Renee Moran

Kim Peek

English 112

November 16, 2010

Eating disorders, plastic surgeries, botox injections, extreme dieting, etc. are all examples

of things girls and women turn to in order to achieve that ideal image and what is believed to be

the perfection of beauty. Now, does a woman just wake up one day, take a look in the mirror and

say, “I just realized I am not the weight of mainstream models and something has to be done

about this now!”? I am almost positive this is not how the scenario plays out. Yet, I do believe it

is a process that happens over time whether it may be a short or long period. One of the major

causes of women resorting to body altering alternatives is the fact that westernized societies

objectify women (Hill and Tylka). Women are objectified when they are looked at and evaluated

by only their outer-appearance (Zimmerman and Dahlberg). The main mode societies use to do

this is by mass media which reaches the population in several different forms. Media

objectification of women, many times, is the precursor for women self-objectifying and women

objectifying other women. These three occurrences are my main focus.

I fully understand that some readers may challenge my view that media is one of the main

perpetrators of women being sexualized and only evaluated by their outside looks and attributes

in society. After all, the majority believes that the individual has the final say on how they will

be treated and portrayed. The opposition, along with people in general, believes that a person

must stand up for herself and respect herself in order to receive respect from others. And,

indeed, my own argument that certain standards and maybe even restrictions should be placed on

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media outlets seems to ignore free will and personal responsibility to make sound choices despite

the pressure from others. I strongly agree with these points but all at once, images and one-sided

portrayals begin to socialize many to believe and view reality in a certain way. My argument

also seems to ignore that not only women are objectified but men are too. Yet, to thoroughly

cover my subject I chose to argue on the behalf of women. It is factual that men have more

muscle mass than women and women have more fat mass than men. A University of New South

Wales (UNSW) research review concluded that this is true because “the female body tends to

store fat more efficiently than the male body” (Wales). Society has pushed the idea that for

women thinner, bustier, fuller lips, tighter face, etc. is prettier, sexier, and more desirable. That is

one reason a woman’s struggle with objectification may be more difficult that a man’s struggle.

The media tends objectify women when they portray women as physical objects to be

looked at and evaluated on outer appearance, acted upon, or simply used (Moradi and Huang).

These portrayals, whether purposely or not, fail to present women as subjective beings with

personality, thoughts, and emotions. Therefore, this objectification presents females as nothing

more than objects. Internet, television, radio/music, and magazines all reach westernized

societies internationally and tend to bring people closer, despite the physical distance, by

exposing them to the same things. The constant exposure to programming and ads that illustrate

women as decoration, consumable items, and sexualized objects desensitizes the population and

it becomes more acceptable. There are subtle instances of objectification which may seem

harmless. Take for instance the show Wheel of Fortune. Vanna White is the hostess and puzzle

board turner for the show. Her main functionality is to look “pretty”, “beautiful”, and “elegant”

in her gowns, heels, and hair up-do’s while clapping for contestants and turning the cubes on the

puzzle board. Another similar example is the show Deal or No Deal. The Deal or No Deal

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models are to be there simply for decoration and visual stimulation. They are to do nothing but

stand by the closed suitcase with a smile upon their face until called upon to open the case. In

contrast, an outwardly obvious case of media objectification of women comes in the form of an

advertisement for Hardee’s Texas Toast Bacon Cheese thickburger. Padma Lakshmi, a

model/author/culinary expert, is the object of attention in the commercial. The commercial starts

out with her walking through something similar to a farmer’s market. She feels and smells the

fresh produce and food items. She then buys the Hardee’s burger in hunger and sits on some

steps leading to the door of her apartment. They depict Padma eating the burger in slow motion

and making all her movements and actions suggestively sensual and seductive. There is even a

moment while she is sitting on the steps with her legs slightly opened where she hikes up her

already short dress implicating that she is getting “hot”. The hyper-sexualization of hunger and

consumption of a hamburger was over-the-top and unnecessary. On the daily basis consumers

are bombarded by advertisements, commercials, television programs, and music videos. Many

of them contain some form of sexual content. The more these images are broadcasted and people

are exposed to them, the less responsive and/or offended viewers become. The process of media

objectification has now become the norm of westernize societies which is not good for the health

and well-being of the female population.

The Encarta Dictionary lists the definitions of norms as the standard pattern of behaviors,

usual situations, and expected range of functioning. In the realm of trying to fit in, what does

one do? They look at their peers for direction, they look at the media as a way to know what’s

going on in the real world and others’ responses to that, and then the person turns and takes a

look at themselves. This is where self-objectification originates. The media objectification

perpetrates women self-objectifying themselves because the women are measuring themselves

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against the images that are being presented to them. So, in a sense, women begin to take the

media (or any source) of objectification and internalize it. Photo-shopping, airbrushing, and

many other kinds of digital editing to the physical appearance of celebrities like models and

actresses have really been brought to light and the hot topic in the recent years. The editing is

done to make them look impeccable and flawless. It is true that for some of these famous

people their looks is their livelihood; their paycheck. In that respect, I can begin to understand

the “extra” things that take place to give off the perception that they look wonderful and at times

perfect. Yet, the truth of the matter still remains that the majority of magazines, if not all,

routinely photo-shopping the images actually sets improbable standards of physical beauty. I

purposefully use the word standard because people look at standards as a model of what should

be.

