The Sexual Objectification of Women in the Media: A Brief Discussion of the Implications

The impact of visual media on attitudes toward women is of particular interest to me. I am currently preparing to conduct research related to these topics. My research is specifically focused on the stereotypical portrayals of women in the media and the subsequent effects it has on women’s gender ideology. Given that this is my field of interest, my blog post might be slightly too long and include too many citations, but oh well.

Objectification Theory

Objectification Theory posits that women and girls are socialized to accept the narrowly defined roles as sexualized objects, and adopt a third-person perspective when viewing their own bodies. Self-objectification is defined as “the process through which girls and women are typically acculturated to internalize an observer’s perspective as a primary view of their physical selves” (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997). The effects of this phenomenon are detrimental for women’s well-being. It can lead to body monitoring, body shame, appearance anxiety, depression, and disordered eating. The core of sexual objectification has been defined as the “objectifying gaze”. This gaze is the third person perspective through which women view themselves. One component that sparks this perspective is “…visual media that spotlight bodies and body parts and seamlessly align viewers with an implicit sexualizing gaze” (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997).

Multiple studies have focused on the impact of visual media. It has been found that exposing female participants to magazine advertisements featuring the idealized female figure, and/or words related to physical appearance lead to the following: increases in self-objectification and appearance anxiety, and decreases in mood and body satisfaction (Harper & Tiggemann, 2008; Roberts & Gettman, 2004). The findings of these two studies are not anomalies; many studies have found the same, or similar, outcomes. This is exceptionally problematic in a society such as ours—a society in which we are perpetually bombarded by media portrayals of hyper-sexualized women. The media routinely depicts women that are rendered to be no more than sexual objects present for the male gaze and consumption.

Male Perceptions

In a study by Cikara, Eberhardt, and Fiske (2010), it was found that when exposed to sexualized female images, men with hostile sexist attitudes dehumanized women. These men utilized verbs commonly used for inanimate objects when describing women. Additionally, when these men viewed the women, the areas of their brain associated with viewing objects was activated, rather than the areas connected to recognizing humans. The perceptions of women as “things” strips us of our autonomy and at the most basic level, our status as human beings. This study truly demonstrates that media’s sexually objectifying depicts of women literally renders us as inanimate objects.

It is evident that the media’s portrayal of women is detrimental for all people in the society, not just women’s own well-being. It is frightening then that women are so frequently depicted in such manners. This can be seen in everything from clothing advertisements, magazine covers, and commercials for male projects (such as Axe) and drinks. The media utilizes women as props to grab the attention of the viewers in order to promote and profit off of their products.

NOTE: It must be clarified that the findings in the study by Cikara, et al (2010) are not representative of males as a whole, but rather a single subset. Men in this group received high scores in the Hostile Sexism subscale of the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (Glick & Fiske, 2011). This means that these men hold negative stereotypical attitudes toward women, and hostile attitudes toward women who fail to submit to traditional gender roles and behaviors.

Sample statements from the subscale include: “Women get a kick out of teasing men by seeming sexually available and then refusing male advances”; “Most women interpret innocent remarks as being sexist”; “Women are too easily offended”; “Women seek to gain power by getting control over men”.  

Work Cited

Cikara, M., Eberhardt, J. L., & Fiske, S. T. (2010). From agents to objects: Sexist attitudes and neural responses to sexualized targets. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 23(3), 540 – 551.

Fredrickson, B. L., & Roberts, T. (1997). Objectification theory: Toward understanding women’s lived experiences and mental health risks. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21(2), 173 – 206.

Harper, B., & Tiggemann, M. (2008). The effect of thin ideal media images on women’s self-objectification, mood, and body image. Sex Roles, 58(9), 649 – 657.

Roberts, T., & Gettman, J. Y. (2004). Mere exposure: Gender differences in the negative effects of priming a state of self-objectification. Sex Roles, 51(1), 17 – 27.

Glick, P., & Fiske, S. T. (2011). Ambivalent sexism revisited. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 35(3), 530 – 535.