Becoming an object: A review of self-objectification in girls

Daniels, Elizabeth A.; Zurbriggen, Eileen L.; Ward, L. Monique

doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2020.02.016

Cited by 106 publications

(74 citation statements)

References 134 publications

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“…Contemporaneously, McKinley and Hyde (1996) proposed the related construct of objectified body consciousness, which describes women's tendencies to view their bodies as others see them (termed body surveillance), to internalize cultural beauty standards, and to experience body shame when appearance ideals are not achieved. In the decades since these theories were first proposed, dozens of studies with adolescent girls have provided empirical support for their theoretical tenets (see Daniels et al, 2020). For example, multiple longitudinal studies find support for self-objectification as a prospective predictor of adolescent girls' depressive symptoms and disordered eating (e.g., Impett et al, 2011;Slater & Tiggemann, 2012).…”

Section: A Theories Regarding Gender-related Sociocultural Appearance Pressuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Young people are often especially motivated to engage in impression management strategies related to physical appearance (Leary, 1996). Adolescent girls have long been socialized to focus on their physical appearance through the broad cultural emphasis on girls' and women's bodies transmitted via mass media messages and peer conversations (see Daniels et al, 2020). Thus, for adolescent girls, SM offers an ideal opportunity to engage in self-presentation: necessitating that adolescents be "camera-ready" at all times, and providing opportunities to curate and edit one's photos and post them for an ever-present audience that can provide quantifiable feedback on one's appearance (Choukas-Bradley et al, 2019.…”

Section: B Social Media and One's Own Physical Appearancementioning

confidence: 99%

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The Perfect Storm: A Developmental–Sociocultural Framework for the Role of Social Media in Adolescent Girls’ Body Image Concerns and Mental Health

Choukas‐Bradley¹,

Roberts²,

Maheux³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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In this theoretical review paper, we provide a developmental–sociocultural framework for the role of social media (SM) in contributing to adolescent girls’ body image concerns, and in turn, depressive symptoms and disordered eating. We propose that the features of SM (e.g., idealized images of peers, quantifiable feedback) intersect with adolescent developmental factors (e.g., salience of peer relationships) and sociocultural gender socialization processes (e.g., societal over-emphasis on girls’ and women’s physical appearance) to create the “perfect storm” for exacerbating girls’ body image concerns. We argue that, ultimately, body image concerns may be a key mechanism underlying associations between adolescent girls’ SM use and mental health. In the context of proposing this framework, we provide empirical evidence for how SM may increase adolescent girls’ body image concerns through heightening their focus on: (1) other people’s physical appearance (e.g., through exposure to idealized images of peers, celebrities, and SM influencers; quantifiable indicators of approval); and (2) their own appearance (e.g., through appearance-related SM consciousness; exposure to one’s own image; encouraging over-valuing of appearance; and peer approval of photos/videos). Our framework highlights new avenues for future research on adolescent girls’ SM use and mental health, which recognize the central role of body image.

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Section: A Theories Regarding Gender-related Sociocultural Appearance Pressuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: B Social Media and One's Own Physical Appearancementioning

confidence: 99%

The Perfect Storm: A Developmental–Sociocultural Framework for the Role of Social Media in Adolescent Girls’ Body Image Concerns and Mental Health

Choukas‐Bradley¹,

Roberts²,

Maheux³

et al. 2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…For girls in the United States, interest in appearance-focused pursuits is strongly encouraged by the sociocultural environment, which prioritizes girls’ and women’s physical and sexual attractiveness over other aspects of their humanity (Daniels, Zurbriggen, & Ward, 2020; Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997; McKinley & Hyde, 1996; Ward, 2016). Furthermore, the body has been a primary site for female identity for several generations of women in the United States (Daniels & Gillen, 2015).…”

Section: Objectification In Girls and Womenmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Self-objectification involves perceiving and describing one’s body according to externally observable traits (i.e., how I appear) rather than internal traits (e.g., my thoughts, interests, personality; Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997). The constructs of self-objectification and body surveillance are conceptually similar and involve perceiving one’s body as an object that others (specifically men) will evaluate; thus, one scrutinizes one’s own body from a third-party perspective (Daniels et al, 2020).…”

Section: Objectification In Girls and Womenmentioning

confidence: 99%

The STEM Pipeline: Do Media and Objectified Body Consciousness Create an Early Exit for Middle School Girls?

Daniels

Robnett

2020

The Journal of Early Adolescence

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Girls and women are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Research has investigated various explanatory factors (e.g., lack of role models, sexism) in these patterns. However, to date, the roles of media use and body concerns have not been examined. This study investigated associations among appearance-focused social media behaviors (e.g., posting photos), objectified body consciousness (i.e., body shame, body surveillance), and attitudes toward math and science (i.e., self-expectancy, task value, cost, future plans) in a sample of U.S. middle school girls ( N = 243). Results demonstrated that body shame partially mediated associations between appearance-focused social media behaviors and math and science attitudes. These findings suggest that media use and body concerns have implications for girls’ involvement in STEM fields.

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“…The American Psychological Association Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls' 2007 report on the sexualization of girls highlighted the need for research on the effects of self-objectification in girls, although initially there was scarcity in research in the area but there has been an increase in the number of studies recently (Hyde et al, 2006;Strauss et al, 2015;Karsay et al, 2018;Daniels et al, 2020). Noser and Hill (2014) examined whether objectified body consciousness mediates the association between appearance contingent self-worth and low levels of appearance self-esteem in a sample of 465 female undergraduates.…”

Section: Self-objectification and Objectified Body Consciousness In Adolescencementioning

confidence: 99%

Body Consciousness and Self-Objectification in Gen Z Adolescent Girls

Sandhu¹,

Sandhu²

2021

Current Research in Psychology

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In contemporary Indian society media has magnified age-old pressures for teenage girls to conform to stereotypical standards. Contemporary Indian mythologist and author, Devdutt Pattanaik gives us a vivid picture of the socio-cultural and religious genesis of the Indian society. He validates the inherent gender-based inequality so characteristic of the Indian society in his book, 7 Secrets of the Goddess "A woman stops being a person; she is dehumanized and turned into a symbol of masculine honor, this transformation from prized possession to venerated object marks the triumph of patriarchy". This objectification of the female body not only instigates shame and dread but also encourages chasing what society thinks is ideal. The present study thus aimed to explore the role of self-objectification in objectified body consciousness i.e., body surveillance, body shame and appearance control beliefs of adolescent females age ranging (15 to 19) from Punjab (n=60). Self-Objectification Scale was used to screen in females high and low on self-objectification. Alongside scores on the subscales of Objectified Body Consciousness Scale (OBCS) were obtained. The findings suggested that media images have a detrimental effect on adolescent psyche. It's imperative to improve a woman's experience of her own body. Psycho-educational interventions in school and colleges should be introduced which focus on presenting and reinforcing a critical stance toward female beauty standards, in order to prevent-or at least reducehigh levels of internalization and social comparison.

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Becoming an object: A review of self-objectification in girls

Cited by 106 publications

References 134 publications

The Perfect Storm: A Developmental–Sociocultural Framework for the Role of Social Media in Adolescent Girls’ Body Image Concerns and Mental Health

The Perfect Storm: A Developmental–Sociocultural Framework for the Role of Social Media in Adolescent Girls’ Body Image Concerns and Mental Health

The STEM Pipeline: Do Media and Objectified Body Consciousness Create an Early Exit for Middle School Girls?

Body Consciousness and Self-Objectification in Gen Z Adolescent Girls

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