized male gaze on women's cognitive performance. College women (n = 407) performed a working memory task in one of three randomly assigned conditions. In the experimental conditions (self-objectifica-tion and male gaze), women completed the task while being video recorded from the neck down. In the male gaze condition, participants were told their videos would later be evaluated by men as part of a separate dating study. Women in the control condition were not video recorded. Results indicated women experienced a moderate increase in state self-objectification in both experimental conditions. However, compared to the control condition, women in the experimental conditions did not show reduced performance on the working memory task (in either latency or accuracy), decreases in body satisfaction, or increases in negative mood. Across conditions, state self-objectification was not associated with accuracy or latency on the working memory task. Mixed findings concerning objectification's effect on cognitive performance may be attributed to variability in experimental manipulations and dependent variables employed in this area of research.
... Sexual objectification "occurs when a woman's body, body parts, or sexual functions are isolated from her whole and complex being and treated as objects simply to be looked at, coveted, or touched" [9]. It is proven that sexual objectification towards women can affect their mental health. ...
... The effects include habitual body monitoring that increases shame, anxiety, reduces opportunities for peak motivational states, and decreases awareness of internal bodily states. Moreover, the use of substances, unipolar depression, sexual dysfunction, and eating disorders can also happen to women who experience sexual objectification [9]. ...
... The last step is collecting dialogues by taking notes. After the data is collected, the next step is analyzing the data based on the cascading theory of reference [11] and sexual objectification theory of reference [9]. ...
Technology abuse is rising in an age where communication technology is used daily. This can happen through social platforms, media, and even represented in streaming platforms. Some people can be affected by technology abuse, including sexual objectification victims. This study investigates the impact of disinformation represented in the movie, Photocopier (2021). Therefore, it aims to find the impact of technology-enabled disinformation and how society plays a role in the digital era concerning a sexual objectification case as portrayed in Photocopier (2021) movie. The information is gathered from dialogues and scenes in the movie and then analyzed using cascading theory and sexual objectification theory. The study used a qualitative approach to achieve its goals. The findings suggest that technology has a negative impact on sexual objectification victims due to the rapid transmission of important records, which leads to victim blaming. Furthermore, society purposefully disseminates confidential sexual objectification documents without sympathizing with the victims. Therefore, it can be said that disinformation caused by technological advancement happens and impacts some people negatively. Society must be aware and play a more supporting role, thus resulting in a sustainable society living with technology for more beneficial effect.
... Pelabelan perempuan seperti sebuah benda mati hanya semakin menjadikan perempuan sebagai objek yang pasif. Hal ini sejalan dengan yang disampaikan oleh (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997) bahwa objektifikasi yang dilakukan pada tubuh perempuan ini pada akhirnya akan melanggengkan kepercayaan bahwa tubuh mereka bukanlah sepenuhnya milik mereka dan merupakan kepemilikan beberapa laki-laki dan parahnya dampak dari objektifikasi pada tubuh perempuan ini adalah membuat para perempuan justru mengobjektifikasi diri mereka sendiri yang membuat mereka ingin dilihat dan dinilai berdasarkan penampilan dan bagaimana tubuh mereka ditunjukan. Menganggap perempuan sebagai sebuah objek pasif pada akhirnya dapat mengarah pada diskriminasi gender dan kekerasan terhadap perempuan. ...
... Bahkan perempuan sekalipun juga ikut meyakini bahwa mereka adalah sebuah objek yang memang 'seharusnya dilihat'. Hal serupa disampaikan di dalam (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997) bahwa objektifikasi yang dilakukan pada tubuh perempuan ini pada akhirnya akan melanggengkan kepercayaan bahwa tubuh mereka bukanlah sepenuhnya milik mereka dan merupakan kepemilikan beberapa laki-laki dan parahnya dampak dari objektifikasi pada tubuh perempuan ini adalah membuat para perempuan justru mengobjektifikasi diri mereka sendiri yang membuat mereka ingin dilihat dan dinilai berdasarkan penampilan dan bagaimana tubuh mereka ditunjukan. ...
