Millions of people around the world dread getting out of bed and leaving their homes; this is sometimes due to self-objectification which is initially brought on by the media. Self-objectification is when a person views themselves more as an object, valuing the looks over the uses, rather than as a well-rounded individual (Mikulak). Characteristics of self-objectification are also characteristics of mental illnesses such as body dysmorphic disorder, depression, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, anxiety, and many more. People who self-objectify tend to have low self-esteem, therefore have lower motivation to socialize (Sexualization of Girls is Linked to Mental Health Problems). These people spend a huge amount of time getting ready to go places, this includes fixing hair, putting on makeup, showering excessively, picking out outfits, and once all of those things are done they proceed to look in the mirror and criticize everything they see. Most people do not even notice the small flaws that people who self-objectify see as major problems with themselves. People have learned the objectification “trend” to no fault of their own, the media forces it on every person it can reach. Every person in a first world country is influenced by the media nearly every day of their lives. It could be by magazine, television, film, art, literature, the internet or smartphones. Art uses symbols that represent a certain group of people to make the point or to sell the product Literature sometimes uses symbols and other times outright provides judgments about people or things based on the looks. Magazines, television programs, and films all have ads or product placement that leads the viewer or reader to believe that, that is the product they sho... ... middle of paper ... ...helle. Fashion Victim: Our Love-hate Relationship with Dressing, Shopping, and the Cost of Style. New York: Broadway, 2003. Print. Mikulak, Anna. " Self-Objectification May Inhibit Women’s Social Activism." Association for Psychological Science RSS. Association for Psychological Science, 14 Feb. 2013. Web. 14 Nov. 2013. Miss Representation. Dir. Jennifer Siebel and Kimberlee Acquaro. Perf. Jennifer Siebel. Girls' Club Entertainment, 2011. Netflix. "Sexualization of Girls Is Linked to Common Mental Health Problems in Girls And Women--Eating Disorders, Low Self-Esteem, and Depression; An APA Task Force Report."Http://www.apa.org. American Psychological Association, 19 Feb. 2007. Web. 14 Nov. 2013. Zurbriggen, Eileen. "Report of the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls."Http://www.apa.org. American Psychological Assocation, 2007. Web. 24 Nov. 2013.
One of the most prominent and detrimental forms of sexual objectification is in pornography, where it defines a woman’s role as a sexual object for men to use freely (Insert Plato Citation). It was concluded that 88% of the scenes on porn contain acts of physical aggression, which can overexpose men into thinking that this sort of aggression is normal and raise their tolerance of violence (Insert PornStats Citation). It can further warp the minds of the watchers into thinking that this is what relationships and sex are truly like, when in reality many women are forced into the industry or are overly intoxicated to keep the entire experience feeling numb (Insert ThePinkCross Citation). Pornography also touches in on an even darker subject of pedophilia, or the paraphilia involving sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Pedophilia is mostly found in males, who are also the sex that is 543% more likely to watch pornography (Insert PornStats Citation). Television shows and movies exhibit men of all shapes, sizes, and ages married or dating women of one body type, which is usually young and slender. The combination of the media and pornography feeding into the desires for young, petite girls by exposing them in an explicit way leads to the statistic that one in five men are capable of being sexually aroused by children, to some degree, though they may never act on those feelings (Insert TheGuardian Citation). On the other hand, it is still likely to see people telling young girls to not dress in a revealing manner. In the way society uses this, it is almost an oxymoron. The media is telling girls to look a certain way and when they do they are shamed for it. It should be left at if a girl is too young to be wearing ‘that short of...
For young girls in Australia it has been said that ‘one barometer of the health of society is the measure of mental health of our children and young people’. This measure does not bring us good news. Evidence indicates that exposure to ideals of sexual attractiveness in the media is associated with greater body dissatisfaction among girls and young women, leaving girls feeling ‘ugly’ and ‘gross’. Body image is not the only side effect of sexualisation. The increase in sexual activity among adolescents is at an alarming rate, and the age of sexual activity is ever decreasing. For boys in Australia too often we believe that the sexualisation in the public sphere is only affecting girls and women. However, if we were to believe that, we would
Szymanski, Dawn M., Lauren B. Moffitt, and Erika R. Carr. “Sexual Objectification of Women: Advances to Theory and Research.” APA, 2011. Web. 11 Nov. 2013.
This phenomenon is known as self-objectification. Technically defined self-objectification is when we choose to evaluate ourselves based on appearance because that is how we believe others adjudicate us. The American Psychological Association has found in recent years that self-objectification has become a national epidemic and an international problem. The more women and girls self-objectify, the more likely they are to be depressed, to have eating disorders. They have lower confidence, lower ambition, and lower cognitive function. Most also suffer from body dysmorphic disorder, in which a person becomes obsessed with imaginary defects in their appearance. The scariest incarnation of this, turning women into objects, are the increasing numbers of women who are raped each
In the American culture today, women are becoming more sexualized at a younger age due to the influences of the corporate media. Corporate media and society form the perfect idealistic body that women should have and is constantly being promoted making younger girls start to compare themselves to them at a young age. Certain shows and movies, such as Disney, influence young children and teenagers through their characters as to how a woman is supposed to be accepted. The way the corporate media and society make this body image they want women to have starts in a very early stage in a woman's life without them knowing. There are these childhood movies, such as Disney, Barbie and Ken dolls, programs such as Netflix, teen magazines, and the most common source of them all, the internet.
