The Social Interaction Model of Objectification: A process model of goal-based objectifying exchanges between men and women

Evidence That Pervasive Body Gaze Behavior in Heterosexual Men Is a Social Marker for Implicit, Physiological, and Explicit Sexual Assault Propensities

Deliberate and effortful attempts to gaze at the bodies of women is emerging as a valuable marker of sexual objectification in men. Some preliminary evidence suggests that pervasive body gaze behavior may also accompany insidious attitudes which can facilitate sexual assault. The present study aimed to further explore this potential by examining pervasive body gaze associations with explicit, implicit, and physiological sexual assault propensity measures. We presented 110 heterosexual male participants with images of fully and partially dressed women with and without injuries while measuring their skin conductance responses. We also captured implicit and explicit sexual assault measures in addition to self-reported pervasive body gaze behavior. Pervasive body gaze behavior was significantly correlated with rape myth acceptance attitudes, prior perpetration of sexual assault, a stronger implicit association between erotica and aggression, and lower physiological reactivity during exposure to partially dressed injured women. These findings suggest that body gaze towards women could be a behavioral marker for inclinations to victim blame, preferences for rough sexual conduct, and a physiological desensitization towards female victims. This study further validates a five item self-reported body gaze measure as a valuable tool for detecting deviant sexual objectification attitudes and affective states. As such, measurement and observation of body gaze behavior could be useful for developing risk assessments, estimating intervention efficacy, and enhancing public awareness.

"They are men, they will be looking even if you put on pants or a sweatshirt": Girl athletes' and coaches' experiences of body image in Mexico City sport settings

Body image concerns are a barrier for girls' participation in sports. Scarce evidence from Mexico suggests adolescents experience high levels of body dissatisfaction, and national statistics report low levels of physical activity among girls. This study aimed to explore girls' body image concerns and coaches' perceptions of girls' body image experiences in sport. We used reflexive thematic analysis on secondary data from semi-structured focus groups conducted in Mexico City with 12 girls aged 11-17 years and six coaches from two sports organizations. Girls expressed feelings of self-consciousness about their performance, body-related teasing, the male gaze, and harassment within and outside sports contexts. Lack of support from coaches resulted in making excuses for withdrawing or supporting one another. Coaches' accounts demonstrate gender stereotypes about girls in sport. They acknowledge that girls abandon sport because of appearance-related teasing and body image concerns. In addition, colorism and discomfort with speaking directly about bodily functions are fundamental sociocultural influences affecting their communication. This is the first qualitative study exploring girls' body image concerns and coaches' perceptions of such concerns in Mexico City. Further research in lower- and middle-income countries is key in developing effective intervention programs to help girls benefit from sport.

Body Gaze as a Marker of Sexual Objectification: A New Scale for Pervasive Gaze and Gaze Provocation Behaviors in Heterosexual Women and Men

Body gaze behavior is assumed to be a key feature of sexual objectification. However, there are few self-report gaze measures available and none capturing behavior which seeks to invite body gaze from others. Across two studies, we used existing self-report instruments and measurement of eye movements to validate a new self-report scale to measure pervasive body gaze behavior and body gaze provocation behavior in heterosexual women and men. In Study 1, participants (N = 1021) completed a survey with newly created items related to pervasive body gaze and body gaze provocation behavior. Participants also completed preexisting measures of body attitudes, sexual assault attitudes, pornography use, and relationship status. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses across independent samples suggested a 12-item scale for men and women to separately measure pervasive body gaze (5 items) and body gaze provocation (7 items) toward the opposite sex. The two scales yielded excellent internal consistency estimates (.86-.89) and promising convergent validity via positive correlations with body and sexual attitudes. In Study 2, a subsample (N = 167) of participants from Study 1 completed an eye-tracking task to capture their gaze behavior toward matched images of partially and fully dressed female and male subjects. Men exhibited body-biased gaze behavior toward all the female imagery, whereas women exhibited head-biased gaze behavior toward fully clothed male imagery. Importantly, self-reported body gaze correlated positively with some aspects of objectively measured body gaze behavior. Both scales showed good test-retest reliability and were positively correlated with sexual assault attitudes.

Gender roles and intimate partner violence among female university students in Spain: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Traditional gender roles (GRs) have a considerable influence on relationships among couples. These can lead to negative health effects in women; however, their impact on intimate partner violence (IPV) has been less explored, especially among younger women.

OBJECTIVE

To explore the association between traditional GRs and several indicators of IPV on a sample of Spanish female university students involved in heterosexual dating relationships.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study involving female university students (n = 1,005) pursuing ten degrees (four Health Science degrees and six Social Sciences degrees). Data were collected using two validated scales: 1) the Questionnaire on the Gender Determinants of Contraception (COGANT), used to examine four traditional GRs (submissive, blind, and passive attitudes of female students, and male dominance), and 2) the Dating Violence Questionnaire-R (DVQ-R) scale, used to measure five types of IPV-behaviors (coercion, detachment, humiliation, sexual violence, and physical violence), perceived fear, entrapment, and abuse. Logistic and linear regressions were conducted to study the association between GR and a series of IPV indicators in dating relationships.