Budaya patriarki yang masih saja terus dipelihara menjadikan perempuan berada pada kondisi yang bergantung pada penilaian orang lain ketika mencoba untuk melihat dan mengukur diri mereka mengenai masalah tubuh. Hal ini tergambar pada akun @ugmcantik dan @unpad.geulis.Tujuan dari tulisan ini adalah untuk menganalisis tubuh perempuan dikonstruksi dan diobjekfikasi melalui kedua akun universitas cantik tersebut dengan menggunakan pendekatan deskriptif kualitatif dan metode penelitian Analisis Wacana Kritis Sara Mills. Teknik pengumpulan data dalam penelitian ini adalah dengan mengamati unggahan foto yang ada di akun @ugmcantik dan @unpad.geulis kemudian juga menganalisis komentar yang mendominasi di unggahan foto dan mengkategorikannya apakah komentar tersebut masuk ke dalam bentuk objektifikasi atau konstruksi terhadap tubuh perempuan. Hasil temuan dari penelitian ini adalah dari foto dan komentar yang ada pada kedua akun tersebut praktik objektifikasi dan konstruksi pada tubuh perempuan masih dilanggengkan serta perempuan masih didominasi dan dianggap sebagai objek pasif.
... Consequently, these individuals experience feelings related to body dissatisfaction and anxiety, which can further result in eating disorders, depression or poor self-esteem (Albadi et al., 2018;Larson, 2021;Murakami & Latner, 2015). A theorised pathway linking gender with body image by Fredrickson and Roberts (1997) is of the view that women tend to take an observer's view as the primary view of their bodies. This perception can lead women to continuous self-monitor their bodies which could increase self-shaming behaviours. ...
... Moreover, males were often belittled by words that aligned with the female gender (e.g., lady, girl). This finding aligns with the objectification theory established by Fredrickson and Roberts (1997) which takes account of how female bodies are sexually evaluated based on "their bodies or body parts" (p. 176). ...
Social media offers users an online platform to freely express themselves; however, when users post opinionated and offensive comments that target certain individuals or communities, this could instigate animosity towards them. Widespread condemnation of obesity (fatness) has led to much fat stigmatizing content being posted online. A methodological framework that uses a novel mixed-method approach for unearthing hate speech patterns from large text-based corpora gathered from social media is proposed. We explain the use of computer-mediated quantitative methods comprising natural language processing techniques such as sentiment analysis, emotion analysis and topic modelling, along with qualitative discourse analysis. Next, we have applied the framework to a corpus of texts on gendered and weight-based data that have been extracted from Twitter and Reddit. This assisted in the detection of different emotions being expressed, the composition of word frequency patterns and the broader fat-based themes underpinning the hateful content posted online. The framework has provided a synthesis of quantitative and qualitative methods that draw on social science and data mining techniques to build real-world knowledge in hate speech detection. Current information systems research is limited in its use of mixed analytic approaches for studying hate speech in social media. Our study therefore contributes to future research by establishing a roadmap for conducting mixed-method analyses for better comprehension and understanding of hate speech patterns.
... Thus, understanding the etiology, prevention, and treatment of eating disorders and body image problems of TGNB youth requires inclusion of family as key factors and points of interventions [75]. Future research and associated theories should be inclusive of social and family factors [9] and issues of embodiment (like objectification theory) [76] for a better understanding the interplay of eating patterns and body image. Minority stress, family, developmental, and social-ecological theories may aid in understanding the impact of external stressors, including family dependency [9], housing stability, and food insecurity [77], on eating patterns, body image, academic performance, and mental health. ...
Background
Transgender and nonbinary (TGNB) adolescents and young adults are underrepresented in the literature on eating disorders and body image-related problems, despite increased mental health disparities and emerging research showing high associations between gender dysphoria, body image, and eating disorders among TGNB youth.
Aims
The scoping review was designed to critically examine the research on TGNB adolescents and young adults who experience eating and body image related problems as well as clinical studies on treatment approaches and effectiveness.
Method
Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) was used for reporting this scoping review. The electronic databases of MEDLINE and PsychInfo were used for searching subject terms. Inclusion criteria for studies required the quantitative measurement or qualitative exploration of body image or eating for transgender minor children, adolescents, or young adult samples (18 to 25 years old) and address differences in eating/body-related problems by age. The relevant data was extracted and narratively summarized.
Results
49 studies were identified, data extracted, and analyzed. Increased prevalence of eating disorders and body image problems were identified for TGNB youth. Body-gender congruence through gender affirming social and medical interventions (e.g., hormone therapy) were noted as significant for alleviating body image problems and facilitating eating disorder treatment. Family and social factors were not well understood in the literature and a need for increased study of TGNB youth from varied racial/ethnic, neurodiverse, and within specific identities (e.g., nonbinary) and families and cultural contexts is still needed.
