Tests of Objectification Theory in Gay, Lesbian, and Heterosexual Community Samples: Mixed Evidence for Proposed Pathways

Objectification theory (Fredrickson and Roberts 1997) proposes that women are especially vulnerable to eating disordered behavior when they live in cultures in which their bodies are a constant focus of evaluation. The current study examined whether predictions of objectification theory involving the associations among sexual objectification, body surveillance, body shame, and eating disordered behavior were supported in groups that varied by both gender and sexual orientation. Adults from a U.S. community sample in the Chicago area (92 heterosexual women; 102 heterosexual men; 87 gay men; and 99 lesbian women) completed self-report measures of these constructs. Results suggest that group differences in experiences of sexual objectification and body surveillance may partially explain gender and sexual orientation-based differences in eating disordered behavior.     

Body Objectification,MTV, and Psychological Outcomes Among Female Adolescents1

In response to the American Psychological Association's Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls, the present study explored the role of sexually objectifying media—in this case, music television—in a host of psychological consequences among a community sample of adolescents girls (M age = 13 years). Objectification theory posits that the consequences of sexual objectification involve the process of self‐objectification. As such, we hypothesized that music television consumption would first and foremost be associated with self‐objectification, which would, in turn, predict a number of body‐related consequences. The findings support a model in which self‐objectification mediates a direct relation between music television viewing and body esteem, dieting, depressive symptoms, anxiety, and confidence in math ability.     

Body Objectification, Self-Esteem, and Relationship Satisfaction: A Comparison of Exotic Dancers and College Women

We examined body objectification, self-esteem, and relationship satisfaction differences between college women and exotic dancers and the relationships among these measures for both groups. Forty-three college women and 40 female exotic dancers completed a questionnaire that assessed each of these constructs. Relative to college women, exotic dancers reported less relationship satisfaction, more body surveillance, and a greater prioritizing of body attractiveness over physical competence. Relationship satisfaction and the prioritizing of appearance over physical competence varied for the heterosexual and bisexual dancers. For exotic dancers, the body objectification measures of surveillance and shame were negatively, and body control was positively, related to self-esteem; body shame was negatively related to relationship satisfaction. For college women, higher levels of body surveillance and body shame were associated with higher prioritizing of physical attractiveness relative to physical competence.     

Shades of Sexualization: When Sexualization Becomes Sexual Objectification

Sexualization in mass media is a widespread phenomenon. Although sexualization and sexual objectification are often used as synonymous, they are two different concepts. Across two studies, we investigated how sexualization affects perceptions of women (Study 1) and men (Study 2) as sexual objects. Participants were asked to judge sexual objectification, competence, and sexiness of female and male models portrayed with different degrees of sexualization, namely, as Non-Revealing (dressed), merely Revealing (undressed), and Sexualized Revealing (undressed and provocative). The results of both studies showed that as the level of sexualization increased so did participants’ perceptions of the targets as sexual objects. However, the level of sexualization affected perceived competence and sexiness differently depending on the target’s gender. Male models’ competence decreased as the level of sexualization increased, whereas female models portrayed as merely Revealing and as Sexualized Revealing were judged as equally incompetent. Male targets’ sexiness was not affected by the level of portrayals’ sexualization, whereas Sexualized Revealing portrayals enhanced the perceived sexiness of female targets. Finally, in Study 2, the results showed that male targets in Sexualized Revealing portrayals were judged as less masculine. Our findings suggest that sexualization contributes similarly to the perception of both women and men as sexual objects but affects other variables depending on the target’s gender. Our work extends previous literature and informs us about the consequences that sexualization of men and women have on others’ judgments.     

