Are Women More Objectified Than Men?
July 26, 2012 by Norm Schneider
Published in Women
A new research study tries to convince us that there is a genetic cause for women being seen as objects.
There’s a new scientific study that suggests that people see women as objects rather than whole persons and that this is something inherent in human beings.
What are we to make of this kind of research? Can we take it at face value?
Scientists at the University of Nebraska (2012) conducted the research. Simply put, the researchers conducted a series of experiments in which photos of both men and women were shown to a group of volunteers (men and women). When shown images of women the participants were said to perceive them as the sum of various body parts (ergo “objectifying” the women). On the other hand when shown images of men, the volunteers were said to view the males as a whole person. According to the lead researcher we can conclude from this that people are pre-disposed in some way to see women as a collection of sexual body parts, while men’s sexual body parts were better seen in the context of their entire bodies.
Gaps In Logic?
While I can’t dispute the findings on a scientific level, it seems to me that this type of research has gaps of logic in it. Not to say that women are not still objectified in many cases. But, isn’t it possible that the backgrounds and experiences of the volunteers in the study, regardless of their being male or female, could have played a role in how they perceived the images they viewed. A female volunteer, for example, if her past experiences in life had included being objectified in some manner in her workplace or personal life may come to see images of other women in the same manner as she had been viewed – irrespective of the right or wrong of such circumstances.
The same could go for the male volunteers. If they had experienced their wives, girlfriends, or female co-workers having been objectified (or even if they had experienced, but disagreed with, instances of objectification in contemporary media) they may assume that all women have been objectified and therefore see the images in the study as more of the same.
The flaw in this study, perhaps, is that the researchers have painted a broad brush across the subject matter without necessarily looking more deeply at the factors that may influence the participants. So, concluding that objectification is something inherent to humans is therefore questionable and makes it much harder to eliminate such behavior from society.
What do you think?
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July 26th, 2012 at 1:48 pm
interesting research
July 26th, 2012 at 8:46 pm
Men and women have completely different brain signals, especially when it comes to sex. I am quite sure that these differences are hard wired into the species, although there are exceptions.
Men are visually stimulated. They do look at women as a package of body parts. Men’s brains are more able to compartmentalize than women, and they can more easily separate sex and the rest of a relationship. Men go into marriage hoping that his bride will never change, ie. get old and fat.
Women are emotionally stimulated. We are attracted to men by the way that they treat us. This is where the psychology of past experience, especially a woman’s relationship with her father.
Women don’t separate sex from the rest of the relationship, so if Hubby did something to annoy her this morning, she won’t be in the mood that evening.
Women go into marriage hoping that they can change him into a creature who is thoughtful and civilized.
I don’t think the results of this study are skewed at all. This one is a no brainer, at least from a woman’s perspective.
July 28th, 2012 at 3:40 am
After reading the comment of Karen Gross I realized I made my wife irritated charging her keeping a secret boy friend might be very much younger to her and caused her shouting and throwing utensils by objecting her whenever she exposed herself to be free from me as she wanted to live with her children instead of with me who does not like her by suspicion all the time. I cannot point out a single person till today. It must be because of my male domination in the family, which is her common word against me. This comment of Gross made me fully understand man chauvinism.
July 29th, 2012 at 3:28 pm
In my country, to this very age and era, women are still seen as objects of labor and objects of sex and reproduction. In North-Eastern Uganda where the Karamojong live, it is not uncommon for elders meeting a young man of about 23 years to pose the question-” Have acquired your donkey yet?” This question actually means, ” Have married a wife yet?”
This should tell you that women in this part of the world are objectified as labor tools who should work for men and bear them, first and foremost sons and then much later, daughters! So I want agree with you that many cultures and religions objectify women.
As a young trainee teacher many years ago when I was posted to a Muslim founded school to do teaching practice, I was shocked when the Chairman of the Board stood up during a PTA meeting and started his speech by thanking all who were in the meeting for having been born Men! There were female teachers in the same meeting, but this guy did not even care to be courteous to the females around!
A great and though provoking article here Norm! Thanks!