Sexual Objectification Experiences Research Articles

Development and Validation of the Online Sexual Objectification Experiences Scale Among College Women

In this study, we developed and psychometrically evaluated the Online Sexual Objectification Experiences Scale (OSOES). We collected data from 816 emerging adult college women across two samples. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed three factors: Unwanted Sexual Advances (example item: “How often have you received unwanted messages online asking about your sexual experience?”), Negative Appearance Commentary (example item: “How often has another person insulted you by calling you unattractive online?”), and Indirect Sexual Objectification (example item: “How often have you read a sexual comment posted to a photo of another woman's body online?”). OSOES scores were internally consistent and were strongly correlated with scores of self-objectification, body surveillance, and body shame. OSOES subscale scores also provided evidence of incremental validity in predicting self-objectification and objectified body consciousness above and beyond offline interpersonal sexual objectification. We hope that findings from the present study and the OSOES can be used by researchers, clinicians, and educators to understand the frequency of online sexual objectification experiences among women and as a result, work to mitigate harmful outcomes. Additional online materials for this article are available on PWQ's website at http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/suppl/DOI:10.1177/03616843241250295

Psychometric evaluation of the Chinese version of the Scale of Effects of Social Media on Eating Behaviour and research of its influencing factors

BackgroundSocial media has become an indispensable part of contemporary young people's lives, and the influence of social media on college students' eating and other health-related behaviors has become increasingly prominent. However, there is no assessment tool to determine the effects of social media on Chinese college students' eating behavior. This study aims to translate the Scale of Effects of Social Media on Eating Behaviour (SESMEB) into Chinese. Its applicability to Chinese college students was examined through reliability and validity indexes, and the influencing factors of SESMEB were explored.MethodsThe questionnaire survey included 2374 Chinese college students. The Brislin translation model was used to translate the original scale into Chinese. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were used to test the construct validity of the scale, and the content validity of the scale was assessed through the content validity index. The internal consistency of the scale was assessed by calculating Cronbach's alpha coefficient, McDonald's Omega coefficient, split-half reliability, and test–retest reliability. Multiple stepwise linear regression analysis was performed to identify potential influences on the effects of social media on eating behavior.ResultsEFA supported the one-factor structure, and the factor loadings of each item on this dimension were higher than 0.40. CFA showed good model fitness indexes. The content validity index of the scale was 0.94. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient and McDonald's Omega coefficient for the scale were 0.964, the split-half reliability coefficient was 0.953, and the test–retest reliability was 0.849. Gender, education, major, frequency of social media use, online sexual objectification experiences, fear of negative evaluations, and physical appearance perfectionism explained 73.8% of the variance in the effects of social media on eating behavior.ConclusionsThe Chinese version of the SESMEB has good psychometric properties and is a valid measurement tool for assessing the effects of social media on college students' eating behavior. Subjects who were female, highly educated, non-medical, had frequent social media use, online sexual objectification experiences, fear of negative evaluations, and physical appearance perfectionism used social media to have a higher impact on eating behavior.

The Sexual Objectification Experiences of Non-Binary People: Embodied Impacts and Acts of Resistance

The Sexual Objectification Experiences of Non-Binary People: Embodied Impacts and Acts of Resistance

Body Maps Depict How Sexual Objectification Shapes Non-Binary People Relating to Their Bodies

ABSTRACT The purpose of this art-based study was to work with non-binary people to explore the impact of their sexual objectification experiences (SOEs) on their relationships with their bodies. Ten non-binary people completed body maps, or artistic representations of their bodies in the context of sexual objectification. Results revealed an idiosyncratic, complicated picture of mixed metaphors and powerful imagery illustrating non-binary SOEs. Themes included a focus on sex characteristics where participants played with nudity, censorship, and boundaries to express and assert themselves. Other forms of expression involved language, facial, gender and cultural expression as well as nature imagery and pain. Participants spoke to their positive, interesting, and challenging experience with the body map itself. Psychologists and clinicians are encouraged to follow best practices when working with non-binary people experiencing sexual objectification, paying attention to how heterogeneous gender identities create unique experiences.

