Sexual objectification

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Sexual objectification is objectification of a person. It occurs when a person is seen as a sexual object when their sexual attributes and physical attractiveness are separated from the rest of their personality and existence as an individual, and reduced to instruments of pleasure for another person.[1][2] The concept of sexual objectification and, in particular, the objectification of women, is an important idea in feminist theory and psychological theories derived from feminism.[3][4] Many feminists regard sexual objectification as objectionable and as playing an important role in the inequality of the sexes.[1] Some feminists and non-feminists, however, argue that increased sexual freedom for women and gay men has led to an increase of the sexual objectification of men.[1][5][2][3]

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[edit] Objectification of women

Feminist scholars say that the objectification of women involves disregarding personal and intellectual abilities and capabilities, and women's reduction to instruments of sexual pleasure for men.[3][2] Examples of phenomena seen by some feminists as objectifying women include depictions of women in advertising and media, images of women in pornography, as well as images in more mainstream media such as advertising and art, stripping and prostitution, men evaluating women sexually in public spaces, and cosmetic surgery, particularly breast enlargement.[citation needed]

Historically, feminists believe women have often been valued for their physical attributes. Some feminists and psychologists argue that such sexual objectification can lead to negative psychological effects including depression and hopelessness, and can give women negative self-images because of the belief that their intelligence and competence are not being acknowledged.[6][7] The precise degree to how objectification has affected women and society in general is a topic of academic debate. Such claims include: girls' understanding of the importance of appearance in society may contribute to feelings of fear, shame, and disgust that some experience during the transition from girlhood to womanhood because they sense that they are becoming more visible to society as sexual objects;[8] and that young women are especially susceptible to objectification, as they are often taught that power, respect, and wealth can be derived from one's outward appearance.[9]

Pro-feminist cultural critics such as Robert Jensen and Sut Jhally accuse mass media and advertising of promoting the objectification of women to help promote goods and services.[10][11][12]

[edit] Objectification of men

Feminist authors Christina Hoff Sommers and Naomi Wolf write that women's sexual liberation has led many women to view men as sex objects.[13][14][15] Research has suggested that the psychological effects of objectification on men are similar to those of women, leading to negative body image among men, as well as fears of inadequate sexual performance, leading to increased use of drugs like Viagra.[16][17][18][19]

[edit] Views on sexual objectification

Related terms:
The gaze

While the concept of sexual objectification is important within feminist theory, ideas vary widely on what constitutes sexual objectification and what are the ethical implications of such objectification. Some feminists such as Naomi Wolf find the concept of physical attractiveness itself to be problematic,[20] with some radical feminists being opposed to any evaluation of another person's sexual attractiveness based on physical characteristics. John Stoltenberg goes so far as to condemn any sexual fantasy that involves visualization of a woman as wrongfully objectifying.[21]

Radical feminists view objectification as playing a central role in reducing women to what they refer to as the "sex class". While radical feminists view all mass media in a patriarchal society to be objectifying, they most often focus on pornography as playing an egregious role in habituating men to objectify women.[citation needed] Other feminists, particularly those identified with sex-positive feminism, take a different view of sexual objectification and see it as a problem when it is not counterbalanced by women's sense of their own sexual subjectivity.[citation needed]

Some social conservatives have taken up aspects of the feminist critique of sexual objectification. In their view however, the increase of sexual objectification in Western culture is one of the negative legacies of the sexual revolution.[22][23] These critics, notably Wendy Shalit, advocate a return to pre-sexual revolution standards of sexual morality, which Shalit refers to as a "return to modesty", as an antidote to sexual objectification.[23][24]

Many critics of feminism contest feminist claims about the objectification of women. Camille Paglia holds that "Turning people into sex objects is one of the specialties of our species." In her view, objectification is closely tied to (and may even be identical with) the highest human faculties toward conceptualization and aesthetics.[25] Individualist feminist Wendy McElroy holds that the label "sex object" means nothing because inanimate objects are not sexual. She continues that women are their bodies and sexuality as well as their minds and souls.[26] Libertarian economist and social critic Murray Rothbard wrote that women are and always will be sex objects to men and men are and always will be sex objects to women.[27]