RESULTS

Traditional GRs were highly prevalent (57.0% submissive, 52.0% blind attitude, 75.7% passive, and 31.7% identified their boyfriend as being dominant). Up to 66.3% experienced some type of violent behavior. All GRs were significantly associated with IPV indicators. A submissive attitude in female students was the GR that was most strongly associated to total IPV-behavior (adjusted odd ratio [OR] = 3.18; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.29-4.42), followed by male dominance (OR = 2.79: 95% CI:1.71: 4.54). Both GRs were also highly associated with perceived fear, entrapment, and abuse.

CONCLUSIONS

A high presence of traditional GRs was found in the relationships held by female university students, which was significantly associated with IPV indicators. Universities must adopt policies for gender equality and raise awareness on dating violence.

On Methods and Marshmallows: A Roadmap for Science That Is Openly Feminist and Radically Open

In this commentary, we argue that feminist science and open science can benefit from each other’s wisdom and critiques in service of creating systems that produce the highest quality science with the maximum potential for improving the lives of women. To do this, we offer a constructive analysis, focusing on common methods used in open science, including open materials and data, preregistration, and large sample sizes, and illuminate potential benefits and costs from a feminist science perspective. We also offer some solutions and deeper questions both for individual researchers and the feminist psychology and open science communities. By broadening our focus from a myopic prioritization of certain methodological and analytic approaches in open science, we hope to give a balanced perspective of science that emerges from each movement’s strengths and is openly feminist and radically open.

Does tipping facilitate sexual objectification? The effect of tips on sexual harassment of bar and restaurant servers

Purpose

In many countries, service workers' (e.g. restaurant staff, bartenders) income depends highly on tips. Such workers are often female and targeted by sexual harassment. The purpose of this paper was to investigate whether the mode of compensation (tips vs. no tips) could play a causal role in the perceived legitimacy of sexual harassment.

Design/methodology/approach

In an experimental study (N = 161), the authors manipulated the source of income of a fictional female bartender (fixed income vs. smaller fixed income + tips) as well as whether she or her boss chose her (sexualized) clothing. The authors then asked male participants in an online survey to imagine being her customer and to form an impression of her.

Findings

The bartender was viewed as more sexualized, more manipulative and sexual behaviors toward her were perceived as more legitimate when she received tips. Further, the effect of tipping on the legitimacy of sexual behaviors was mediated by perceptions that she was manipulative. The target was perceived as more manipulative when she chose her clothes than not.

Research limitations/implications

The study is an online scenario study and, as a consequence, assesses only judgments rather than actual behaviors.

Practical implications

Encouraging fixed salaries rather than tipping could reduce the occurrence of sexual harassment.

Social implications

The present work suggests that tipping may play a detrimental role in service workers' well-being by contributing to an environment in which sexual harassment is perceived as legitimate.

Originality/value

To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study showing that mode of compensation can increase the objectification of workers and legitimize sexually objectifying behaviors toward them.

Pornography Use, Two Forms of Dehumanization, and Sexual Aggression: Attitudes vs. Behaviors

Sexual objectification is a common pornographic theme. Research shows that sexual objectification leads to the expression of aggressive attitudes and behaviors toward women. Based on a survey study of 320 male participants, this study re-conceptualizes sexual objectification in terms of two forms of dehumanization. Evidence suggests men's pornography use is positively associated with both forms, but mechanistic dehumanization of women is more associated with aggressive attitudes while animalistic dehumanization is more associated with aggressive behaviors. Findings indicate how objectifying pornography use may relate to aggressive attitudes and behaviors and inform the future education campaigns and interventions to reduce sexual aggression.

My Physical Appearance at the Center of Others' Concerns: What are the Consequences for Women's Metadehumanization and Emotions?

Despite the frequency of women’s exposure to sexually objectifying behaviors in their daily life (e.g., through comments on their appearance, gazing or touching), no previous work has investigated how such a focus on their physical appearance influences women’s meta-perceptions. Capitalizing on recent studies showing that sexually objectified women are dehumanized by both male and female participants, the present paper investigates women’s metadehumanization (i.e., their perceptions of being viewed as less than fully human) and its emotional consequences following interpersonal sexual objectification. In three studies, we showed that when an interaction partner focuses on their physical appearance, women report higher levels of metadehumanization, as well as increased anger and sadness, than when the partner focuses on non-physical parts. Theoretical and empirical contributions of the present findings are discussed.

Effects of taking selfies on women's self-objectification, mood, self-esteem, and social aggression toward female peers

This study investigated the effects of taking photos (of the self or objects) on women. Objectification theory states that women are subjected to societal pressure to focus on their physical appearance. The emergence of social media as a communication channel has further reinforced the emphasis on women's appearance, beauty ideals, and body image. On social media, selfies serve as a self-presentation of one's appearance to an online audience. In this 2 × 2 experiment, women (N = 120, M_age = 19.87) took pictures of themselves (i.e., selfies) or objects. They were told beforehand that these pictures would be kept private or that they would be posted online on social media. After taking pictures, we assessed women's self-objectification, mood, and self-esteem. Women then engaged in a photo tagging task in which they selected hashtags for selfies of other women. Selfie takers expressed higher self-objectification, more negative mood, and diminished self-esteem compared to those taking pictures of objects. Selfie takers also demonstrated comparatively less social aggression, using fewer derogatory tags on other women's pictures. Although taking selfies may negatively affect producers, there may be benefits for online social interaction with peers.