Sexual Objectification Of Women Research Articles

Esports events & hegemonic masculinity: Reflections on participant-observation at Evolution Championship Series 2019

Using critical theory and self-embodiment, as well as Bourdieu's concept of habitus and the social field, this ethnographic project documents the various ways that hegemonic masculinity manifested at the 2019 Evolution Championship Series (EVO), the largest fighting video game tournament in the world. Participant-observation was utilized to analyze the embodied experience of attending and participating in the tournament. The findings suggest that EVO's hyper-competitive culture reifies hegemonic masculinity and marginalizes femininity. The findings suggest that esports competitions reclaim masculinity through cyber-rituals and sexual objectification of women's real and digital bodies, in lieu of the absence of physical real-world male athletic bodies.

“How Dirty Boys Get Clean” – on sexual objectification of women in advertising before and after #metoo era

“How Dirty Boys Get Clean” – on sexual objectification of women in advertising before and after #metoo era

The Role of Online Comedy Skits in the Sexual Objectification of Women in Nigeria

Recently, online comedy skit creators have become celebrities and influencers in Nigeria, amassing millions of followers on various social media platforms. The influence of these influencers on their followers and society can be harmful when negative messages like sexual objectification of women are propagated. Using a mixed methods approach, this study examines the role that comedy skits play in the promotion of female sexual objectification in Nigeria. The study examines YouTube video content from six (6) major comedy skits makers. The results indicate that all six (6) of the major online skit comedy makers analysed in the study use various elements of sexual objectification such as sexual language, sex appeal, male gaze, and sexualization in their YouTube videos. This finding has implications for women and girls in Nigeria as well as the world since media’s portrayal of women as sexual objects have been linked to global violence against women and girls.

Exposing and Creating Nuance in Cinema: A Study on the Representation of Marginalized Identities in Neeraj Ghaywan Films

Being a perception-inducing and reinforcing medium, films can make remarkable efforts to humanize the lives of marginalized identities. Indian cinema has been largely criticized for its upper-caste gaze, sexual objectification of women, gagged or stereotypical representation of minorities, and other cultural identities. Neeraj Ghaywan is necessarily one of the young contemporary filmmakers from Bollywood who, regardless of the status quo, attempts nuance in terms of representation and portrayal. Diversity in the organizational structure of our society should reflect in mainstream cinema narratives to impact the process of democratization. The presence of more filmmakers from diverse identities would energize this process in its due course. This study is designed to analyze the representation of marginalized identities and explore the auteurship of Neeraj Ghaywan. As choosing not to talk about is itself a political act of subversion, under-representation would impact only social exclusion, while misrepresentations might perpetuate and bring about toxic stereotypes. The films of Neeraj Ghaywan are keen on both aspects of faulty representations.

Sexual objectification of women in media and the gender wage gap: Does exposure to objectifying pictures lower the reservation wage?

Using an online experiment, we investigate the influence of sexual objectification in media on reservation wages. In the experiment, subjects (843 women and 307 men in the main analysis) are asked to evaluate advertisements in women's magazines. In the treatment groups, the ads portray women in sexually objectifying poses, while the poses are neutral in the control group. The main research hypothesis is that sexual objectification tends to make women self-objectify, i.e., they internalize the view of the objectifying images, and as a result, they lower their reservation wage. We find that women in the treatment groups do self-objectify: Women who were exposed to the objectifying images described themselves with words related to body shape or size significantly more often than women in the control group. Adding a warning text about the fact that photoshopped images can create unrealistic body ideals did not mitigate the self-objectification. However, we do not find any effect of sexual objectification on women's reservation wages. If we take the results at face value, they do suggest that the objectification of women in media, while having important psychological and emotional effects, does not seem to affect women's reservation wages, at least not directly.

The Sexual Objectification of Women in the Nigerian Entertainment Industry

The growing prevalence of pornography coupled with the influence of patriarchy on the Nigerian entertainment industry has made the objectification of womanhood a perceptible feature of films and musical videos produced by Nigerians. Using secondary sources and critical observations, this paper, attempts to illustrate the phenomenon of women’s sexual objectification in the Nollywood and Nigerian music industry. The paper defines the concept of women sexual objectification in the context of media production arguing that objectification is revealed by the types of camera angles and positions used in depicting women in filmic and pop video productions. The use of close-ups or medium range shots emphasizing the sexuality and sumptuousness of female characters in films or pop-videos are some of the techniques used by apologists of women’s sexual objectification. Sexual objectification thus entails making women characters in a filmic or musical production the object to be looked at or the spectacle to enjoy. The paper also shows how the sexual objectification of womanhood is manifested in selected Nollywood films and musical videos by Nigerian popular artistes. In the light of the selected pop videos and films, the paper argues that the types of camera movements and angles deployed in most Nigerian pop videos and Nollywood films are in line with the male gaze theory. These camera movements and angles systemically help depict the woman as a spectacle in itself as well as a sexual object. They also project the man as the reader of the meaning while “relegating” the woman to the status of the bearer of the meaning.

