How do you avoid this confusion? Clearly define objectification, and explicitly state why you think it’s a bad thing. Productive discussions can now begin.
I don't have access to the full article anymore (dropped out uni years ago), however any university library access has a PDF version of it, have you ever read "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema" by Laura Mulvey? It's kinda old, but still very interesting, thought provoking and relevant, I hope.Yes of course, objectification happens in all sorts of areas. If you want to look at sexual objectification something that I have always found interesting is comparing magazines. If anyone's interested take a google search. Look up, women's magazines, men's magazines, lad's mags, gay magazines and lesbian magazines.
Women's magazines are predominantly sexy women pulling sexy poses in nice clothes with nice hair. Some of them are scantily dressed but mostly they're clothed with a bit of skin, especially some cleavage. They are definitely sexual in nature. I would guess that this is what is portrayed as how straight women want to look.
Men's magazines, you will see a strong looking man looking important. Possibly in a suit, often with a serious pose. This image is a man who knows what he's doing, and the image is not remotely sexual in nature. Occasionally you see a bit of arm action showing muscle, but the idea of the image is more strength than anything else. Occasionally you'll see a scantily dressed woman on the cover.
Lads mags will basically always be glamour models and very sexual in nature. Boobs out, barely any clothing. The slogans are derogatory in nature.
Gay magazines look basically identical to lads mags, except they are men on the cover. Men topless in underwear, showing their 6 pack abs and maximum skin in a sexy pose. These poses are identical to the ones women usually do on their covers.
Then if you search lesbian magazines you will find women on the covers who look strong, sometimes beautiful but not sexual. The clear idea of all of these images is strength, confidence and happiness.
Sexual objectification definitely exists, but why? Why are the magazines aimed towards straight women showing very sexual women? Why are the magazines aimed towards straight men either showing women in an extremely sexual light or men in a strong, powerful and important light? Why is it that lesbians have no interest in seeing women being sexual and prefer a woman looking confident with herself? Why is it that as soon as it's turned around for gay men that the men are as sexualised as the women?
This could be for lots of reasons, maybe it's social, maybe biological. I'd make a guess that in regards to women's magazines, women are still taught that us being attractive is more important than our partner and that we need to use our looks to attract a man. And therefore a woman being sexy and beautiful on the cover is out "ideal".
In comparison with men's magazines, men are still either taught that women are there to be sexualised and objectified, or that it's normal for that to happen and that it's ok for them to be sexual. And with the strong men on the covers, boys are taught when they're young to aspire to be strong and follow their dreams and that that will in turn translate to attracting a woman. So seeing a strong, successful man on the cover is their "ideal".
Then when it translates to gay magazines, well I guess men still enjoy the same kind of sexuality and therefore in this situation gay men will step up their game to attract a man. It's always an interesting thing how much more effort a lot of gay men put into their appearances than straight men. Is this a biological thing that men are more visual than women or is it cultural?
If it's biological then this probably won't change, and unfortunately it will hold women back and women will continue to be objectified. If it is cultural and men can start to be taught that women who push themselves in the workplace and are happy and confident because they're doing what they love are as or more attractive than a woman who is happy and confident because she looks good.
As in most situations where you make an argument for nature versus nurture it's most likely a mixture of both. I think it can be controlled as there are plenty of men who grew up seeing strong women who go on to find strong women more attractive than a pretty but weak woman. And vice versa. I think we are gradually heading more in the direction of women being respected for their talents and abilities and not their looks, but we've got a long way for that to happen. There are still plenty of teenage girls who aren't focusing on what they like because they're too busy fussing about their looks. It's not something that is either sexes "fault", women objectify themselves and are a part of this too.
I don't feel particularly objectified as a camgirl if I am performing live. I guess because personality is pretty important to people who watch and tip you. I think images and recorded porn is much easier for this to happen as it's nothing to do with that person, it's only to do their their looks and sexuality. I could see the same thing with a site that was less personality based than MFC and you just like the look of a model and pay her to masturbate/whatever. I've worked as a stipper on the other hand and felt a lot more objectified. It was consensual and I made a lot of money so it was worth it for me, but the attitude is very different to what I experience in MFC.
So that's sexual objectification that is very real. But there are other forms of objectification. I think members can be objectified by camgirls quite easily as you don't hear or see them, it's easy to think of them as tokens and conversation than as a real human. It's one reason I chat to regulars outside my time on cam to get to know them, as well as enjoying the chat I feel it keeps us being real people.
Another form of objectification, I think kids and teenagers sometimes treat their parents and grandparents this way. They get a sense of entitlement and start to assume they're there for money and to look after them and forget that they're real people with feelings.
People in the work place can be objectified by their employers, I am sure the same goes for married couples each way if one person earns and the other stays at home. It's really any situation where someone degrades you down to an object status. Purchasing sex for example by definition is objectifying because you're purchasing time with a human to do what you want. Strip clubs are objectifying. Rape is objectifying. Modelling is objectifying. Treating someone like a personal wallet whether, boyfriend, girlfriend, parent or sibling. It could be a hen party treating cute guys like strippers. People often feel objectified in the service industry, I think especially waiting staff, I found I was treated in a more humanistic way when working behind a bar.
I don't believe there's a person around who isn't guilty of objectifying someone at one point in time. You can also consent to being objectified, and that's ok. It's when people objectify others against their will that it's a seriously shitty thing to do. But we do live in a culture with lots of consensual objectification so I can understand where it comes from.