Sexual objectification and depression among female college students in India

Background: Literature suggests that the prevalence of depression among female college students is more than that of male students. Repeated sexual objectification of females appears to be one factor that can be used to explain this disparity and higher prevalence of depression in female students can be attributed to repeated experiences of sexual objectification by them. This study examines the association between sexual objectification and depression among female college students at a medical college in Rajasthan, India. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted among female medical students attending a government medical college in Rajasthan, India. We used the Interpersonal Sexual Objectification Scale, the surveillance subscale of the Objective Body Consciousness Scale and, the Beck Depression Inventory-II to measure sexual objectification, body surveillance and depressive symptoms respectively. Results: Sexual objectification and body surveillance strongly predicted the severity of depressive symptoms(p=0.00001). Results of the multiple linear regression indicated that there was a strong collective significant effect between sexual objectification, body surveillance, and depression, (p = 0.0001, R2 = 0.63). The coefficient of multiple correlation (R, 0.79) showed a strong correlation between the predicted data and the observed data. Conclusion: Sexual objectification is a strong predictor of depression among female college students.

Transgender Dehumanization and Mental Health: Microaggressions, Sexual Objectification, and Shame.

Using structural equation modeling in a national, nonprobabilistic sample of 292 transgender women and men, this project extends the pantheoretical dehumanization framework by testing direct and indirect relations between dehumanization (i.e., a higher-order construct from experiences of transgender microaggressions and sexual objectification), internalization processes (i.e., internalized transnegativity, self-objectification), shame, and general mental health. The model explained 55% of the variance in general mental health. Direct relations between dehumanization and all internalization processes were positive and significant. Internalized transnegativity and shame were significant, negative, direct predictors of mental health, but neither dehumanization nor self-objectification was a significant direct predictor of transgender mental health. Both self-objectification and internalized transnegativity directly predicted more feelings of shame. However, only shame yielded a significant indirect pathway from dehumanization to mental health. The indirect relations from self-objectification and internalized transnegativity to mental health through shame were significant. Research, advocacy, and clinical implications are discussed.

Life history strategies, body surveillance, and online interpersonal sexual objectification experiences on women's body shame

According to the life history theory, fast life history strategists are more likely to prioritize mating efforts and concentrate on appearance to match mate preferences. This mate preference may have become the social ideal through sexual selection, thus causing body shame in women. Currently, the relationship between body shame and life history strategies, and how online interpersonal sexual objectification experiences as an external environment influence these relationships should be clarified. In the current study, a sample of 710 Chinese women participants completed self-report measures of life history strategies, body shame, body surveillance, and online interpersonal sexual objectification experiences. Results showed that life history strategies indirectly affected body shame through body surveillance. Furthermore, online interpersonal sexual objectification experiences played a moderating role. These findings emphasize the evolutionary factors of body shame from a life history theory perspective and the interactive effects of the external environment.

Online Interpersonal Sexual Objectification Experiences and Teenage Girls' Self-Objectification: The Role of Broad Conceptualization of Beauty.

Self-objectification is a common and deleterious phenomenon among young teenage girls, for which interpersonal sexual objectification experiences are a great risk; in the current information era, sexual objectification experiences may also expand into the online space. Based on this, this study aimed to examine the association between online interpersonal sexual objectification (OISO) experiences and teenage girls’ self-objectification, as well as the potential moderating role of broad conceptualization of beauty in relation to this. Seven hundred and seventy-one female undergraduate students were recruited voluntarily to complete questionnaires on OISO experiences, self-objectification, and the broad conceptualization of beauty. Results indicated that OISO experiences were positively associated with teenage girls; self-objectification and the broad conceptualization of beauty could significantly buffer this relation, which was weakened among individuals with a high level of broad conceptualization of beauty. This study expands previous research on sexual objectification, providing practical significance for promoting the well-being of teenage girls.

Black women’s experiences of gendered racial sexual objectification, body image, and depressive symptoms

Black women navigate unique sexual objectification experiences and concerns about their bodies as a consequence of the race- and gender-based marginalization that they face. However, less is known about the influence of gendered racial sexual objectification experiences on Black women’s mental health (i.e., depressive symptoms) or the contributions of key body image indicators (i.e., body surveillance and current-ideal body image discrepancy) that reflect Black women’s engagement in monitoring and managing their bodies. We surveyed 1595 Black women to test our hypotheses that experiences of gendered racial sexual objectification (i.e., frequency and stress appraisal) would be positively associated with depressive symptoms and that body surveillance and current-ideal body image discrepancy would moderate this association. Analyses showed that more frequent experiences of gendered racial sexual objectification and higher stress appraisal of these experiences were significantly associated with more depressive symptoms. Furthermore, body surveillance and current-ideal body image discrepancy moderated the relation between gendered racial sexual objectification and depressive symptoms. Findings highlight how Black women’s objectification and increased engagement in body monitoring and management practices are associated with their experiences of depressive symptoms, and thus, may negatively influence their mental health.