Where’s the Party? How Clothing and Context Influence Perceptions of Women

The sexual objectification of women is a large societal issue and is related to a host of negative mental and physical health implications for women. Past research has suggested that the objectification of women may be influenced by types of clothing worn and the context in which it is worn. However, it is difficult to discern how much objectification is modified by both clothing and contextual features simultaneously. We manipulated the type of clothing worn by models (high skin exposure or low skin exposure) and the type of context the clothing was allegedly worn for (a party or a job interview). Participants (N = 334) rated models on traits relating to objectification, professionalism, and capabilities. Analyses showed significant main effects for both context and outfit on most variables but no significant interactions. Results suggest that changing the context in which clothing is meant to be worn can significantly change a number of attributions made of the wearer by observers, specifically in terms of objectification. These findings may help build upon the ever-growing framework for understanding some potential mechanisms behind the objectification of women.

Sexual Objectification of Women in Alcohol Print Advertisements in the Philippines

This research explores the sexual objectification of women as core models perpetuated by alcohol advertisements. The findings are based on five (5) distinct print advertisements from the leading alcohol brands in the Philippines. The research focuses on how women are portrayed stereotypically in print advertisements. The research utilized both critical discourse analysis (CDA) and semiotics. It allows scholars to examine how various meanings and ideologies are produced, digested, and legitimized via social behaviors, instead of only reviewing discursive texts. The study is predicated on Fairclough's three-dimensional framework: description (textual characteristics), interpretation (discursive practice), and explanation (social practice). According to the findings, ads promote gender inequity. Advertisers use a concentrated technique to depict sexual gender stereotypes against women in alcohol ads. Such advertising supports the notion that women have sexually exploitative and fantasizing images in the alcohol industry, with men as large consumers. The study also indicates how the female role may be portrayed in other marketing industries evaluating alternative multimodal texts.

Revenge pornography on the internet

Revenge pornography, which is mainly understood as the publication of nude or intimate picturesof another person without their consent, is a phenomenon that is increasing in occurrence andconstantly changing in the manner in which it is carried out. In Kenya, due to the absence of aproper regulatory mechanism, perpetrators continue to carry out their activities with resoundingimpact and devastating effects on the victims. This article uses discourse analysis to explore themotivations behind non-consensual pornography, reasons and motivations for its prevalence,which include revenge and punishment, entertainment/fun, the sexual objectification of women,“slut shaming”, and denigration of the victim’s character. The paper also looks at the legal andgendered aspects that allow the vice to continue being perpetrated. These include the lack ofclearly defined laws that capture the various forms that revenge pornography can take and thelack of well-trained legal officers and law enforcers who can handle reported cases of revengepornography. The article argues in favour of reform of the current legal framework in order toaddress non-consensual pornography as mediated by the tools of digital technology. This includesa clear legal definition of revenge pornography.

Objectified and Dehumanized: Does Objectification Impact Perceptions of Women Political Candidates?

AbstractObjectification and dehumanization are topics often discussed within the social psychology and feminist theory literature. Research on objectification has largely focused on the sexual objectification of women’s bodies, whereas the dehumanization literature has focused on dehumanization in the context of racial and ethnic groups. Extant political science research has only recently begun to engage with these concepts. In this manuscript, we build upon these literatures and apply these insights to questions relevant to politics. In particular, we argue that objectifying and dehumanizing portrayals of women impact how voters evaluate women politicians and how much they support gender parity in politics. Through a proposed experimental design, we test our hypothesis that the objectification of women as a group can decrease positive evaluations and likelihood of electoral support for women political candidates.

Superior, Violent and Aggressive: Hegemonic Masculinity in Arabic Music Videos

Free access to music videos on YouTube has allowed generations of consumers to be exposed to songs from their favorite artists on a daily basis. Presented in the form of music videos, these songs contain visuals that carry several themes including the glorification of violence and the dominance of men over women (Sherman and Dominick 1986), and the sexual objectification of women (Kozman et al. 2021). The effects of this exposure on people have been shown to affect day to day attitudes and behaviors, especially among the youth (Johnson et al. 1995). Although Western music videos have been the subject of numerous research studies, research on Arabic music videos is nearly non-existent. This study sought to examine the prevalence of the violence and aggression of men in Arabic music videos using Gramsci’s theory of hegemonic masculinity. The study performed a qualitative textual analysis on a sample of 10 Arabic music videos that are popular for containing instances of violence and supremacy of men. The analysis returned three themes that reflect basic tenets of hegemonic masculinity: the patriarchal values and superiority of men, female subordination, and violent behavior.

