What is objectification? Recently, on the expanses of the World Wide Web, you can increasingly find this word. As a rule, people learn about him because of various scandals that caused a public outcry. In our article today, we will try to explain the meaning of the word "objectification" in a simple and understandable language, and also show clear examples of this phenomenon. Interested in? Then proceed to reading!
Objectification in terms of feminism
According to representatives of modern feminist movements, objectification is a sexist phenomenon with which society must fight. Before you know the meaning of the concept of "objectification", you need to plunge into the theory and understand what sexism is.
Sexism is a stereotyped, biased and disrespectful attitude towards a person of a different sex. At the heart of this concept is the idea of the superiority of one sex over another.
Gender stereotypes
Sexism is common due to gender stereotypes. They attribute to both sexes certain qualities that emphasize the differences between them.
Examples of gender stereotypes that can often be found in everyday life:
- Baba must be in the kitchen!
- Not served - not a man!
- A man should not clean at home. This is women's work!
- You are a man! You should!
Objectification: the meaning of the word
We figured out the theory, now let's move on to the topic of our article today. From the point of view of feminism, objectification is the perception of a person as a tool to satisfy his sexual desires and endowing him with sexual characteristics that correspond to the interests of the opposite sex. In simpler words, this is a reification of the personality, representing it as an abstract image, artificial sexization.
Sexual objectification and advertising
Sexual objectification is a phenomenon that is most often seen in advertising. An example is the use of idealized and unrealistic female and male bodies.
The mechanism of action of sexualized advertising is terribly simple: beautiful bodies are used to attract the attention of the buyer and stimulate his sexual desire, which should subsequently be transferred to the product. Thus, in such an advertisement a person is presented as a bonus to purchase or a special prize, which is awarded for the correct choice of the buyer. It follows that a beautiful female or male body, presented as a gift for the purchase of a product, is itself equated with this product.
Sexual Objectivity Test
Sexual objectification is not limited to vulgar and eroticized images, and therefore it is sometimes not entirely clear whether it is in advertising or not.
Caroline Heldman, a leading lawyer who works on the impact of the media on sexual discrimination, has created a special test for sexual objectification. It must be done in the analysis of a particular advertisement, where there is an image of sexualized people. It consists of seven questions:
- Is the image showing only part / s of a naked / half-naked person?
- Does the human body or its parts play the role of an object?
- Can nudity / half-naked people in advertising be replaced by each other?
- Is there a violation of the boundaries of the body of a person who cannot express his consent to this?
- Does the image convey the message that sexual accessibility is one of the defining characteristics of a person?
- Is a sexualized person being touted as an object or product that can be purchased or sold?
- Is such a person’s body used as canvas or canvas?
If you answer positively to at least one of the above questions, then you can safely say that this advertisement is based on sexual objectification.
Objectification in other areas of the media
No need to think that sexual objectification is common only in advertising. This phenomenon can often be found in other areas of the media: cinema, television series, comics, video games, and so on.
With the advent and development of cinematic art, many scholars in the humanities began to think about how films can influence a mass audience.
The time interval from 1950 to 1980 was quite controversial for both film critics and those who create movies. While American Hollywood was shooting popular blockbusters, European directors tried to be different from them and create their own, truly unique content. These processes influenced the fact that many theorists of cinema began to think about the role of films in society.
One such example is the theory of the theory of "male gaze" and feminist cinema, according to which a large number of films sexually objectify the female sex. According to Laura Mulvey, the author of this theory, this form of fetishism in the field of cinema reinforced sexual inequality in society.
Laura Mulvey is a British film critic and supporter of this movement. She gained fame thanks to the work "Male look and visual pleasure." The work of Laura Mulvey, like the works of many other film critics, relied on the work of Sigmund Freud.
Sexual objectification and scandals
The definition of objectivity for many people can be different. Some relate to this phenomenon categorically negatively, while others - on the contrary - do not see anything bad in it and, moreover, they fully support it. On this basis, scandals have repeatedly occurred, in the center of which were representatives of the feminist movement and people who hold a different point of view. As an example, consider the situation that occurred in the fall of 2014.
The well-known Russian Internet portal ru.IGN released material under the loud heading "Sexual objectification is great." Its author was the chief editor of IGN in Russia Konstantin Govorun. This publication became an informational guide for a resource popular among feminists called Wonderzine, on which articles on gaming topics are posted from time to time. The author of this project accused Govorun of using the Russian branch of the most popular video game portal to openly support and promote sexist views. After this scandal and complaints from Wonderzine, the original material was removed from the site at the request of the IGN headquarters.
Other objectification
We may surprise you, but the definition of the word objectification is not limited to the sexualization of the female or male body in advertising or other areas of the media. Since we undertook to consider this topic globally, it would be wrong for us not to talk about the other meaning of this word.
For example, the great Russian philosopher of the 20th century, Nikolai Berdyaev, often used this concept in his works. According to Berdyaev, objectification is an embodiment, materialization, deployment in matter, appearance in a created three-dimensional world. Simply put, this is a combination of spirit with matter, nature and man.
Considering a person as a creature that belongs to two worlds (spiritual and natural necessary), Nikolai Berdyaev argued that the depth of the human "I" belongs to another, higher world. Human life, from this point of view, is the experience of the objectification of the higher self, consciousness and spirit.
Objectification is the reincarnation of the spirit in the body, in the object, the painful entry of the infinite into the limits of space-time and finite forms. When the consciousness loses its connection with the spiritual world, merges with the objective world and does not realize its internal infinity, then the connection with the spiritual is broken.
This can be done. We think we managed to tell in a simple and understandable language about the true meaning of the expression "objectification". We hope that after reading this publication you learned a lot of new and interesting information!