[edit] Objectification and sexual fetishism

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Sexual objectification may also be considered a means of realising a sexual fetish; in which a person is assigned, or adopts the status of a fetish object. This may provide erotic humiliation for the person so regarded. As with most BDSM-related activities, it is not considered abusive when engaged in consensually. Allen Jones' Hat Stand and Table Sculpture, which show semi-naked women in the roles of furniture, are clear examples of the depiction of the fantasy of sexual objectification.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Bartky, Sandra Lee, Femininity and Domination: Studies in the Phenomenology of Oppression (Routledge, 1990), ISBN 9780415901863, p. 26
  2. ^ a b <LeMoncheck, Linda, Loose Women, Lecherous Men: A Feminist Philosophy of Sex (Oxford University press, 1997), ISBN 9780195105559, p. 133
  3. ^ a b Barry, Kathleen, Female Sexual Slavery (NYU Press, 1994), ISBN 9780814710697, p.247
  4. ^ Goldenberg, Jamie L., and Tomi-Ann Roberts, 'The Beast within the Beauty: An Existential Perspective on the Objectification and Condemnation of Women' in Jeff Greenberg, Sander Leon Koole, Thomas A. Pyszczynski and Tom Pyszczynski (eds) Handbook of Experimental Existential Psychology (Guilford Press, 2004), ISBN 9781593850409
  5. ^ Botting, Kate and Botting, Douglas. "Men Can Be Sex Objects Too". Cosmopolitan. August 1996.
  6. ^ Hewstone, Miles; Marilynn B. Brewer (2004-01-01). Self and Social Identity. Blackwell Publishing Professional, 167. ISBN 978-1-4051-1069-3 ISBN 1-4051-1069-4. 
  7. ^ Fredrickson, Barbara L.; Tomi-Ann Roberts. "Objectification Theory: Toward understanding women's lived experiences and mental health risks". Psychology of Women Quarterly 21: 172-206. doi:10.1111/j.1471-6402.1997.tb00108.x.. 
  8. ^ Lee, Janet. 1994. Menarche and the (hetero)sexualization of the female body. Gender & Society 8(3):343–362. doi:10.1177/089124394008003004
  9. ^ APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls (2007-02-19). Report of the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls, Executive Summary. American Psychological Association. Retrieved on November 2, 2007.
  10. ^ Jensen, Robert, 'Using Pornography' in Dines, Gail, Robert Jensen and Ann Russo (eds) Pornography: The Production and Consumption of Inequality (Routledge, 1998), ISBN 9780415918138
  11. ^ Jhally, Sut (dir) Dreamworlds II: Desire, Sex, Power in Music (Media Education Foundation, USA, 1997)
  12. ^ Frith, Katherine, Ping Shaw and Hong Cheng 'The Construction of Beauty: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Women's Magazine Advertising' in Journal of Communication 55 (1), 2005, pp.56–70
  13. ^ Sommers, Christina Hoff. 1994. Who Stole Feminism: How Women Have Betrayed Women. New York. Simon and Schuster pp.(264-265), ISBN 0-671-7924-8 (hc), ISBN 0-684-80156-6 (pb)
  14. ^ Wolf, Naomi. 1994. Fire With Fire: The New Female Power and How to Use It. New York: Fawcett Columbine (pp.225-228), ISBN 0-449-90951-4.
  15. ^ Friend,Tad. "Yes (feminist women who like sex)" Esquire. February 1994
  16. ^ http://www.healthyplace.com/Communities/Eating_Disorders/men_1.asp "Adonis Complex: A Body Image Problem Facing Men and Boys"
  17. ^ http://www.islam-usa.com/e110.htm Athir,Shalid."Sex, Viagra,and Islam"
  18. ^ http://www.savethemales.ca/000817.html Makow,Henry."Sexual 'Liberaton' is Illuminati Subversion"
  19. ^ http://www.savethemales.ca/001200.html Makow, Henry. "Male Performance Anxiety"
  20. ^ Wolf, Naomi. (1992). The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women. New York: William Morrow and Co. (Reprinted, 2002. New York: Harper Perennial) ISBN 0060512180
  21. ^ Stoltenberg, John. 1989. Refusing to be a man: Essays on sex and justice. Portland, OR: Breitenbush Books. (Reprinted, 2000. Oxford: Routledge) ISBN 1841420417
  22. ^ National Coalition for the Protection of Children and Families. 1997. Subtle dangers of pornography. NCPCF in Action Special Report, July 1997. (Archived at Pure Intimacy (website).)
  23. ^ a b Shalit, Wendy. 1999. A Return To Modesty: Discovering the Lost Virtue. New York: Free Press. ISBN 0684843161 (hc), ISBN 0684863170 (pb).
  24. ^ Shalit, Wendy. 2000. Modesty revisited. Boundless webzine.
  25. ^ Paglia, Camille (August 20, 1991). Sexual Personae: Art & Decadence from Nefertiti to Emily Dickinson. Vintage. ISBN 0-6797-3579-8 ISBN 978-0-6797-3579-3. 
  26. ^ McElroy, Wendy. 2006. A feminist overview of pornography, ending in a defense thereof. WendyMcElroy.com.
  27. ^ Rothbard, Murray N. 1970. "The great women's liberation issue: Setting it straight". The Individualist, May 1970. (Archived at LewRockwell.com.)

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