Body-representation and sexual identity projections: A survey of advertising in print media

Matrimonial advertisements provide an unobtrusive site where the image, construction and perpetuation of normative heterosexuality are observed through socio-cultural discourses. The current study focuses on self-representation and gender role expectations in 550 classified matrimonial ads from two popular newspapers (The Daily Dawn, The Daily Jang) in Pakistan. Gender differences in desirable physical attributes, occupational preferences and personality traits are examined. The results revealed that gender polarization in ideal spousal occupations, and the relative variability in gender identities of women as compared to men. A strong preference for pretty and slim women is observed. Implications for the sexual objectification of women and changing gender roles in changing socioeconomic landscape of Pakistan is due to the impact of globalization.

Throwing Off the Corset: A Contemporary History of the Beauty Resistance Movement in South Korea

The tal-corset movement, a beauty resistance campaign, swept South Korea’s feminist sce-ne in 2018 and became a phenomenon bringing about unprecedented social changes in South Korea. This article explains sociocultural contexts to South Korea’s tal-corset move-ment through group interviews and examination of online materials. It documents the contemporary history of the development of the movement from a feminist perspective. Findings show that movement participants see beauty practice as social oppression imposed on women’s bodies and appearances and the marker of women’s low social status. The new wave of an online feminist movement that emerged in 2015 created women-only communities that enabled South Korean women to share their personal experiences as women and to reach the conclusion that in order to reject femininity and sexual objectifi-cation of women, they needed to take off the corset collectively. Awareness was manifested by encouraging other women to reject beauty practice and display their own tal-corset prac-tice online and offline. This article argues that tal-corset movement is a feminist political movement that aims to eradicate femininity as social oppression. Female solidarity and connectedness played an essential role in forming the rationale and the tactics of the movement.

"At Your Service": Sexual Harassment of Female Bartenders and Its Acceptance As "Norm" in Lagos Metropolis, Nigeria.

Notwithstanding the pervasiveness of sexual harassment in the bar and restaurant industry, limited attention has been paid to empirically examining the dynamics of sexual crimes committed in the industry. To address this, a qualitative study was conducted with female bartenders in drinking bars within Lagos metropolis to explore the nature and patterns of sexual harassments they experienced, as well as their response, coping measures and bar management's positions. Forty-seven interviews were conducted, and a thematic analysis of the narratives was carried out. Findings indicated that participants experienced a variety of unwanted sexual behavior from customers, coworkers and managers, including verbal expressions, signs, gestures and physical harassment that are sexual in nature. Although sexual harassment is ubiquitous, there was appreciable recognition of it as being undesirable and problematic with feelings of anger, fear, humiliation, shame, guilt, violation, powerlessness and loss of control. Participants hinged their vulnerability to being harassed on gender inequality, discrimination, feminization of poverty and sexual objectification of women in Nigerian society. These findings have important practical and policy implications if the sexual maltreatments of working women in Nigeria, especially in the low-income earning occupations, are to be acknowledged and addressed.

Self-objectification, sexual subjectivity, and identity exploration among emerging adult women

ABSTRACT As a result of the consistent sexual objectification of women across cultures, theorists have noted women objectifying themselves. Given the dehumanizing aspects of self-objectification, this process threatens the holistic development of the self. The present cross-sectional survey study examined how self-objectification is related to sexual subjectivity and identity exploration, among emerging adult women. We found that self-objectification negatively impacts the self-concept domains of self-esteem and sexual subjectivity. Self-esteem was found to mediate the association between self-objectification and identity exploration. Our results draw attention to the detrimental outcomes of self-objectification, highlighting the potential for educators and practitioners to aid young women in examining their self-concept within our broader culture to ensure a healthy trajectory of development of the self.