Conclusions
Future research should consider the use of developmental and family theories for guiding inclusion of salient social factors influencing eating patterns, body image, and treatment outcomes. In addition, more studies are needed with those from minoritized racial and ethnic groups, neurodiversity, and varied gender identities (e.g., nonbinary and gender queer) for identifying important differences.
... Another perspective that attempts to explain the motivation behind interest in pursuing cosmetic surgery is body objectification theory (Fredrickson and Roberts, 1997), which focuses on how social Frontiers in Psychology 03 frontiersin.org and cultural representations contribute to the process by which people internalize the observer's perspective on their own body and come to believe that their personal value is given only by their physical appearance. ...
Objective
Conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis to synthesize previously obtained results regarding the relationship between interest in cosmetic surgery and personality traits.
Methodology
A series of criteria were applied (at the level of design, independent variables, dependent variable, participants) in order to decide which existing studies could be considered eligible for inclusion in the meta-analytic procedure. The identification of research that met the eligibility criteria was carried out with the help of the electronic search function in the following databases: ScienceDirect, PsycInfo, Web of Science, Scopus, Springer, and PubMed. Following this approach left 13 studies that were then subjected to the final analysis and included in the meta-analysis.
Results
The researchers’ expectations were partially supported by the results of the analyses, thus demonstrating the existence of a significant relationship between perfectionism (socially prescribed perfectionism; perfectionistic self-promotion), appearance-based rejection sensitivity, and interest in pursuing esthetic surgery.
Discussions
Identifying these relationships will allow cosmetic surgeons to understand both the mechanisms underlying this decision and the need for psychological assessment/counseling before patients undergo such procedures. It will also allow psychologists to develop best practice guidelines for how they relate to the patient before they perform cosmetic surgery. At the same time, psychotherapists will be able to devise targeted and personalized interventions for each personality profile, so that the decision to undergo an esthetic operation is not made based on a dispositional trait (fear of rejection, stress caused by body dissatisfaction).
p style="text-align: justify;"> Objective. We aimed to analyze vulnerabilities to interpersonal rejection based on appearance in female participants of body positive and pro-anorexic online communities.
Background. The recent years has seen a rapid development of online communities focused on physical attractiveness. In the current paper two large segments of Russian-speaking online communities (body positive and pro-anorexic ones) are used to analyze the relationships between appearance-based rejection sensitivity, global self-esteem, personality traits, and body dissatisfaction.
Study design. The participants were surveyed in June–August 2020, online, in Google Forms. Invitations were posted in body positive and pro-anorexic online communities. Data analysis included Student’s t test, and correlation, regression and mediation analysis.
Participants. 562 adolescent girls and young women aged 15–30 (mean age – 21,06 ± 4,15; median – 21). Measures. The following measures were used: Appearance-based Rejection Sensitivity Scale (augmented by Social Comparisons based on Appearance survey), Body Image Questionnaire, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and Ten Item Personality Measure.
Results. Female participants of pro-anorexic online-communities displayed increased body dissatisfaction, appearance-based rejection sensitivity and neuroticism. They were more prone to explicitly compare their appearance with others and experienced more negative emotions in relation to this. Body positive communities’ participants reported more conscientiousness and emotional stability, and they made more implicit comparisons aimed at getting information about their appearance from social/interpersonal context. Global self-esteem and social comparisons partially mediated the relationship between appearance-based rejection sensitivity and body dissatisfaction.
Summary. Interpersonal sensitivity and self-esteem emerge as common risk factors of body dissatisfaction, whereas social comparisons (in terms of appearance) differentiate the participants of body positive and pro-anorexic communities.</p
The Functionality Appreciation Scale (FAS; Alleva et al., 2017) measures functionality appreciation, the extent to which people appreciate their body for what it is able to do. We translated the FAS to Dutch and evaluated its factor structure and psychometric properties among 471 native Dutch speakers in the Netherlands (255 cisgender women, 204 cisgender men, 8 nonbinary, 1 "other," 3 "rather not say") who were between 18 and 85 years old. Participants completed the Dutch translation of the FAS, followed by questionnaires to assess additional variables of interest (body appreciation, appearance satisfaction, self-esteem, and gratitude). Exploratory factor analysis showed that Dutch FAS scores demonstrated a unidimensional factor structure. Dutch FAS scores demonstrated acceptable internal consistency and construct validity via their positive associations with the additional variables of interest. Dutch FAS scores also demonstrated gender invariance, and women reported higher functionality appreciation than men. Dutch FAS scores evidenced incremental validity for gratitude (but not self-esteem), and were inversely correlated with age and body mass index. Last, 2-week test-retest reliability of the Dutch FAS scores was supported. Overall, these findings provide support that the Dutch FAS is a psychometrically sound instrument to assess functionality appreciation among Dutch speaking adults in the Netherlands.
