Self-objectification Theory
Outline ‘self-objectification theory’ and explain how it relates to self-esteem.
Objectification theory was initially proposed as a means of affording researchers a framework with which to inspect women’s lived experiences in sociocultural settings that seem to objectify women’s bodies in terms of how women are represented by the media as well as via interpersonal interactions, such as street harassment (Fredrichson & Roberts 1997). In particular, the theory suggests that both girls and women are acculturated to ‘internalise’ the perspective of a third person as regards their bodies, in terms of how they think about themselves (Fredrickson & Roberts 1997). According to Calogero (2009), this internalization results in habitual body scrutinizing, in which girls and women scrutinize their bodies according to how they believe they are usually observed by others, with a key emphasis on their feelings and looks.
This process is known as self-objectification, and it has serious implications for women’s experimental and psychological consequences, that is, being completely immersed in a physical or mental pursuit (or decreased “flow”), amplified feelings of shame and anxiety, and declined mindfulness of one’s internal body cues (Moradi 2010). In this way, self-objectification affects one’s self-esteem in that women and girls are compelled to attach a lot of value not on what they can do or how they feel, but on how they look. The relationship between body image and self-esteem in adolescents has been documented in literature (Grippo & Hill 2008). Elsewhere, Tiggemann and Williams (2012) revealed a relationship between self-esteem and self-concept, despite the age group. This association can be problematic in case objectified women are viewed as being unattractive. This could bring shame on women who feel that they do not live up to the existing standards of attractiveness (Moradi & Huang 2008), thus leading to low self-esteem.
References
Calogero RM (2009),’ Objectification processes and disordered eating in British women and
Men’, Journal of Health Psychology, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 394-402.
Fredrickson BL & Roberts T (1997),’ Objectification theory: Toward understanding women's lived experiences and mental health risks’, Psychology of Women Quarterly, vol. 21, pp. 173-206.
Grippo KP & Hil, MS (2008),’ Self-objectification, habitual body monitoring, and body dissatisfaction in older European American women: Exploring age and feminism as moderators’, Body Image, vol. 5, pp. 173-182.
Moradi B (2010),’ Addressing gender and cultural diversity in body image: Objectification theory as
a framework for integrating theories and grounding research’, Sex Roles, vol. 63, pp. 138-148.
Moradi B & Huang YP (2008),’ Objectification theory and psychology of women: A decade of advances and future directions’, Psychology of Women Quarterly, vol. 32, pp. 377-39
Tiggemann M & Williams E (2012),’ The role of self-objectification in disordered eating, depressed mood, and sexual functioning among women: A comprehensive test of objectification theory’, Psychology of Women Quarterly, vol. 36, no. 1, pp. 66-75.