裸露尤“物”:性客体化影响社会认知的眼动证据

客体化理论认为,对女性身体的关注会导致对其能力、热情和道德等社会属性评价的降低,然而以往研究缺乏直接证据。本研究以50名大学生为被试,采用眼动仪考察了对泳装图片和非泳装图片人物聪明程度评价过程中的眼动特征,结果发现:相比非泳装图片,被试对泳装图片人物的聪明程度评分更低;相比非泳装图片,被试对泳装图片人物胸部的注视点更多,注视时间和首次注视时间更长,对面孔的注视时间和首次注视时间更短。眼动特征表明,对泳装图片社会感知过程中存在客体化注视,直接且直观地支持了客体化理论。     

Eroticizing Men: Cultural Influences on Advertising and Male Objectification

The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, the model offered by Thomas Rochon is used to examine how ideas, activism, and changing American values have influenced advertiser practices as they relate to sexualized images of men in mainstream media. Previous research has highlighted the importance of economic shifts on advertiser practices, ignoring the importance of cultural factors, such as the influence of the gay liberation movement on representations of masculinity in the post 1960s era. Second, a quantitative analysis of sexualized depictions of masculinity is presented. These data suggest that men in contemporary advertisements increasingly display the visual cues of objectification. After positioning these sexualized images in a larger social, political, and economic context, the implications of male objectification is discussed.     

A Test of Objectification Theory in Adolescent Girls

The present study tested the components of the model proposed by Objectification Theory (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997) in a sample of adolescent girls. Two groups of girls aged between 12 and 16 years (38 girls who currently studied classical ballet, and 45 girls who did not study classical ballet) completed questionnaire measures of self-objectification, body shame, appearance anxiety, and disordered eating. Contrary to prediction, there was no difference between the 2 groups on self-objectification or on any of its proposed consequences. For the total sample, however, the proposed model was largely supported. In particular, body shame and appearance anxiety partially mediated the relationship between self-objectification and disordered eating. It was concluded that Objectification Theory is applicable to adolescents.     

Social Responsiveness and Objectification: The Moderating Roles of Serotonin Transporter and Serotonin Receptor 2A Genotypes in an Objectification Theory Model of Disordered Eating

Feminist scholars have called for gender researchers to consider gene-environment interactions for gender-imbalanced disorders (Salk and Hyde Psychology of Women Quarterly, 36, 395–411, 2012). Responding to these calls, the present study integrates objectification theory (Fredrickson and Roberts Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21, 173–206, 1997) and genetic research. In the tested model, objectification experiences are associated with disordered eating through body surveillance and body shame, and serotonin transporter (SLC6A4) genotypes (5-HTTLPR and rs25531), serotonin 2A receptor SNP genotypes (HTR2A rs6311), and the epistatic interaction between those genotypes function as moderators. U.S. undergraduate women (n?=?526) completed self-reports of objectification, body surveillance, body shame, and disordered eating and donated buccal cells for genetic analyses. The association between objectification and disordered eating was mediated by body shame, but not body surveillance. The paths from objectification to both body surveillance and body shame were moderated by genotypes. The indirect effect of objectification on disordered eating through body shame was only present for SLC6A4 L′ and rs6311 G homozygotes. Our results are consistent with previous evidence that serotonin system genetic variation is associated with disordered eating risk. They provide evidence of a non-deterministic genetic effect that is context-dependent and subtle. These findings also reinforce efforts to develop personalized prevention and treatment approaches for eating disorders.

     

亲密关系中的客体化研究

客体化理论提出,女性在成长过程中经历了被他人凝视、在人际交往中被强调外表的重要,以及媒体信息对女性性吸引力的突出等信息,这些直接或者间接的因素导致了部分女性接受以“第三者”的观察视角来看待自己,看重自身的生理功能而忽视了个人能力。当这种性客体化内化之后,其结果就是自我客体化。自我客体化会造成如抑郁、焦虑、身体羞耻感等情绪问题; 进食障碍以及与性行为相关的行为障碍。最新的研究在此基础上对研究对象以及研究范围进行了扩展:在研究对象上,从女性群体扩展到男性群体,从异性恋群体扩展到同性恋群体; 在研究范围上,从性客体化扩展到去人性的工具客体化。未来的研究需要从文化差异、性别趋同和配对研究三个方向进一步探讨亲密关系中的客体化形成的内在机制及其影响因素。     

Body talk among college men: Content,correlates, and effects

Though researchers are beginning to examine body-related talk in women (often referred to as fat talk), little work has examined how men talk about their bodies with peers. The two studies presented in this article explore body talk among U.S. college men. First, an online survey examined the frequency with which college men engage in negative body talk, the content of these conversations, and the body image variables associated with engaging in this type of talk. Negative body talk in men was associated with drive for muscularity, eating disordered behavior, and appearance investment. Study 2 experimentally examined the effects of hearing male peers engage in negative body talk. Hearing muscle talk or fat talk caused decreased state appearance self-esteem and increased state body dissatisfaction. The correlates and consequences of negative body talk among men appear no less troubling than those identified among women.     