In chasing the result of fitting the model of thin but busty, slender face but pouty lips, etc.

it is extremely conceivable how this can take a toll on the psychological and ultimately the

physical well-being of a woman (Harper and Tiggemann). It is quite easy to empathize with how

one must feel looking at ads in the Sunday newspapers. Her thoughts might progress as follows:

The model in the cute and sexy outfit is thin. Well, if she is thin then it only makes sense that if

you want to wear the outfit and look amazing, as does the model, you must be thin also. But, I

am not thin as her. Thoughts such as these may lead to feelings of dissatisfaction with her

physical appearance in the early stages of self objectification. In many cases it even leads to

depression. In some cases it leads to body shame; feeling shameful about the appearance of

one’s body in general and/or specific body parts. An example would be when a woman feels

ashamed that her breasts are small. What is the popular thing to do to fix that problem? The

answer is breast implants. For those who believe they are too fat or simply have more weight

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than everyone else they sometimes resort to starving themselves, also known as anorexia

nervosa. The online version of Merriam-Webster dictionary states that anorexia nervosa is

characterized especially by a pathological fear of weight gain leading to faulty eating patterns,

malnutrition, and usually excessive weight loss. Those who suffer from anorexia nervosa use it

as a way to lose weight and keep the weight off. The academy award winning Sally Field, well-

known actress, had a battle with eating disorders. She said this came about because she felt that

“everyone was twiggy, except me.” Her battle began at the age of twenty and lasted three years.

Anorexia nervosa is only one example of the several eating disorders prevalent in westernized

societies. Though it may not seem real and seem like an extreme measure to take it really

happens. It could be your wife, sister, daughter, niece, or best friend. Just like those currently

and previously suffering from severe dissatisfaction with their bodies are family to other people.

Though, it is popular for many to believe that “Oh, that couldn't happen to me or my family

member isn't susceptible to that”. This happens often in the real world and is a major issue in

society.

Self-objectification leads to women objectifying other women and this relationship can

also work in the opposite direction (Strelan and Hargreaves). Why would someone who is

dissatisfied and/or ashamed of their outer-appearance evaluate another woman on her outer-

appearance? Most likely it occurs inadvertently. It is logical that women who tend to internalize

the concept that a woman's appearance is especially important will, in turn, objectify other

women. In the midst of a woman looking at and comparing herself to models, actresses, and

other women she is evaluating their looks. Even in everyday life she might purposely or

unconsciously see a woman in person or in an ad and immediately begin to assess whether or not

the woman measures up to the idealistic beautiful woman. This becomes a part of her normal

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pattern of behavior. So, now she becomes an active participant in the objectification of women.

She is now the one putting the ruler up to women. This could be considered a ferocious cycle

that seems to have no end. But, it should be lessened at the very least.

Something ought to be done. I am sure everyone has experienced the feelings and

thoughts of not measuring up to others you adore and idolize. Some have enough self-esteem to

work past those feelings or support of their loved ones is enough to make them realize that

although they may not look like someone else they are special and beautiful in their own way.

For those who might not have the strength or support from others, we, who now know must

stand up for them and be their strength and their voice. Many times girls and women choose

appearance altering alternatives such as plastic surgeries, botox injections, and other things in the

pursuit of being evaluated as pretty and beautiful. One of the main culprits of these endeavors

lies in the hands of the media objectifying women. The media puts across the notion that a

woman is “less” if she doesn't have the attractiveness that is equivalent to what magazines,

television shows, and advertisements portray as the ideal image. The effects of this is

detrimental to the health and well-being of women. The media objectify women, women

internalize these standards and self-objectify, and ultimately objectify other women. This cycle

is not healthy for our loved ones. We have to stand up for ourselves and our loved ones and

measures should be taken to lessen this. A start would be to tighten the regulations on what

media outlets are allowed to broadcast and print.

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 Works Cited

Harper, Brit and Marika Tiggemann. The Effect of Thin Ideal Media Images on
Women’s. 16 December 2007.

Hill, Melanie S and Tracy L Tylka. "Objectification Theory as It Relates to Disordered

Mercurio, Andrea E and Laura J Landry. Self-objectification and Well-being: The

Moradi, Bonnie and Yu-Ping Huang. "OBJECTIFICATION THEORY AND PSYCHOLOGY

Strelan, Peter and Duane Duane Hargreaves2 Hargreaves. "WomenWho Objectify

Wales, University of New South. "Why Do Women Store Fat Differently From Men?" 4
March 2009. ScienceDaily. 16 November 2010 <http://www.sciencedaily.com
/releases/2009/03/090302115755.htm>.

Zimmerman, Amanda and John Dahlberg. "The Sexual Objectification of Women in."
Journal of Advertising Research (2008): 71-79.