Self-objectification is a concept that focuses on how individuals' bodies are evaluated by others. It is known that women's self-perceptions affect their evaluations of their bodies, especially in self-objectification, which is studied in women's studies. In this context, it was aimed to investigate the effects of identity dimensions on self-objectification in this study. The participants consisted of 215 university women students between the ages of 18-39 (mean = 21.77, sd=3.88). Personal Information Form, The Dimensions of Identity Development Scale, and Self-Objectification Beliefs and Behaviors Scale were used as data collection tools. According to correlation analysis, there were nagative relationships between self-objectification and commitment, identification with commitment, exploration in breadth, and exploration in depth. However, there was a positive relationship between self-objectification and ruminative exploration. According to the results of multiple regression analysis, it was found that commitment, identification with commitment, and exploration in breadth negatively predicted self-objectification, but the effect of exploration in depth on self-objectification was not significant. In addition, the effect of ruminative exploration on self-objectification was found to be positively. The results are discussed in the context of identity and self-objectification literature.
Attributing negative outcomes to prejudice and discrimination may protect the mood and self-esteem of some stigmatized groups. Thus, the overweight may be low in self-esteem because they blame their weight, but not the attitudes of others, for negative outcomes based on their weight. In an experiment, 27 overweight and 31 normal weight college women received either positive or negative social feedback from a male evaluator. Relative to other groups, overweight women who received negative feedback attributed the feedback to their weight but did not blame the evaluator for his reaction. This attributional pattern resulted in more negative mood for these overweight women in comparison with other groups. Dimensions of stigma that may account for differences in the tendency to attribute negative outcomes to prejudice, and implications of these findings for weight loss programs and psychotherapy for the overweight, are discussed.
Evidence is presented showing that body fat distribution as measured by waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) is correlated with youthfulness, reproductive endocrinologic status, and long-term health risk in women. Three studies show that men judge women with low WHR as attractive. Study 1 documents that minor changes in WHRs of Miss America winners and Playboy playmates have occurred over the past 30-60 years. Study 2 shows that college-age men find female figures with low WHR more attractive, healthier, and of greater reproductive value than figures with a higher WHR. In Study 3, 25- to 85-year-old men were found to prefer female figures with lower WHR and assign them higher ratings of attractiveness and reproductive potential. It is suggested that WHR represents an important bodily feature associated with physical attractiveness as well as with health and reproductive potential. A hypothesis is proposed to explain how WHR influences female attractiveness and its role in mate selection.
The publication of this volume at this time appears particularly auspi cious. Biological, psychological, and social change is greater during the pubertal years than at any other period since infancy. While the past two decades have witnessed a virtual explosion of productive research on the first years of life, until recently research on adolescence, and particularly on puberty and early adolescence, has lagged substantially behind. This book provides encouraging evidence that things are changing for the better. Considered separately, the individual chapters in this book include important contributions to our growing knowledge of the biological mechanisms involved in pubertal onset and subsequent changes, as well as of the psychological and social aspects of these changes, both as con sequences and determinants. In this regard, the book clearly benefits from the breadth of disciplines represented by the contributors, includ ing developmental endocrinology, adolescent medicine, pediatrics, psy chology, and sociology, among others.
I: Background.- 1. An Introduction.- 2. Conceptualizations of Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination.- II: Self-Determination Theory.- 3. Cognitive Evaluation Theory: Perceived Causality and Perceived Competence.- 4. Cognitive Evaluation Theory: Interpersonal Communication and Intrapersonal Regulation.- 5. Toward an Organismic Integration Theory: Motivation and Development.- 6. Causality Orientations Theory: Personality Influences on Motivation.- III: Alternative Approaches.- 7. Operant and Attributional Theories.- 8. Information-Processing Theories.- IV: Applications and Implications.- 9. Education.- 10. Psychotherapy.- 11. Work.- 12. Sports.- References.- Author Index.