From Gaze to Outrage: The Role of Group-Based Anger in Mediating the Relationship between Sexual Objectification and Collective Action

Abstract

Numerous studies have demonstrated the harmful effects of sexual objectification on well-being. However, despite the rapid growth of the #MeToo movement, which has raised public awareness about sexual harassment, there has been much less research investigating the role of sexually objectifying behaviours in motivating people to try to tackle this issue through collective action (e.g., signing petitions, engaging in protests) and the process through which this occurs. Across two studies, we tested whether experiencing sexually objectifying behaviours motivates women to be willing to engage in collective action against sexual objectification via feelings of anger toward women being the target of such actions (i.e., group-based anger). In Studies 1 (n = 127) and 2 (n = 159), female participants rated the extent to which they had been the target of sexually objectifying behaviours, their feelings of group-based anger, and their willingness to engage in collective action against sexual objectification. We found that sexual objectification positively predicted the willingness to engage in collective action and that this relationship was mediated by feelings of group-based anger. This pattern suggests that experiencing numerous instances of sexual objectification is likely to result in women feeling group-based anger and that this anger, in turn, promotes collective action against sexual objectification. Therefore, our research demonstrates one process through which sexual objectification promotes a willingness to engage in collective action.

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

“…This result is important as emotions elicit specific behavioral tendencies ( Shepherd, 2019 ). In particular, anger triggers active action tendencies: When considered at the group-based level, anger produces, for instance, an increase in collective actions ( Chaudoir & Quinn, 2010 ; Guizzo, Cadinu, Galdi, Maass, & Latrofa, 2017 ; Shepherd & Evans, 2019 ). The increase in anger triggered via metadehumanization might thus benefit women in their attempts to change the status quo regarding gender inequalities and to reduce sexual objectification practices.…”

“… In addition, in Studies 2a and 2b, we also thought to explore identity management strategies ( Tajfel & Turner, 1979 ). We expected that interpersonal focus on physical appearance, as a form of gender discrimination, and anger would increase women’s tendencies to engage in collective actions ( Chaudoir & Quinn, 2010 ; Iyer & Ryan, 2009 ; Leonard, Moons, Mackie, & Smith, 2011 ; Shepherd & Evans, 2019 ). As we did not obtain any results on these variables, detailed method and results related to them were moved to the Supplementary Material section.…”

Envisioning Change: An Empirical Test of the Social Psychological Model of Utopian Thinking and Collective Action

“…Anger is one of the most heavily researched approach-oriented emotions that involved in protest behavior. According to the Social Identity Model of Collective Action (SIMCA; van Zomeren, Postmes, et al, 2008), perceived injustice, through the experience of relative deprivation, invokes feelings of anger among members of disadvantaged groups, and this group-based anger in turn predicts willingness to protest and participate in collective action (Nguyen et al, 2021;Shepherd & Evans, 2020).…”

Not All the Same: Examining Asian American Women’s Self-Objectification Processes Using a Latent Class and Cultural-Specific Approach

“…Consistent with a feminist framework (Enns, 2012), focusing on women’s strengths, both at an individual and community level, is essential. Clinicians therefore could explore the benefits of collective action (Shepherd & Evans, 2019) or the value of adopting a womanist identity (Chadwick & DeBlaere, 2019) in mitigating the harmful effects of gendered racism on disordered eating and depression.…”