...ults in body shame, and because these women view themselves as less, they are treated as such. Sexually objectified women are “dehumanized and seen as less competent and less worthy by men and women”. This causes men to be “more tolerant of sexual harassment and rape myths”. This is evident in the Pilot episode of Gossip Girl. Serena is known as the “it” girl and because of this image her male peers believe her to be sexually available to anyone at anytime. Chuck attempts to coerce her into having sex because he knows that Serena has had sex with her bestfriend’s boyfriend. Boys quickly adopt the hypersexualized images of females and apply them to girls. As a result they lack respect for girls, and when they make sexual advances on them they are deemed as harmless. Rape and sexual violence becomes normalized, and sexual predators go unpunished in mainstream media.
Sexualization of women is taught to the public from an early age through the media. This is not a new phenomena, however. As Roberts and Zurbriggen (2012) address, the problem exponentially compounds over time, as evolving mass communication technology creates more opportunities for the press to teach sexualization. New technology is not entirely negative though, as it allows the public to more easily engage in discussions regarding the expression of
Therefore, when a female takes the perspective of others about her body image into consideration, the self-objectification process starts to develop. The self-objectification process is a form of self-consciousness, and it is hypothesized that feeling distressed about body image results from excessive body observation, and leads to the development of eating disorders (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997). Furthermore, the social comparison theory as explained by Festinger’s (1954), states that individuals show a tendency toward comparing and evaluating themselves in relation to others regarding particular attributes of body
Objectification theory has been proposed as a standard for understanding the effects of living in a culture that sexually objectifies women (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997). Objectification occurs when a person’s body is treated like a separate entity and is evaluated on its own merit, without consideration for the rest of the person. When an individual is sexually objectified, they are treated like an object that exists only for the pleasure of others and objectification theory asserts that women are uniquely subject to these types of experiences, especially in Western culture. Self-objectification (SO) leads the individual to create a third person perspective in their minds that they use to compare their physical selves to and in turn causes them to see themselves as an object instead of a whole person. SO also creates a form of self-consciousness, causing a habitual and vigilant self-monitoring of outward appearance.
A common trend in the entertainment industry today is the objectification of women in society. Sexualizing women are seen in media such as; movies, advertisement, television show and music video, where their main focus is providing the audience with an image of women as sexual objects rather than a human. This is detrimental to society since the media is producing social stereotypes for both genders, which can further result in corrupted social habits. Objectification in media are more focused on females than male, these false images of women leave individuals with the wrong idea of the opposite sex. As media continuously use sexual contents regarding women, the audience starts underestimating women. Specifically movies, it allows media to shape the culture’s idea of romance, sex and what seems
The media, including television programming, cartoons, film, the news, as well as literature and magazines, is a very powerful and pervasive medium for expression. It can reach a large number of people and convey ideas, cultural norms, stereotypic roles, power relationships, ethics, and values. Through these messages, the mass media may have a strong influence on individual behavior, views, and values, as well as in shaping national character and culture. Although there is a great potential for the media to have a positive and affirming effect on the public and society at large, there may be important negative consequences when the messages conveyed are harmful, destructive, or violent.
According to a report by ZenithOptimedia, people spend more than an average of 490 minutes of their day consuming some form of media or text (Karaian). In a society that’s driven primarily by the media, we as consumers have been constantly exposed, yet desensitized, to the various perspectives and theoretical frameworks that media has historically illustrated and produced. The most common concepts that are explored involve ideas of race, heteronormativity, whiteness and white privilege, female objectification, class identity, and gender. Each perception is complex and is seen differently in media depending on who you are and the way that you see the world through the lenses created by your own beliefs and culture.
Pornography degrades the moral values of a society. With increased pornography in the contemporary society, sex is no longer a sacred act shared between two people who love each other. Sex has been abused by many people, while there has been an increase in promiscuity (Sabo 150). In addition, the perceptions that people have about sex and women has changed. Women are seen as objects or instruments of sexual satisfaction. They are no longer respected while men expect sexual gratification from acts that can even be termed as beastly. The effects are far reaching as young people as young as 12 years have been fed with the same perception (Peter and Valkenburg 179).
Peter, Jochen, and Patti Valkenburg. "Adolescents’ Exposure To A Sexualized Media Environment And Their Notions Of Women As Sex Objects." Sex Roles 56.5/6 (2007): 381-395. Academic Search Premier. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.Vaes, Jeroen, Paola Paladino, and Elisa Puvia.
Oppliger, Patrice A.. Girls gone skank: the sexualization of girls in American culture. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co., 2008. Print.