My View On The Objectification Of Women
Objectification of Women
Objectification of women has been going on for a long time in history. Women grow up surrounded in an environment that objectifies women, so they adopt the same cultural standards of what a woman is. Objectification of a woman occurs when a woman is recognized by her body and physique rather than her face or personality. There have been multiple studies supporting this claim that objectification of women occurs in both men and women and can happen without the person realizing it.
A woman starts to objectify herself because to others she is perceived as an object. They become more submissive especially when more skin is revealed on their bodies. This is connected to when women are catcalled or ogled at they are more inclined to stay silent. They behave this way because women have become objectified for so long they start to believe that they are objects. Men have also judged women as less knowledgeable or accomplished when they were dressed lighter. In a study, women were judged to be less smart when they wore less clothing. These studies prove that a woman is judged more by her body physique than that of her accomplishments or even her facial features.
In some studies, photos of women are more likely to be remembered when sexualized than when non-sexualized. When women are wearing little clothing, they are perceived to be more akin to an object than a human. This means that they are seen as having more traits similar to an object rather than having emotions and individuality. However, when a woman is depicted as successful, such as holding a trophy or wearing a business suit they are judged to be more competent or accomplished. This means that people have a stereotype of how women revealing more skin are more likely to be loose in morals and may even be judged to be of less worth than others.
Today’s society of sexualizing women in entertainment industries also contributes to the objectification of women. It detaches the thought of the sexualized woman from being human. This is linked to sexual aggression in men and victim blaming towards sexual assault, harassment, or rape victims. I myself have personally felt objectified multiple occasions in my life before. When I am dressed lighter than usual I become more aware of the people around me and feel self-conscious of my skin. On a walk with my friend a group of men hollered at us, prompting me pull along my cousin walk faster. Rude gestures are made towards us and it felt akin to being in a zoo exhibit.
Hearing the horror stories of what happened to people I knew only increased my wariness. I felt less inclined to wear my lighter summer clothing and would freeze up like a deer in headlights when approached by a male stranger. And I would associate it to my clothing choice being the reason why I was approached. I have experienced victim blaming before. I was deemed to be at fault when I was touched inappropriately for wearing shorts and a camisole. This also in turn, caused me to blame myself for that happening to me. However, when wearing less revealing clothing, I was just another passerby to those around me and encountered less uncomfortable interactions with strangers.
My culture is a more traditional one where males are the dominant in the household. And although the times are changing, women are still viewed as less than the men. I am underestimated by my male cousins because I am a woman and, in their eyes, incompetent. While I was aware that women were constantly objectified, I was clueless regarding how women also objectified themselves in response. This is an eye opener to how much women are treated as objects rather than humans when they are sexualized. This is also linked to why women are perceived to be of less worth compared to men in some countries like China and India.