Ethnicity of Dating Partner,Pressure for Thinness,and Body Dissatisfaction

Two studies explored the relation between ethnicity, attitudes toward body weight, dating behavior, and female body satisfaction. Study 1 found that White men expressed a lighter female ideal weight, more resentment about their girlfriend's weight, and more pressure for their partner's thinness than did Black men. Study 2 found that regardless of their own ethnicity, women who dated White men had lower body mass index (BMI), lower ideal weights, and reported experiencing lower levels of body acceptance by their dating partners. This lack of acceptance was associated with lower levels of body satisfaction. These results support the view that the differing aesthetic preferences of Black and White men contribute to differing levels of body satisfaction among Black and White women.     

Mindfulness, body image, and drive for muscularity in men

Studies have shown that dispositional mindfulness, a construct characterized by awareness and attention to present moment experiences, is associated with body image constructs in women. However, little is known about the relationship between dispositional mindfulness and body image among men. Therefore, this study examined the unique associations between dispositional mindfulness and three body image variables in men: overall appearance evaluation, satisfaction with distinct body areas, and drive for muscularity. Undergraduate men (N=296) completed the Multidimensional Body Self-Relations Questionnaire-Appearance Scales, the Drive for Muscularity Scale, the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale, and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule. A series of hierarchical regression analyses revealed that mindfulness was uniquely associated with all three body image variables after accounting for body mass index and negative affect. Results are discussed with regard to the potential role of dispositional mindfulness in body dissatisfaction among men.     

Birds of a Feather Flock Together: The Interpersonal Process of Objectification within Intimate Heterosexual Relationships

On the basis that objectification is a self-perpetuating phenomenon, we tested two new hypotheses about the role of objectification within ongoing, intimate heterosexual relationships. First, individuals who self-objectify and objectify others tend to have partners who also self-objectify and objectify others. Second, objectification within relationships is associated with reduced relationship quality. Furthermore, rather than relying on the perspective of only one dyad member, we applied the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM: Kenny et al. 2006) as a framework for hypothesis testing. That is, we collected data from both partners within the relationship on the same variables (n = 59 heterosexual couples). We found support for both hypotheses, but negligible evidence of gender differences in relations between self-objectification, objectification, and relationship quality. Finally, we applied the APIM to replicate previous research on relations among self-objectification, objectification of partner, and body- and self-esteem. Self-objectification and objectification of partner was unrelated to body esteem for both men and women. Self-objectification was associated with reduced self-esteem, irrespective of gender, but objectification of partner was not associated with partner’s self-esteem.     

Social Exclusion and Sexual Objectification Among 18- to 30-Year-Old Men in Kosovo

It was predicted that higher levels of gender-based rejection sensitivity would be related to higher tendencies to objectify women (that is, higher tendencies to perceive women as lacking in human mental states and uniquely human emotions). It was also predicted that an enhanced tendency to perceive women as objects would increase men’s tendencies to engage with myth rape acceptance. In a study involving 94 Kosovo men, however, the rejection sensitivity index did not correlate with any outcome variable. The tendency to objectify women did not correlate with myth rape acceptance. Hurt proneness or anxiety in close relationships was positively correlated with the tendency to perceive women as human beings (rather than as objects) and to attribute them human emotions or human mental states. These latter correlations clearly emerged among male participants currently involved in romantic relationships but not in those not involved in romantic relationships.     

Physical fitness, body image, and locus of control in college freshman men and women

This study examined the relations among physical fitness, body image, and locus of control. The Hall-Physical Fitness Test Profile, the Winstead and Cash Body Self-relations Questionnaire (BSRQ) and the Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale were administered to 243 freshmen. Women were significantly more positive about their physical appearance than men. Men were more positive about their physical fitness than women. Men were more physically fit than women. Men and women scoring in the internal direction viewed the physical fitness domain of their body image positively. Unlike men, internally oriented women had more positive perceptions of the health aspect of their body image. Physically fit men and women had positive attitudes toward the physical fitness component of their body image. Physically fit men differed from physically fit women in that men were more internal and held more positive attitudes toward the physical health dimension of their body images.     