A Test of Objectification Theory With Sexual Minority Women

With this study, we aimed to advance objectification theory research with sexual minority women by examining the understudied roles of appearance anxiety and interoceptive awareness concomitantly with other key variables, including sexual objectification experiences, internalization of cultural appearance standards, body surveillance, and body shame. We also examined depressive symptoms as a criterion variable in addition to eating disorder symptoms. Survey data from 201 sexual minority women were analyzed. Manifest variable path analysis of the hypothesized model explained 35% and 27% of the variance in eating disorder and depressive symptoms, respectively. Results revealed a distinct pattern of cross-sectional direct and indirect relations for eating disorder and depressive symptoms. Specifically, body shame was a key unique correlate of eating disorder symptoms and linked internalization of cultural appearance standards and body surveillance with eating disorder symptoms. Appearance anxiety was a key unique correlate of depressive symptoms and linked internalization of cultural appearance standards and body surveillance with depressive symptoms. Sexual objectification experiences and interoceptive awareness generally did not yield significant unique direct or indirect relations in the model. These findings suggest distinct and complementary points of intervention to mitigate eating disorder and depressive symptoms for sexual minority women.

Development and psychometric evaluation of the Sexual Minority Women's Sexual Objectification Experiences Scale.

Research has linked experiences of sexual objectification to body image and eating problems among women. Existing measures of sexual objectification were grounded in heterosexual women's experiences. The present research extends this prior work by centering sexual minority women's experiences to develop and evaluate the Sexual Minority Women's Sexual Objectification Experiences Scale (SMW-SOE). In Study 1, an initial 51 items were developed, drawing on prior qualitative research with sexual minority women and existing measures of sexual objectification experiences. Exploratory factor analysis of 217 sexual minority women's responses to the initial item set suggested an underlying structure of three interrelated factors. In Study 2, data were collected from an independent sample of 201 sexual minority women to conduct confirmatory factor analysis and evaluate validity evidence. Findings from the confirmatory factor analysis supported a higher order solution with three first-order factors. The final scale comprised 17 items: six items assessing Sexualization of Sexual Identity, five items assessing Intrusive and Explicit Sexual Advances, and six items assessing Body Evaluation. In terms of validity, SMW-SOE overall scale scores yielded expected small-to-large positive correlations with heterosexist experiences, internalization of sociocultural appearance standards, and disordered eating; SMW-SOE subscale scores yielded distinctive patterns of correlations. SMW-SOE scale and subscale items yielded acceptable Cronbach's alphas in both samples. Implications for future research and clinical work are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

성적대상화 경험이 외모에 대한 태도, 신체감시, 그리고 부정적 감정을 매개로 하여 피부관리행동과 미용성형수술행동에 미치는 영향

The purpose of this study is to classify types of unique emotion by conducting evaluation with emotion of female university students, including negative emotions, which only appear on women, who centrally devote themselves on sociocultural meaning. And suggested an objective standard of classification of emotion which affected skin care behavior and cosmetic surgery behavior of each woman by conducting following evaluation. This study targeted 300 female university students in their 20s who live in Dae-Jeon, Chung-Nam, Chung-Buk areas. Evaluation was conducted between April 19th to to May 20th, 2021. Factorial analysis was used for validity and credibility of material analysis and descriptive statistics was used as well. Cronbach’s α, correlation analysis by using SPSS 21.0 program and AMOS. 19.0 program were used to find out research model and significance between the direct and indirect effect had been examined through mediating verification of effect. The results of this study were as follows showed that interpersonal sexual objectification experiences appeared affected on skin care behavior and cosmetic surgery behavior by mediating attitude toward appearance, body monitoring and negative emotions.

