Sexual objectification occurs when a person (most often a woman) is treated as a body or series of body parts for others’ use and consumption, when her physical attributes and sexual capabilities are regarded as representative of her whole self or seen as determining her worth.
Objectifying representations of women include depictions of women without heads or faces, reduced to a single body part, portrayed as interchangeable, as a stand-in for an object or defined by their sexual availability.
When women are treated as sexual objects and their value is based on their physical attractiveness and sexuality to the exclusion of other characteristics, skills and attributes, this is harmful. It leads to sexual harassment, abuse, discrimination and men’s violence against women. It reinforces women’s status as second-class citizens, as existing for men’s sexual use and enjoyment, rather than fully human.
The harms of sexually objectifying portrayals of women are well established. A review of twenty years of research, from 109 publications containing 135 studies found:
“consistent evidence that…everyday exposure to this content is directly associated with a range of consequences, including higher levels of body dissatisfaction, greater self-objectification, greater support of sexist beliefs and of adversarial sexual beliefs, and greater tolerance of sexual violence toward women…exposure to this content leads both women and men to have a diminished view of women’s competence, morality, and humanity.” We have long argued the objectification of women should be regarded as a discriminatory practice, a form of sexual harassment threatening the health, well-being and status of women and girls.
See also:
The Sexy Lie - Dr Caroline Heldman TED talk https://www.collectiveshout.org/watch_sexual_objectification_explained
The CHIPS test https://www.collectiveshout.org/what_would_advertising_look_like_without_objectification
Keeping Women in their Place: Objectification in Advertising - Jennifer Moss https://www.collectiveshout.org/as_subtle_as_the_pose
‘Women’s bodies are not sex aids: The backlash against corporate exploitation of women’, Lydia Turner, MTR, November 1, 2010 https://melindatankardreist.com/2010/11/womens-bodies-are-not-sex-aids/
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