Sexism and Power Play in the Nigerian Contemporary Hip Hop Culture: The Music of Wizkid

The proliferation of hip hop culture in Nigeria today is a trend which occurs as a result of adoption, adaptation and popularization of American hip hop music. Since its inception in the 1990s to date, the Nigerian hip hop culture has evolved among the youth. The impact of this form of cultural imperialism is evident in the manner in which Nigerian male and female artists copy their American counterparts in the objectification of women as sex symbols. A worrying trend in this popular culture is the sexist representation of women in the lyrics, videos and live performances. This attitude is alien, since women were not widely portrayed as mere sex symbols in the music genres that preceded hip hop in Nigeria. The sexist ideology expressed by most Nigerian hip hop artists has been an issue of academic inquiry in recent times; thus, a content analysis of Wizkid's music was undertaken for this study. Wizkid is one of the most popular Nigerian hip hop musicians. By focusing on a selection of his songs and music videos, this paper aims to ascertain the politics of overtly sexualized images of women in his music. It argues that sexual objectification of women in Wizkid's hip hop music serves as a means of boosting his social status and commercial viability in the Nigerian popular music industries.

The link between myths about sexual aggression and sexual objectification via hostile attitudes toward women

ABSTRACT Sexual objectification of women is linked to a variety of negative attitudes and behaviour towards them, including myths about sexual aggression. The aim of the study was to examine the link between myths about sexual aggression and sexual objectification through hostile attitudes towards women. A sample of students and non-students (N = 165) completed a questionnaire that included the Acceptance of Modern Rape Myths about Sexual Aggression Scale, the Interpersonal Sexual Objectification Scale-Perpetrator Version, and a measure of hostility towards women. The results indicated that acceptance of myths about sexual aggression was positively correlated with sexual objectification and hostility towards women. In addition, acceptance of myths about sexual aggression was indirectly related to sexual objectification via hostile attitudes towards women. We discuss the implications of our findings for the relationship between the negative perceptions and treatment of women, particularly those relating to sexualised attitudes and rape myth acceptance.

Ambivalent sexism and sexual objectification of women as predictors of rape myth acceptance among male college students in Greater Jakarta

Sexual violence against women, particularly in the form of rape, is a serious issue that must be addressed in Indonesia. However, victims of sexual violence are not enveloped by a supportive atmosphere due to the pervasive acceptance of rape myths in society. This study examined the role of ambivalent sexism and sexual objectification of women in predicting the acceptance of rape myths among male college students in Greater Jakarta, Indonesia. A sample of 275 male college students completed the Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale-Short Form, Ambivalent Sexism Inventory, and Women Are Sexual Objects subscale from the Attitude Toward Dating and Relationship Measure Revised. The results of multiple regression analysis showed that ambivalent sexism and sexual objectification of women significantly predicted rape myth acceptance, with sexual objectification of women tends to have more contribution. This finding explains that to develop and conduct prevention and treatment, both variables need to be addressed, with more attention given to the sexual objectification of women.

Of Cows and Women: The Animalization of Victimized Women in Devorah Baron's Fiction

Devorah Baron’s literary oeuvre primarily portrays oppressed women, trapped in patriarchy, and other marginalized groups or individuals in the Lithuanian shtetl, whose liberty and dignity are trampled. Throughout her writings, animals appear as the most deprived and vulnerable members of society, and their oppression is often compared to oppression within humanity, particularly the oppression of women. This article seeks to explore the literary transaction between gender and animality in Baron’s writings, focusing on the parallel between the victimization of women and cows. Unlike her male contemporaries, whose lighthearted woman-cow analogy stems from the sexual objectification of women, Baron empathically depicts bovinized women, who are reduced to their reproductive system and maternal functions just like cows. The homologous biopolitical management of both women and cows, which was first theorized in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s 1898 feminist treatise Women and Economics, is poetically embodied in Baron’s tales of wet nurses—“Hitparets” (“Burst”), “ʿAtsbanut” (“Nervousness”), and “Shifra”—and barren women who are forced to divorce—“Mishpaḥah” (“Family”) and “Keritut” (“Bill of Divorcement”)—as well as in “Shavririm” (“Sunbeams”), which woefully tells of the most wretched woman in the shtetl and her empowering bond with a cow.

EXPLORING GENDER STEREOTYPES IN MEDIA ADVERTS: A MULTIMODAL ANALYSIS

This paper aims at identifying socio-cultural portrayal of women through representational, interactive and compositional meanings with a focus on gender stereotypes propagated by media advertisements in Pakistan. Media adverts as such are an instrumental tool for manipulating attitudes and behavior of large and diverse audience for example, a large body of data reveals that women are portrayed in media to stylize their physical attributes to tempt and persuade customers. Therefore, advertisements are instrumental in creating a certain mind-set by shaping an ideologythrough highlighting the hegemonic representation of men and sexual objectification of women for creating an erotic fantasy. The data for the study comprises print media adverts which were randomly collected to have primarily advertised Pakistan TV morning shows, home products and cosmetics and have been selected on an assumption that they embody a socio-cultural perspective. The findings show that the selected advertsproject the world of male chauvinism where women are shown as the facilitating sexual objects.