Objectification in Fitness Centers: Self-Objectification, Body Dissatisfaction, and Disordered Eating in Aerobic Instructors and Aerobic Participants

This study was designed to investigate self-objectification, its theoretical consequences, and its relationship to reasons for exercise within a fitness center environment. Sixty female aerobic instructors and 97 female aerobic participants, who ranged in age from 18 to 45 years, completed questionnaire measures of self-objectification, reasons for exercise, body dissatisfaction, and disordered eating. Increased self-objectification (and self-surveillance) was related to disordered eating symptomatology, body dissatisfaction, and appearance-related reasons for exercise. Aerobic instructors scored significantly lower on self-objectification, body dissatisfaction, and disordered eating than did aerobic participants, and they exercised more for enjoyment and less for appearance-related reasons. For aerobic participants, location of exercise (inside or outside the fitness center) moderated the relationship between frequency of exercise and self-objectification, such that exercising within fitness centers was associated with relatively higher self-objectification. Higher levels of self-objectification were also related to wearing tighter exercise clothing. These results support the general model of Objectification Theory, and provide practical implications for women who exercise within objectifying environments.     

Aging, body image, and body shape

Participants were 25 older men (M age = 72 years, SD = 10 years) and 27 older women (M age = 71 years, SD = 8 years) who examined multiple line-drawing figures of babies, children, young adults, middle-aged adults, and older adults. Participants picked a number on a Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (very thin) to 9 (very obese) in response to questions including "Which is the most attractive?" and "Which figure would you most like to look like?" They also completed questionnaires about their body image and body shape. In response to the age-specific line drawings (e.g., those depicting older men and older women), older women endorsed thinner figures (e.g., picked smaller numbers) than did men. Likewise, older women reported thinking more about their body shape and appearance than did men and perceived their body image as "a little too big" in comparison with the older men who perceived their body image as "just the right size." However, a breakdown of normal and overweight women in this sample revealed that for some overweight elderly women, obesity could become a satisfactory way of life. Much as with college-aged women, the endorsement of a thinner body image by many of the older adult female participants appeared to persist into late adulthood and suggests that research into body image issues with older adults is relevant and necessary.     

Relations among media influence,body image,eating concerns,and sexual orientation in men: A preliminary investigation

The current study explored the relation between sexual orientation, media persuasion, and eating and body image concerns among 78 college men (39 gay; 39 straight). Participants completed measures of sexual orientation, eating disorder symptoms, appearance-related anxiety, perceived importance of physical attractiveness, perceptions of media influence, and media exposure. Gay men scored significantly higher on drive for thinness, body dissatisfaction, and body image-related anxiety than their straight counterparts. Additionally, perceptions of media influence were higher for gay men, and significantly mediated the relation between sexual orientation and eating and body image concerns. Sexual orientation also moderated the relation between perceived media influence and beliefs regarding the importance of physical attractiveness, as this relation was significant for gay men, but not straight men. The current findings suggest that gay men's increased vulnerability to media influence partially accounts for the relatively high rate of eating pathology observed in this population.     

Associations among body dissatisfaction,gender, and three latent profiles of religiosity

Body dissatisfaction is a too-common issue for young women in the US. Body dissatisfaction is a rising issue with young men too, although their average body dissatisfaction remains lower than young women’s. Religiosity has been negatively linked to body dissatisfaction for women, but the relation for men is unclear. The current study (N?=?5104) built upon a previous latent profile analysis of a large, diverse sample of US. college students Multi-Site University Study of Identity and Culture (MUSIC). We examined whether body dissatisfaction scores were related to three religious classes, when depressive symptoms were controlled for, and whether gender moderated that potential relation. Body dissatisfaction scores were significantly related to religious class. Gender had a main effect although not a moderating effect: men had better body dissatisfaction than women did, and their religious class similarly affected their body dissatisfaction scores. Religiosity appears important for emerging adult men’s body dissatisfaction, like for emerging adult women.