Objectification in Heterosexual Romantic Relationships: Examining Relationship Satisfaction of Female Objectification Recipients and Male Objectifying Perpetrators

Relationship of Objectified Short-Form Videos Exposure to Satisfaction and Objectification in Relationships Among Chinese Women: A Pilot Study

Studies have indicated the impact of exposure to objectifying media on objectification and relationship satisfaction from a romantic context. This study examined the association between viewing objectified short-form videos and self-and partner-objectification (i.e., objectifying one's partner), as well as relationship satisfaction among Chinese women. The study participants comprised 241 Chinese women in romantic relationships who were recruited online. Participants completed measures of viewing objectified male and female videos, self-objectification (SO), partner-objectification (PO), and relationship satisfaction. The results showed a significant association between exposure to objectified female videos and SO, but not with relationship satisfaction. Exposure to objectified male videos was associated significantly with PO. The indirect effect of objectified male videos exposure on relationship satisfaction via PO was significant. This implies that PO plays an important role in relationship satisfaction as opposed to SO.

Buffering an Objectifying Culture: Interpersonal Sexual Objectification, Self-Objectification, and Attachment Anxiety

In this article, we report two studies that examined the dynamics between interpersonal sexual objectification, self-objectification, and individuals’ attachment in romantic relationships. Study 1 was based on data from 392 college students ( Mage = 21.42 years, 66.8% women). Results showed positive associations between interpersonal sexual objectification, self-objectification, attachment anxiety, and attachment avoidance among women. For men, significant and positive associations were only observed between interpersonal sexual objectification and self-objectification and between self-objectification and attachment anxiety. Study 2 was a 6-month longitudinal study where we recruited participants through CloudResearch ( n = 638, Mage = 24.26 years, 55.8% women at Time 1; n = 283, Mage = 24.43 years, 56.9% women at Time 2; return rate = 44.36%). Results from longitudinal analyses showed that women reported stronger stability in self-objectification than men, and for both women and men, their attachment anxiety predicted increased self-objectification. Additionally, in both studies, women reported higher levels of interpersonal sexual objectification, self-objectification, and attachment anxiety than men. Overall, the findings suggest that high-quality relationships may help buffer the negative effects engendered by an objectifying culture. Based on our results, we recommend that clinicians and parents work to foster secure and healthy relationships as a means of reducing the extensive negative repercussions 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.

Differentiating contributions of self-objectification and self-sexualization to young women's sexual agency

Findings consistently illustrate the negative association between women's sexual objectification and their sexual functioning. At the same time, some scholars argue that sexualized self-presentation may be a way to embrace one's sexuality and may signify empowerment. To date, no studies have explicitly explored the potential differential contributions of self-objectification and self-sexualization to multiple aspects of women's sexual agency. Towards this end, we surveyed 556 undergraduate women to examine how body surveillance, self-objectification, and self-sexualization differentially predict women's sexual assertiveness, sexual satisfaction, feelings of entitlement to sexual pleasure, condom use self-efficacy, and sexual esteem. Path analysis demonstrated consistent negative links between body surveillance, one behavioral manifestation of self-objectification, and sexual agency outcomes, but revealed both negative and positive links between measures of sexualization and sexual agency. This complex set of associations highlights the value of studying self-objectification and self-sexualization both in tandem and separately, so that researchers can develop a better understanding of the implications of each for women's sexual agency.

The demography of swiping right. An overview of couples who met through dating apps in Switzerland

Within the span of almost ten years, phone dating apps have transformed the dating scene by normalizing and, according to some voices, gamifying the digital quest for a partner. Despite amplified discussion on how swipe-based apps damage the fabric of intimate ties, scientific accounts on whether they have led to different relationship patterns are missing. Using 2018 survey data from Switzerland, this study provides a rich overview of couples who met through dating apps by addressing three main themes: 1) family formation intentions, 2) relationship satisfaction and individual well-being, and 3) assortative mating. The data indicate that in Switzerland, dating apps have recently taken over as main online dating context. Results further show that couples formed through mobile dating have stronger cohabiting intentions than those formed in non-digital settings. Women who found their partner through a dating app also have stronger fertility desires and intentions than those who found their partner offline. Generally, there are no differences between couples initiated through dating apps and those initiated elsewhere regarding relationship and life satisfaction. Though more data are needed to capture the full range of users' romantic and sexual experiences, current results mitigate some of the concerns regarding the short-term orientation or the poor quality of relationships formed through mobile dating. Findings finally suggest that dating apps play an important role in altering couple composition by allowing for more educationally diverse and geographically distant couples.

The Detrimental Effect of Sexual Objectification on Targets' and Perpetrators' Sexual Satisfaction: The Mediating Role of Sexual Coercion

Sexual objectification is a variable to consider for understanding the sexual violence that takes place into intimate context. The set of studies presented here aims to connect sexual objectification phenomena with sexual coercion and explore the consequences that both have on sexual satisfaction. Two studies examined the association between sexual objectification and sexual satisfaction for both views: female target (Study 1) and male perpetrator (Study 2) perspectives. The results of the first study (n = 138 heterosexual women) demonstrated that perceiving partner objectification (but not reporting general sexual objectification victimization) is indirectly linked to a lower sexual satisfaction because of lower rejection and higher sexual coercion rates. The second study (n = 136 heterosexual men) showed the indirect effect of partner objectification and general sexual objectification perpetration on sexual satisfaction after sexual coercion perpetration. Results of both studies demonstrated the negative consequences that sexual objectification has on sexual satisfaction for both male perpetrators and female targets.