For example in my teens I my experience with young men who read lads mags growing up would often making horrific and unnecessary comments to women in public about their looks. They've grown up in a culture where objectification is ok and are too young or stupid to understand the line where it stops being socially acceptable. Or maybe they've just never been taught that a line exists. I wonder in some cases if this is why some young men rape but don't see themselves as having done anything wrong. They just don't see that they crossed a line. This is where a culture of objectification merges with what is called "rape culture".
Culture is fascinating, it controls what we see as being acceptable without even realising it. Deniers of cultural impacts are usually the people so ingrained within that culture's social norms that they can't see anything else. It's why it's always good to critically evaluate your beliefs as to whether they're actually what you believe or what you've essentially been brainwashed to believe your entire life.
Thanks, that's really interesting. I am just looking into her now. Obviously it's a bit outdated in terms of modern times. And psychoanalysis is pretty much a load of crap. But it's interesting looking at how even though times have changed so much, the media still has this representation of women being the beautiful side character (even in story's and magazines where the woman should be primary) and men are the main character.I don't have access to the full article anymore (dropped out uni years ago), however any university library access has a PDF version of it, have you ever read "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema" by Laura Mulvey? It's kinda old, but still very interesting, thought provoking and relevant, I hope.
This, oh my god I had no idea it had a name but this! Probably one of the most annoying things someone can do: "Hahahaha but of course I'm joking! Unless.... You're like, interested? No? Hahaha I am still joking!"otherwise known as Schrodinger's douchebag where the person is dead serious until the other person shows offence
Is there anything wrong with non consensual objectification?
Yes, most definitely.Is there ever anything RIGHT about non consensual anything?
I don't believe there's a person around who isn't guilty of objectifying someone at one point in time. You can also consent to being objectified, and that's ok. It's when people objectify others against their will that it's a seriously shitty thing to do.
But sometimes you don't have a choice, you can't help whether you objectify someone or not. If you see someone hot walking down the street and think to yourself privately "Wow they're hot, I'd love to hook up with them" that's a form of objectification... When you start treating someone like they're an object for whatever purpose then that's wrong.
This is just my opinion, but I wouldn't really count that as objectification. Objectification would come if you started harassing the hot person or commenting on how much you'd like to fuck them to your friends in a degrading manner. Objectification by definition is to degrade someone to the status of being a mere object. Thinking someone is hot and wanting to have sex with them is not really objectification because you're still considering them a human being and treating them as such by not just taking what you want from them. Thinking that person is hot and having zero care for their personal choices or freedoms by harassing them, touching, catcalling or raping them would be where the line into sexual objectification comes in. Because to you their sexual body is all they are, or at least all you care about.
So I guess the question is, when you see someone hot, do you see them as an inanimate object in the same way you might see a really nice meal, or do you still register that they are a human with their own being?
Attraction does not equal objectification. If you went out with someone for looks, were using them for sex and had zero interest in their personality then that's objectifying. And pretty arsehole behaviour IMO. But initially being attracted to someone for looks is completely normal and natural.
It's why I say that I don't feel camming makes me feel objectified, because part of camming is having a personality and being a real human being. It's sexual, but the humanistic nature of a site like MFC removes a lot of the objectification. Obviously there are those who objectify women on that site, most of them going into the lounge looking for free shows, but if one of the reasons you're visiting a girl is because you love her personality then the objectification disappears. It's why I say stripping is objectifying, because your personality barely comes into it, there is no bond. They will get what they want, as will you and you'll both move on afterwards. Strippers are incredibly objectifying towards customers so it goes both ways.
http://everydayfeminism.com/2015/04/empowered-vs-objectified/This is just my opinion, but I wouldn't really count that as objectification. Objectification would come if you started harassing the hot person or commenting on how much you'd like to fuck them to your friends in a degrading manner. Objectification by definition is to degrade someone to the status of being a mere object. Thinking someone is hot and wanting to have sex with them is not really objectification because you're still considering them a human being and treating them as such by not just taking what you want from them. Thinking that person is hot and having zero care for their personal choices or freedoms by harassing them, touching, catcalling or raping them would be where the line into sexual objectification comes in. Because to you their sexual body is all they are, or at least all you care about.
So I guess the question is, when you see someone hot, do you see them as an inanimate object in the same way you might see a really nice meal, or do you still register that they are a human with their own being?
Attraction does not equal objectification. If you went out with someone for looks, were using them for sex and had zero interest in their personality then that's objectifying. And pretty arsehole behaviour IMO. But initially being attracted to someone for looks is completely normal and natural.
It's why I say that I don't feel camming makes me feel objectified, because part of camming is having a personality and being a real human being. It's sexual, but the humanistic nature of a site like MFC removes a lot of the objectification. Obviously there are those who objectify women on that site, most of them going into the lounge looking for free shows, but if one of the reasons you're visiting a girl is because you love her personality then the objectification disappears. It's why I say stripping is objectifying, because your personality barely comes into it, there is no bond. They will get what they want, as will you and you'll both move on afterwards. Strippers are incredibly objectifying towards customers so it goes both ways.
So this silly little cartoon is supposed to help people figure out how they are supposed to "feel" about any given representation? Good Lord.
There we go. Makes a hell of a lot more sense.At its core, feminism is a double-think/speak/discourse, supremacist ideology of forced equality, chivalry and political correctness which will ultimately strangle free speech if society as a whole does not reject it.
Nope. Yes.Do you think that sexual objectification is real?