\u201cBeing Talked to Like I Was a Sex Toy, Like Being Transgender Was Simply for the Enjoyment of Someone Else\u201d: Fetishization and Sexualization of Transgender and Nonbinary Individuals

Despite the growing interest in the experiences of transgender individuals, the phenomenon of fetishization of transgender bodies and identities has been overlooked. The present study was aimed at investigating the experiences of fetishization of transgender and nonbinary (TGNB) people. Participants in the current study represent a sample of 142 TGNB volunteers from the community who answered the prompt: “If you feel comfortable, could you describe your experience of being fetishized?” Using thematic analysis, we developed three overarching themes relevant to the experiences of fetishization of TGNB participants: (1) context of fetishization; (2) negative experiences of fetishization; and (3) positive or ambiguous experiences of fetishization. The results demonstrated that, in most cases, fetishization was understood by TGNB people as a negative experience of sexual objectification, although some individuals experienced fetishization as a positive experience, perceiving the sexual desire of the other person or living it as a kink. Consistent with the integrated theory of dehumanization, the results demonstrated that both sexual objectification and minority stress contributed to participants’ understanding of fetishization for TGNB individuals. Implications for clinical work with TGNB individuals are discussed.

Body weight contingent self-worth predicts depression in adolescent girls: The roles of self-esteem instability and interpersonal sexual objectification

This 3-year longitudinal study examined the extent to which body weight contingent self-worth (CSW) predicted depressive symptoms in 439 adolescent girls and the roles of unstable self-esteem and interpersonal sexual objectification in this association. Half-longitudinal mediation showed that the indirect effect of body weight CSW on depression via instability of self-esteem was significant. Prior levels of body weight CSW predicted increases in unstable self-esteem, which predicted increments in depressive symptoms over time. However, earlier levels of depression did not significantly predict increases in self-esteem instability. Moderation analyses indicated that the indirect effect was conditional upon individuals’ experience of interpersonal sexual objectification. The positive link between body weight CSW and unstable self-esteem was stronger in girls who experienced more interpersonal sexual objectification. The direct effect of body weight CSW on depression was also moderated by interpersonal sexual objectification. Taken together, basing self-worth on body weight appears to be a risk factor for depression through its association with unstable self-esteem in adolescent girls and sexually objectifying experiences serve to exacerbate the connection between body weight CSW and adverse outcomes.

‘Damn, Channing Tatum can move!’: Women’s accounts of men’s bodies and objectification in post-feminist times

This paper explores how women think about men’s bodies as objects of desire. It reports on one part of a larger qualitative study on men’s bodywork practices in contemporary Australia. Drawing on material from three focus groups with 24 Australian women of varying ages, sexual orientations and backgrounds, the paper considers how women experience, understand and reflect on their desire for men and men’s bodies. It also explores themes such as the connection women draw between what a man’s body looks like and what it can do, how attraction is experienced, the meaning making women engage in as they think about men and men’s bodies, and the broader politics of sexuality and objectification that inform their perceptions and ideas. These experiences are set against ideas in post-feminist thinking on women’s sexual desire and debates on their sexual empowerment. The paper argues that these women are grappling with tensions between their personal experiences of sexual objectification and a feminist ethics relating to their active and reflexive projects of sexuality.

Bisexual Women: Experiencing and Coping with Objectification, Prejudice, and Erasure

Fredrickson and Roberts’ sexual objectification theory has been successfully tested across sexually diverse groups (e.g., heterosexual, lesbian). However, objectification theory research has rarely been extended to a uniquely bisexual population. In this study, we qualitatively examined the sexual objectification experiences of 12 bisexual women. The findings revealed that whereas bisexual women reported traditional sexual objectification experiences, they also described these experiences embedded within fetishization of identity, erasure, and antibisexual discrimination. Such findings informed the discriminatory experiences of bisexual women and their coping strategies. This study offers an important addition to the canon and expansion of sexual objectification literature to bisexual adults and suggests the need for greater visibility and understanding of this historically under-represented population.

The Relational Burden of Objectification: Exploring How Past Experiences of Interpersonal Sexual Objectification Are Related to Relationship Competencies

The present study examines the associations between past experiences of interpersonal sexual objectification (ISO) on relationship initiation, social withdrawal, and positive relationships (which we refer to as relationship competencies). Consistent with objectification theory, we predicted that ISO would be associated with self-objectification, which would then be associated with body shame, appearance anxiety, and stress. In turn, these negative affect variables would be negatively associated with relationship competencies. Data were collected from 392 U.S. college students (M = 21.42 years, SD = 4.03; 32.9% male, 66.8% female). Results show that men and women’s ISO was consistently associated with self-objectification, which was associated with negative affect; direct effects revealed that men’s and women’s ISO was positively associated with relationship initiation. For women, self-objectification, appearance anxiety, and stress serially mediated the associations between ISO and all relationship competencies. For men, self-objectification and appearance anxiety serially mediated the associations between ISO and relationship initiation and social withdrawal whereas self-objectification and stress serially mediated the associations between ISO and social withdrawal and positive relationships. For both women and men, evidence did not support body shame being a link in the serial mediation from ISO to relationship competencies. Results are unpacked illustrating the relational burden of objectification.

The Role of Interpersonal Sexual Objectification in Heterosexual Intimate Partner Violence From Perspectives of Perceivers and Targets.

Sexual objectification is a subtle manifestation of sexist discrimination and violence against women that involves seeing and treating women as sex objects of male sexual desire. The primary aim of this research was to connect sexual objectification experiences with heterosexual intimate partner violence. This set of studies examined the impact of sexual objectification on intimate partner violence for both the female victim (Study 1) and the male perpetrator (Study 2). Female (Study 1) and male (Study 2) participants were asked to rate the extent they are victims or perpetrators of sexual objectification experiences and intimate partner violence. Moreover, women's self-silencing and men's ascriptions of humanity and empathy (through empathic concern and perspective taking) toward their partner was assessed. The results of the first study (including 154 heterosexual women) showed that general sexual objectification victimization indirectly leads to higher psychological and physical violence through the internalization of self-silence schemas. The second study (including 165 heterosexual men) demonstrated a link between general sexual objectification perpetration and psychological and physical intimate partner violence. Moreover, the relation between men's perpetration of objectification and intimate partner violence was mediated by ascriptions of humanity and empathic concern toward their female partner (but not through perspective taking toward her). Results of both studies demonstrate the effect of sexual objectification (as target or perpetrator) on global intimate partner violence and explain the different psychological mechanisms through which it takes place depending on the gendered perspective. Theoretical implications and practical considerations for interventions on intimate partner violence are discussed.

Interpersonal Sexual Objectification, Jezebel Stereotype Endorsement, and Justification of Intimate Partner Violence Toward Women

Sexual objectification and Jezebel stereotype endorsement, a racialized characterization of Black women as promiscuous, have been linked to harmful violence attitudes toward women. Although Black women’s experiences of sexual objectification may be compounded by racialized stereotypes, research has yet to examine how these processes intersect to influence justification of intimate partner violence toward women. This study fills this gap in the objectification literature by examining associations between interpersonal sexual objectification, endorsement of racialized stereotypes, and justification of violence toward women in a sample of Black men and women. Participants were 432 Black Americans who completed an online survey. Among Black men, we found that greater objectifying behaviors and greater endorsement of the Jezebel stereotype were associated with greater justification of violence toward women. We did not find evidence of an interaction between these two processes. Among Black women, we found an interaction between objectification experiences and stereotype endorsement, such that justification of violence was highest for Black women who endorsed the Jezebel stereotype and had more frequent experiences of sexual objectification. Violence prevention work, such as perpetrator rehabilitation programs and victim support groups, should explicitly address how stereotypical images of Black women impact their experiences of violence.

Sexual Objectification, Internalization, and College Women’s Depression: The Role of Shame

This study examined potential mediators, a moderator, and a moderated mediation of the link between sexual objectification experiences and depression among 489 young adult college women. Findings from the mediation analyses revealed that sexual objectification was directly and indirectly related to depression via greater body surveillance and self-blame. Shame moderated the direct effect of sexual objectification on body surveillance. Sexual objectification predicted body surveillance for women with low but not high or moderate levels of shame. Shame also moderated the direct effect of sexual objectification on self-blame and provided support for moderated mediation via conditional process analyses. Sexual objectification predicted self-blame for women with high and moderate but not low levels of shame. The findings underscore the importance of attending to experiences of objectification when working with women clients presenting with depression and to help them lessen habitual body monitoring, blaming themselves for being sexually objectified, and feelings of shame.